Alaska Avalanche Information Center A.I.A.R.E. course

While it has continued to pound snow day after day  here in Valdez,  Gabe “Sarge” Monroe as been helping teach an A.I.A.R.E Level 1 avalanche course put on by the Alaska Avalanche Information Center. The course leaders, Peter and Sara Carter, were kind enough to allow Ryland and myself to shadow the course. The  material and information they provided to the students was top notch, each day was filled with morning classroom sessions about the decision making framework, terrain selection, snowpack analysis, avalanche types and characteristics, and companion rescue. After a quick lunch the class headed out the field to practice some skills in the snow. Avalanche scenarios were performed by the students along with digging a few snowpit’s and a tour where they focused on terrain travel techniques. The only downside to the whole weekend was the none stop snow (only in AK do you wish for no snow to fall ) which has still not subsided enough to get eyes on in the Chugach range. When the clouds break it will be phenomenal, over five feet of snow has fallen in the past five days.

The Sarge doing his thing

Jeff Levison teaching the D.M.F. scale

Sarah Carter class introduction

Multiple burial scenario

Students practicing companion rescue