AIARE Avalanche Rescue Course Itinerary

Your field session is from 8am – 5pm. Prior to the course, Alpine Ascents will contact you with with a specific meeting location and any other pertinent information regarding travel. Carpooling is strongly encouraged, and you can arrange transportation with the other students on the course.

The course venue may change in case of inclement weather, snow conditions, or road closures.

Course Curriculum

Throughout the day we will introduce and build on the following topics working down this list chronologically.

Understanding Equipment

• Identify and become familiar with winter personal protective, avalanche rescue, and self-evacuation equipment and their proper use.
• Learn techniques and practice routines to check gear’s function.

Avalanche Rescue

• Learn about the Avalanche Rescue Quick Reference tool and apply it to rescue scenarios.
• Break out and practice individuals skills of avalanche rescue: assessing the scene and taking leadership, using a transceiver, using a probe, and shoveling.

Single Burial Scenarios

• Learn by practicing real-life scenarios.
• Integrate individual skills into a rescue scenario.

Patient Care and Evacuation

• Identify potential patient care considerations resulting from avalanche burial or involvement.
• Learn about equipment for self-evacuation and communication to outside resources.
• Learn considerations when interfacing with Search and Rescue and Emergency Medical Services.

 Advanced and Complex Avalanche Rescue

• Employ probing on a line with a partner to reduce search times and need for bracketing.
• Apply foundational skills to multiple victim scenarios without close proximity burials.
• Recognize challenges associated with deep burials.
• Employ repeatable method (Micro-strip or 3-circle) for locating close-proximity multiple burials.