AIARE Level 1 Avalanche Course in Estes Park

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 Estes Park, Colorado, please refer to Colorado’s COVID-19 Travel Guidelines and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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:

• • An experienced, certified AIARE instructor with extensive knowledge of the area
  • 2 evenings of video conferences and 2 full days of training in the field
  • Snow Pack membership for the season
  • Digital AIARE course manual
  • AIARE field book and CMS field pencil
  • AIARE certificate of completion provided by AIARE
  • Friends of CAIC Trailhead membership
  • Use of backcountry avalanche equipment during course (beacon, shovel, probe)
  • Snowshoes

What’s not included:

• • Technical backcountry ski touring equipment
  • Transportation
  • Food
  • Accommodation
  • Clothing, backpack, and non-technical personal items
  • Park entrance fees

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 about 6 hours on both days while in the field. 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.

If you’re planning on taking the course on snowshoes, you don’t need any prior experience. If you’re joining this course on a ski or splitboard touring setup, you’ll need to be skiing or riding at an intermediate to advanced level and you have to have prior experience with ski touring so that you can focus on getting the most out of your avalanche training and not on your gear or movement.

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

• • Alpine touring skis, telemark skis, splitboard with skins, snowboard, or snowshoes (can be rented)
  • Touring boots and poles (can be rented)
  • Ski straps — optional
  • Avalanche safety equipment (included in the price):
    • Digital, 3-antenna avalanche transceiver or beacon
    • Lightweight snow shovel
    • Avalanche probe

For personal items, we recommend bringing:

• • Ski helmet
  • Sunglasses or ski goggles
  • Beanie or fleece hat
  • Sun hat
  • Face mask
  • Neck gaiter
  • Synthetic lightweight gloves
  • Midweight softshell glove
  • Heavyweight waterproof gloves
  • Wind and waterproof softshell and fleece jacket with hood
  • Synthetic or down puffy jacket
  • Waterproof shell jacket
  • Lightweight and midweight synthetic or wool base layer tops and bottoms
  • Hardshell pants
  • Synthetic or wool base layers, underwear and socks
  • Toe warmers and hand heaters
  • One triple-action locking carabiner or two conventional locking carabiners
  • Repair kit and Leatherman for your equipment (can be shared between several people)
  • Water bottle and 2L of water
  • Thermos with a warm beverage
  • Food you can eat on-the-go
  • First-aid kit — optional
  • Personal toilet kit — optional
  • Sunscreen
  • Headlamp with fresh batteries
  • Backpack large enough to carry all items listed (around a 20-40L backpack)
  • Lip balm (SPF 15 or higher)
  • Food you can eat on the go
  • Hot drinks — optional
  • Laptop — optional
  • Compass — optional
  • Camera — optional

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

• • Avalanche safety pack, including beacon, shovel and probe will be provided by your guiding service
  • Alpine touring or telemark skis, touring boots and poles can be rented from Neptune Mountaineering
  • Splitboards can be rented from Neptune Mountaineering

Ski rental locations are in Boulder, CO, 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 pricing:

• • For this course, the max. client to guide ratio is 6:1.
  • Cost is per person and it doesn’t decrease as the group grows.

AIARE Level 1 courses in Estes Park 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 Estes Park, most people fly into Denver International Airport 1.5 hours from Estes Park. From there, you can rent a car or take a shuttle service and a taxi.

Once you and your guide agree on the details of your itinerary, your guide will suggest the best place to meet, whether that’s at the guide shop or a predetermined location. The guide will choose the appropriate terrain dependent on conditions and the ability of the group.

For the online courses, your Colorado Mountain School account will be automatically created during registration. Video calls are held every Monday and Wednesday night the week prior to your field days.