Overview:
Take your avalanche education to the next level with our one-of-a-kind hut trips! Our AIARE 1 Hut Trips are based out of the Broome Hut on beautiful Berthoud Pass. You’ll spend three days and two nights exploring backcountry terrain on skis, splitboard, or snowshoes with dedicated AIARE instructors. Whether you’re new to the backcountry or an experienced veteran, Berthoud Pass has fun and exciting terrain that will provide a fun atmosphere for learning firsthand.
Our team is made of experienced AIARE instructors and professional mountain guides with decades of experience in avalanche terrain. This experience comes from the Alps to Alaska to right here in the Front Range of Colorado. Colorado is one of the country’s premier backcountry skiing and splitboarding destinations. The Broome Hut sits just a mile from the trailhead near Berthoud Pass. This allows for an accessible trip for all ability levels. This AIARE 1 Hut Trip course combines classroom and field instruction, providing your group with a solid introduction to avalanche awareness. This course covers traveling in and around avalanche terrain, while gaining insight into decision-making strategies. This course also covers the human factors involved in avalanches, developing planning and travel techniques, and comprehensive rescue skills. Experience how avalanche beacons work, how to dig and analyze a snow pit, how to use the Decision Making Checklist, and more.
Sample Itinerary:
Day 1
7:45 – Meet and Greet (Berthoud Pass Warming Hut) Different for Fowler-Hilliard Hut Trip
- Waivers (Grand Hut, Colorado Mountain School)
- Equipment rentals
- Gear checks (boots, puffy, food, avalanche equipment)
8:15 – Transition to Second Creek Trailhead
8:45 – Hut Approach & Beacon Check
10:00 – Hut Orientation
10:15 – Introduction
- Colorado Mountain School (who we are and what we do)
- AIARE (who they are and what they do)
- Course overview (daily schedule, course goals)
- Course logistics
- Student manual, field book, pencil
- Risk management (explain waiver, specific hazards; mitigation
strategies – everyone is a risk manager) - Intros (name, where from; living, goals for course, backcountry experience)
11:15 – Intro to Companion Rescue
- Beacon Wear & Care
- Pack contents and How to Pack a backpack
- Group Split, What to wear, Field Books accessible
11:35 – Lunch Break
12:00 – Companion Rescue
- Function check, range check, flux lines demo, rescue demo, digging
(strategic shoveling, v-dig, conveyor belt) - Rescue practice
- Travel wisely techniques
3:00 – The Mountain Snowpack: Formation of Layers
3:20 – Human Factors, DMF; Case Study
- Intro to Human Factors (as reason for DMF)
- DMF
- Case Study
4:45 – Debrief & Course Close
Day 2
8:00 – Overview of Upcoming Day; Review of Previous Day
8:10 – Avalanche Types, Character, and Problems
- Types; Characters
- Define Problems along with typical problem traits (i.e. spatial
distribution, surface vs. deep, consequence/size, directly related
weather/season, trigger types, etc.) - R scale; D scale
- Avalanche Motions
9:10 – Avalanche Terrain
- SEATTL acronym: Slope, Elevation, Aspect, Trigger
points, Terrain traps, Location within range - Move outside to identify SEATTL components in the field
- Choose terrain exercise
10:00 – Avalanche Forecast & Online Observations
- Introduce Colorado Avalanche Information Center; online Wx resources
- Fill out field books
10:10 – Field Observations
- How to make observations in the field: Avalanches, Weather, Snowpack
- Critical Red Flag Observations
- Pre-draw Pit Profile graphs in Field Book for stratigraphy
- Field Wx obs
10:40 – Field Obs Tour; Intro to Snow Pits
- Weather observations
- Hand shear
- Snow pit: layer identification, hand hardness, CT, shovel tilt, shovel
tap (burp baby), point out a facet, point out a round, fracture character
& shear quality for CTs. Rutschblock test. - Graph stratigraphy when identifying layers and hand hardness
- Travel wisely techniques
4:00 – Share Observations; Review; Q&A
- Share Obs: Avalanche, Weather, Snowpack; Stratigraphy
- Why do we dig pits
4:25 – Human Factors Case Study
- Introduction to heuristics / facets
- Brainstorm strategies to combat human factors
4:55 – Debrief & Course Close
Day 3
8:00 – Plan
- Describe the steps of planning a tour (online obs, group goals,
choose destination, create run list/tour plan, emergency response)
8:30 – Field Group Planning
- Field group planning session
- Maps
9:15 – Transition
- Pack personal gear; stash in building
- Hut Clean-up
10:00 – Student-Led Ski Tour
- Students lead the day – out in front, setting pace, making
navigation decisions - Goals for the day: group leadership, pacing practice, group
communication in circles, field observations, pits, companion rescue,
identifying avalanche terrain, choosing terrain and practicing travel
wisely techniques, navigation skills, self-care - Choose terrain and travel wisely: students practice what
they’ve been shown, and show more when appropriate (1 at a time,
spread out, safe zone to safe zone, buddies in the trees, 5 second gaps,
spotters, stacking tracks, avoiding trigger points) - Companion Rescue practice
- Debrief the day back at the hut.
