AIARE Avalanche Rescue Course in Silverton, Colorado
Learn Or Refresh Your Companion Rescue Skills
Skyward Mountaineering's AIARE Avalanche Rescue Course is a one-day, hands-on course designed to teach backcountry travelers how to respond effectively when a partner is caught in an avalanche. Based in Silverton, Colorado, the course focuses on companion rescue skills including avalanche transceiver searches, probing, efficient shoveling, rescue organization, and communication.
Through realistic scenarios and repeated practice, you'll develop the skills and muscle memory needed to respond quickly and efficiently during an avalanche emergency. The course is appropriate for skiers, snowboarders, ice climbers, mountaineers, snowshoers, and other winter travelers who spend time in avalanche terrain.
Avalanche rescue skills are perishable. We recommend taking the course after AIARE Level 1 and returning regularly to refresh your skills, practice with your equipment, and stay current with modern rescue techniques.
Introductory AIARE avalanche rescue course. The course can be taken immediately following AIARE Level 1, as a standalone rescue course, or as a refresher at the beginning of the winter season.
No previous avalanche course experience is required, though we recommend previous AIARE Level 1 or equivalent avalanche education.
1 full day (8 hours) of instruction and hands-on rescue practice in the field. See open enrollment dates below or contact us for a custom avalanche rescue course with at least 4 participants.
The AIARE Avalanche Rescue Course is based in Silverton, Colorado.
9,302 ft / 2,835 m
Learn Efficient Avalanche Companion Rescue Techniques with professional instruction
Rescue Equipment: Become familiar with modern avalanche rescue equipment and learn how to use your own transceiver, shovel, and probe effectively.
Transceiver Searches: Practice the fundamentals of avalanche beacon searches, from switching to search mode through locating a buried transceiver. You'll repeat searches until the process becomes familiar and efficient.
Fine Search and Pinpointing: Learn how to narrow the search area and pinpoint a buried person using your transceiver before transitioning to probing and excavation.
Probing Techniques: Practice systematic probing techniques to locate a buried person and understand how probing fits into an efficient companion rescue.
Efficient Shoveling: Learn how to excavate a buried partner efficiently using proper shoveling techniques, strategic excavation, and coordinated team systems.
Multiple Burial Scenarios: Practice prioritizing and managing a rescue when more than one person is buried. You'll learn how communication and organization become increasingly important as the complexity of a rescue increases.
Small Team Rescue: Learn how to divide responsibilities and communicate effectively when a small group must manage an avalanche rescue without professional rescuers immediately available.
RECCO Awareness: Understand how RECCO technology fits into the larger avalanche rescue system and why companion rescue using a transceiver, probe, and shovel remains essential.
Plan Your AIARE Avalanche Rescue Course In The San Juans
Scenario Based Avalanche Rescue Training
Avalanche rescue isn't a skill you want to learn for the first time during an emergency. Our rescue course uses realistic scenarios to give you repeated opportunities to practice the complete rescue process.
You'll work through situations that require you to recognize the incident, switch into rescue mode, organize your group, search for a buried partner, pinpoint the burial, probe, and excavate efficiently. Repetition helps turn individual techniques into a coordinated response you can rely on when stress and time pressure are real.
The goal isn't simply to pass a beacon search exercise. It's to develop the communication, organization, speed, and practical skills required to function effectively as part of a companion rescue team.
Hands On Avalanche Rescue Training
This one-day course emphasizes practical skill development and repeated practice. You'll work through realistic companion-rescue scenarios while learning how to organize a rescue, search efficiently, locate a buried partner, and excavate them as quickly as possible.
Professional instruction allows you to receive immediate feedback on your technique and identify areas where you can become faster and more efficient. The course is designed to complement AIARE Level 1 and can also be taken as a standalone refresher for experienced backcountry travelers.
Pair Avalanche Rescue With AIARE Level 1
AIARE Level 1 and Avalanche Rescue work well together. Our Level 1 teaches you how to recognize avalanche hazards and make informed decisions about terrain, while the rescue course gives you the practical skills to respond if a partner is caught.
For students taking an Avalanche Level 1 with Skyward, adding the Rescue Course provides dedicated time to practice companion rescue rather than trying to learn these skills as one component of a broader avalanche curriculum.
If you already have AIARE Level 1 or equivalent avalanche education, you can also take Rescue as a standalone course or seasonal refresher.
Frequently Asked Questions
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No previous avalanche course is required, but an AIARE Level 1 or equivalent avalanche education is strongly recommended. Rescue training focuses on the practical skills needed after an avalanche has occurred, while Level 1 teaches the broader principles of avalanche hazard assessment and decision making.
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This course is based in Silverton, Colorado with field instruction occurring in the surrounding San Juan Mountains.
Silverton sits in the heart of Colorado's San Juan Mountains and provides an excellent setting for hands on avalanche rescue training. The surrounding mountains offer a wide variety of winter terrain where students can practice rescue techniques in realistic snow and mountain conditions.
Skyward Mountaineering has extensive experience guiding and teaching in the San Juan Mountains. Field sessions are adapted to current conditions and the learning objectives of the group, with an emphasis on realistic scenarios and repeated practice.
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Avalanche rescue skills are perishable. We recommend practicing regularly and taking a dedicated rescue course or refresher at the beginning of the winter season.
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The primary focus is companion rescue rather than avalanche forecasting or other curriculum from the AIARE Level 1. Students should have a basic understanding of avalanche hazards before taking the course.
For students interested in avalanche forecasting we recommend signing up for our AIARE Level 1 avalanche education course.
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No. This course is appropriate for ice climbers, skiers, snowboarders, mountaineers, snowmobilers, and other winter travelers.
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No, the Avalanche Rescue Course is a standalone companion rescue course and does not replace AIARE Level 1 avalanche education.