Classroom Details

The classroom session offers intense learning and interaction in a lecture and workshop environment.
The workshops give students an opportunity to discuss and clarify lecture concepts and to use those concepts in problem-solving and decision-making exercises.
Students are trained according to current best practices in the snow and avalanche industry, utilizing US Observation Guidelines for Avalanche Programs in the United States.

Sample Classroom Agenda (from October 2022)

Classroom session topics include:
- The Avalanche Hazard Conceptual Model
- Mountain Snowpack
- Avalanche Formation & Release
- Snow Profiles, Stability Tests & Interpretation
- Weather & Its Impact on the Snowpack
- Weather Data Collection & Display
- Avalanche Hazard Evaluation - Practical Applications
- Explosives & the Snowpack
- Avalanche Protection Fundamentals
- Decision Making for Avalanche Professionals
- Ski Area Operations
- Operational Avalanche Rescue
- Avalanche Rescue Technology
- Wet Snow & Wet Snow Avalanches
- Difficult Avalanche Problems in a Challenging Climate