AIARE Avalanche 1 Hut Course

Live and breath avalanche education in our Hut Based Avalanche 1 course

The AIARE Avalanche 1 Hut Course is designed to give you a full introduction to backcountry travel. Based out of the Addie S hut on Red Mountain Pass, you will spend day and night with your peers and instructors learning the foundation of avalanche education.

In a hut format you spend more time skiing, more time learning from and observing your instructors, and more time in the mountains—all with lodging and food included. When you take your level one with San Juan Expeditions you will get hands-on experience analyzing the avalanche hazard and using your observations to make decisions in the field. We are committed to providing both tools for understanding the avalanche problem and the terrain management skills you can only get from observing an experienced guide.

Our course leaders are both AIARE certified instructors and AMGA (American Mountain Guides Association) trained guides. So when you take one of our courses you know you will be under the mentorship of an experienced and qualified guide, not just an instructor.

This means you will not only learn about avalanche theory but you will apply what you have learned by going skiing/riding under the mentorship of an experienced guide.

Students that are a great fit for our Avalanche Courses – Any current or future backcountry skier / rider that knows how to skin uphill and is familiar with their backcountry uphill equipment and how to use it. This person has ideally skied off-piste in untracked snow before and can safely ski single black diamond terrain inbounds. Practicing uphill to downhill transitions is highly recommend before taking this course.

Students that may not be a great fit for our Avalanche Courses – Beginner skiers and riders and anyone that has not used uphill skinning equipment before the course and those that are not familiar with how to use their gear. We require that you can ski on untracked snow in black diamond terrain inbounds. We do offer private avalanche education courses on request for those that may need extra instruction and for non-skiers / riders that may prefer to snowshoe. 4 student minimum is required to create a custom course with us.

Need more experience and preparation before signing up for our AIARE Avy 1 Course? Sign up for an Intro to Backcountry Skiing day with us to determine if backcountry skiing/riding in the San Juans is the right direction for you.