AIARE and the American Avalanche Association are teaming up to bring avalanche education into the 21st Century. Photo: Jon Klaczkiewicz

The glamour of fresh turns and quiet landscapes has drawn more than a few curious snow sliders outside resort boundaries in the last decade. Herds of weekday dawn patrollers populate trailheads before 6 a.m., six different skin tracks crisscross a slope you once referred to as a "stash," and crusty, old locals are about as grumbly as ever. Like it or not, backcountry skiing is mainstream.

As Type II enthusiasts pour onto the slopes in droves, education is scrambling to keep up. Until now, AIARE's curriculum has been a one-size-fits-all solution. Professionals and recreationalists sit through the same progression with a drastic drop off in recreational participation after Level 1. New for the 2017-2018 season, the Pro-Rec split divides the two tracks, a change that aims to better suit the needs of both parties. This program more closely follows the model of our hockey-loving friends up north, who, as we all know, have had it figured out for quite some time.

The new course structure is meant to make it easier for your weekend warrior backcountry skier to get after it confidently. Photo: Katie Cooney

Starting with the Basics

Both the professional and recreational tracks begin with the Rec Level 1 course as well as the new Avalanche Rescue course. Avalanche Rescue is a one-day standalone course tailored toward both new and experienced backcountry travelers and is intended to be retaken on a semi-regular basis. Participants spend a full day in the field practicing companion rescue and running safety drills in realistic scenarios. "These are skills that are hard to effectively teach in a few hours at the beginning of an Avy 1" AIARE's Executive Director Richard Bothwell told TGR. "It's a skill that needs attention and consistent practice."

Removing the rescue portion also frees up valuable time in Level 1 and 2 for terrain assessment and decision making—aspects that will hopefully keep you out of the “shit-hitting-the-fan stage” to begin with. It also makes basic backcountry safety more attainable for a wider variety of users. Someone newer to backcountry skiing is more likely to attend a one-day course on a Saturday morning early in their backcountry career than they are to jump into a three-day course immediately.

The Split

The original Level 2 course was more of an entry level professional course. Heavy on snow science jargon and in-depth weather observations, the meat of it was largely unnecessary for many recreationalists. That's not to say snow science isn't important, and there's still plenty of pit digging and stability testing in Rec 2, but someone who's headed out with their friends isn't necessarily going to dig a full profile every time they go out and record top to bottom temperatures.

Bothwell believes that recreationalists will benefit the most from the new curriculum.

"It's not to say that content has been eliminated from the new Avy 2 course, but the approach is designed to make all the information more relevant for what a recreational backcountry skier is actually going to be doing in the backcountry" Bothwell told TGR.

Memorizing complicated shorthand for weather observations and labeling snow crystal types, while definitely interesting, can easily drown out the big picture. Rec 2 focuses more heavily on decision making and terrain selection for advanced backcountry travelers and trip leaders—relevant application that's more likely to stick.

Going Pro

Another major difference between the two tracks is that the Pro courses will have built-in examinations throughout. Designed for patrollers, forecasters and guides, the Pro track focuses on building the skills required to be part of an operation instead of solely being responsible for your own party.

After finishing Rec 1 and Avalanche Rescue, aspiring professionals can apply for the five-day Pro 1 course along with proof of 20 days of relevant experience in the field. For those who took AIARE 2 before the split, the Pro 1 Bridge Course is a two-day exam designed to certify the participant to move on to Pro 2.

The Pro track heavily emphasizes standardized notation and recording methods, something not as necessary for a Rec student. It is important for an avalanche professional to be familiar with the correct shorthand and symbols while conducting and evaluating weather observations, otherwise it would take hours to decipher such an intricate snow code. Recreational users, however, aren't required to file extensive data from a weather plot and typically get along just fine without the knowing the symbol for firnspiegel on command.

Objectives of the Pro 1 course include analyzing and understanding the results of a snow profile and stability test, identifying weather trends, and properly recording data. It is similar in concept to the past Level 2 course, although slightly longer and taken pass/fail. The six-day Pro 2 replaces the existing Level 3 course, diving deeper into more complicated forecasting techniques, snowpack analysis, leadership strategies, and operational decision making.

A Good Divide

The Pro-Rec Split is a much-needed change, one that the American Avalanche Association and AIARE have been collaborating on for quite some time. With a more streamlined approach to the recreational track, the hope is to reduce the attrition rate from Level 1 to 2 and encourage more skiers to continue their education. The new standard hopes to better accommodate both parties and therefore increase participation overall.

Bothwell said that one of AIARE's biggest goals is to create lifelong students.

"We want to eliminate the one-and-done approach, where people are looking for a cert and feel like that's enough,” Bothwell said. “You're never done learning and the new curriculum leaves the door open for people to continue their education. Ultimately, the more people we can get out there thinking about their education the better."