3:00 – Course Debrief (at hut)
- Next steps: where to go from here?
- Getting out there – what can you do on your own? What do you need a
more skilled partner for? What skills should a mentor have? - Resources: Mountain Hub, BCA website, CMS, CAIC, Front Range Ski
Mo, NOLS/WMI
3:40 – Transition (Hut to Trailhead)
- Pack up
- Ski to trailhead
- Check in rental gear
4:45 – Debrief & Course Close
Meeting location:
Berthoud Pass Warming Hut or a designated meeting location for the Fowler-Hilliard Hut Course (in partnership with Aspen Alpine Guides).
Details:
Why our AIARE Courses Are Worth It!:
- Colorado Mountain School is the country’s largest AIARE Provider for a reason
- Our Instructors are educators, not just minimally qualified instructors
- We spend the majority of the course in the mountains, not inside
- We provide valuable pre-course material to help you prepare
- Our Instructors are career guides, with decades of personal experience
- Our Instructors are AMGA Ski Guide trained or Certified
- We have a full-time office staff to answer all of your questions
- Variety of course offerings to meet our guests scheduling needs. Huts, Splits, 3-Day, Level 2’s
- Get avalanche training in the ski venue you ski in locally
- Fully sponsored by industry leaders Dynafit, Scarpa, Backcountry Access
- Full snow safety rental fleet
- Neptune ski shop support with rentals of ski equipment
Lodging:
Two nights of lodging at Broome Hut, Peter Estin Hut, or the Fowler-Hilliard Hut included.
Notes:
We believe that avalanche training is best taught by combining theoretical concepts and experiential learning. Some topics are best learned in a comfortable classroom setting and others in the mountains, moving through terrain and digging into the snow. You’ll have both.
The first portion of your course will be conducted in a classroom setting. In the interest of health and safety for our students and instructors, classroom format for the 2020/21 season may include a mixture of e-learning and group video discussions in an effort to limit close contact in closed spaces.
The majority of your course will take place in the mountains where we will learn in an open-air environment. You should be prepared, mentally and physically, to stay immersed in the backcountry for up to ten hours. You will be assigned to a small pod consisting of one AIARE Instructor and a maximum of six students to allow intimate instruction and physical distancing.
The nature of this pandemic requires us to be flexible and adaptable in how we deliver a quality training experience. Rest assured, from the moment you enroll all the way up to your course field days and beyond, our instructors will be a part of your learning progression and will provide you with the tools and resources you need to best prepare for your avalanche training course. If you’d like to learn more about what we are doing to manage COVID-19 risk for our students and guides, please view our FAQ page.
All Upcoming Dates and Locations:
- January 8, 2021 - January 10, 2021 - AIARE 1 Hut Trip - Broome Hut, Colorado
- February 26, 2021 - February 28, 2021 - AIARE 1 Hut Trip - Broome Hut, Colorado
- March 12, 2021 - March 14, 2021 - AIARE 1 Hut Trip - Broome Hut, Colorado
- April 2, 2021 - April 4, 2021 - AIARE 1 Hut Trip - Broome Hut, Colorado
Christopher Abisla (verified owner) –
This class was absolutely amazing and a really great way to get your AIARE 1 learning in while getting to go out and experience a hut trip. Taking the class in this format is way more enjoyable as you get a good ammount of skiing/touring in great terrain where you get to see and truly understand what terrain is dangerous and why. This class not only teaches how to be cautious and make informed decisions, but also really opens you up to the understanding that there is an immense amount of safe terrain to enjoy without having to put yourself in danger. Staying up in the mountains, cooking, & hanging out after class and getting to know your classmates and guides is also a really big positive addition to the class and worth choosing this style of course. If you are trying to decide between the normal class and this hut trip, choose this one every time.