The American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education: www.avtraining.org
AIARE was established in 1998 as a nonprofit organization to create a researched-based avalanche education model for backcountry users with the belief that avalanche education, research, and training can prevent injuries and fatalities due to avalanches. AIARE develops and disseminates research-based avalanche curriculum to over 100 providers in the US, South America, Europe, and Asia.
Offering six main classes, AIARE courses give backcountry travelers of all travel modes—including skiers, splitboarders, snowshoers, motorized travelers, climbers, and others—the skills they’ll need to avoid avalanches. It’s not just a set of facts. It’s a way to make decisions in the backcountry. AIARE’s curriculum:
- Provides tools to prepare for and carry out out a backcountry trip
- Helps you understand and manage risk in the winter backcountry
- Teaches you what to do when avalanches do occur
- Is taught by experienced professionals in a hands-on, real-world setting
At the core of all AIARE courses is The AIARE Risk Management Framework. The AIARE Framework is a step by step backcountry risk management process made of daily and seasonal routines and agreements that foster trust, safety, reliance, and uniform consensus with your partners. The AIARE Framework also supports your continued learning with a process that helps you continue to build experience after your course.
With AIARE avalanche education in your backcountry toolbox, you’ll be able to:
- Identify potential hazards in the backcountry
- Understand the hazards communicated through an avalanche forecast
- Identify and manage your risk
- Recognize avalanche terrain
- Plan trips that avoid or minimize exposure to avalanche terrain
Contact Information:
The American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education
PO Box 1538
Vail, CO 81658
Phone: 719-221-0762
Wendy Harrington is a California native who has lived in a small town at the foothills of the Cascade Mountains in Washington state since 2001. Her love of trail running and peakbagging has led her to summit all five Washington volcanoes, climb to the high points of three states, and put nearly a thousand miles a year on her boots. Her loves include ridgelines, saddles, granite, one-day pushes on big mountains, anything volcanic, long solo days, and objectives that push limits and test endurance.
