AIARE Avalanche Level 1 Course in Whitefish

57hours is committed to providing safe outdoor adventure experiences. We require all guides using our platform to have a COVID-19 safety plan and to make the details of that plan accessible to travelers. In most cases, group sizes will be reduced, guides will avoid overcrowded locations, and other safety measures will be met depending on the location and activity.

We also expect clients to respect local regulations and take measures to protect themselves, guides, and the communities they’re traveling to. For more information on COVID-19 measures in Whitefish, Montana, please refer to the Montana Governor’s Coronavirus Task Force website.

Please contact us if you have any questions or require further information. We are happy to provide you with the most up-to-date information!

What you get in this adventure: 

• • Experienced, certified guides with extensive knowledge of the area
  • Three days of avalanche education and field practice
  • Snowcat transportation from the Great Northern Powder Guides base area to your yurt and back (for the Yurt-Based Tour)
  • Accommodations (for the Yurt-Based Tour)
  • Dinner, breakfast, and hot drinks (for the Yurt-Based Tour)

What’s not included:

• • Technical backcountry ski touring equipment
  • Transportation to the Blacktail Mountain Resort (for the Resort-Based Tour)
  • Transportation to the Great Northern Powder Guides base area (for the Yurt-Based Tour)
  • Accommodations (for the Resort-Based Tour)
  • Lunch and snacks (for the Yurt-Based Tour)
  • All meals and snacks (for the Resort-Based Tour)

In order to get the most of this adventure, you need to have a moderate level of fitness. You will be on your feet for a full day. You will need to manage controlled descents in variable conditions. All participants should feel comfortable on challenging blue or black level resort runs and be able to carry a loaded daypack while skinning up variable degrees of terrain.

Prerequisites:
You don’t need to be an advanced skier or boarder, but you do need to be able to ascend moderate slopes using skins. All participants should be comfortable traveling in snow while carrying touring gear. There are no other prerequisites.

For technical backcountry ski touring gear, you will need to bring:

• • Alpine touring, telemark, or snowboarding boots (can be rented)
  • Skis or splitboard with compatible binding for boots (can be rented)
  • Climbing skins (can be rented)
  • Ski poles (can be rented)
  • Basic avalanche safety gear (can be rented)
    • Digital, 3-antenna avalanche transceiver or beacon
    • Lightweight snow shovel
    • Avalanche probe

For personal items, we recommend bringing:

• • Helmet – optional
  • Long sleeve synthetic — medium to expedition weight long underwear
  • Softshell or fleece jacket
  • Shell jacket with a hood
  • Puffy jacket with a hood
  • Synthetic or wool long underwear bottoms
  • Shell pants — full side zips and built-in gaiters
  • Socks — synthetic or wool, sized for your boots and blister protection
  • Liners — optional, but recommended
  • Gloves – 3 pairs: 1 light, 1 medium, 1 heavy pair
  • Medium weight ski hat
  • Baseball hat or visor for sun
  • Buff or a neck gaiter
  • Backpack (30-40 liter ski pack)
  • Thermos or insulated water bottle
  • Food you can eat-on-the-go
  • Sunglasses
  • Ski goggles
  • Extra prescription glasses/contact lenses
  • Sunscreen
  • Lip balm
  • Headlamp and extra batteries
  • Laptop computer
  • Camera — optional

All mandatory gear can be rented if you don’t have your own. You can rent:

• • Avalanche safety pack, including backpack, beacon, shovel, and probe can be rented from your guide
  • Alpine touring or telemark skis, touring boots, and poles can be rented from your guide
  • Splitboards can be rented from your guide

Ski rental locations are in Whitefish and should be picked up the night prior to your outing. If you need to rent gear, let us know and we can help make arrangements.

Group sizes and prices:

• • These courses are not private. For the group courses, the usual guest-to-guide ratio is 6:1. 
  • Cost is per person and it doesn’t decrease as the group grows.

Avalanche safety courses in Whitefish can be arranged for larger groups. Contact us to make arrangements.

Min. age requirements:

• • If you are older than 18, you’re good to go.

To get to these tours in the Whitefish area, most people fly into Glacier Park International Airport 15 minutes away from Whitefish, MT. From there, you should rent a car, or take a taxi or shuttle to Whitefish.

For the Resort-Based Tour, you should then rent a car or take a taxi to Lakeside, MT. You will meet your guides at the Blacktail Mountain Resort 14 miles (22 km) west of Lakeside at noon of day 1. The following days’ classes will be held there as well, from 9am – 5pm.

For the Yurt-Based Tour, you will meet your guides at the Great Northern Powder Guides base area 23 miles (37 km) north from Whitefish at 8 am of day 1. From there, your guides will arrange snowcat transportation to your yurt.