Tyler's Backcountry Awareness

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Tyler's Backcountry Awareness

Empowering and challenging backcountry riders to expand their skills so that their adventures can reach new heights.

Backcountry rider Tyler Lundstedt’s undeniable and contagious passion for snowmobiling in the great Rocky Mountains led him and fellow riders to ever greater heights and challenges. Born in 1987, Tyler came to work in construction and running heavy equipment, but that was just to pay the snowmobiling bills. Ever smiling and always with a helping hand, Tyler would be found engaged in something productive. Those riding with Tyler would experience the mountains in ways most never will. The more obscure and hard to reach places offer the challenges and skill-building excitement an enthusiastic rider can appreciate. On January 21, 2012 Tyler died in an avalanche near Buffalo Pass in Colorado. The passion he shared with the world is a tremendous legacy. Tyler’s Backcountry Awareness was created to challenge riders to build their skills in safety and preparedness.

03/14/2026

IF A HELICOPTER COMES TO YOUR AID

The team should prepare a landing zone, if possible, by removing any loose debris and instructing team members to secure personal packs and clothing. Protect the patient from blowing snow when the helicopter arrives. Don’t approach the helicopter until instructed to do so by the pilot.

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03/11/2026

Course Description: The AIARE 1 is a three-day / 24-hour introduction to avalanche hazard management.

Students can expect to develop a good grounding in how to prepare for and carry out a backcountry trip, to understand basic decision making while in the field, and to learn rescue techniques required to find and dig up a buried person (if an avalanche occurs and someone in the party is caught).

Who Should Take this Course: The AIARE 1 is for ANYONE, regardless of method of travel, who wants to recreate in or near avalanche terrain. Participants may have attended some awareness classes or workshops or completed the Avalanche Rescue course, but none are a prerequisite for this course.

Aspiring professionals will need to take the AIARE 1 and Avalanche Rescue as a prerequisite for the Pro 1 course.

Student Learning Outcomes
At the end of the AIARE 1 course, the student should be able to:
-Develop a plan for travel in avalanche terrain.
-Demonstrate the ability to identify avalanche terrain.
-Effectively use The AIARE Risk Management Framework to make terrain choices in a group setting.
-Demonstrate effective companion rescue.

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03/08/2026

The Propagation Saw Test, or PST, is a long column test where a failure is cut into a pre-identified weak layer to test its propagation propensity. While most tests rely on tapping a shovel on the surface to initiate a crack, the PST directly initiates a crack by using a saw to cut the weak layer. One advantage of this method is it is a more reliable test on deeper weak layers; however, initial research suggests the PST may also have a higher false-stable rate than some other column tests. To conduct the PST, isolate the column on all sides (30 cm wide, 100 cm or more upslope) and drag a blunt edge of the saw upslope through the weak layer. Fracture propagation is considered to be likely only if the fracture propagates to the end of the column along the same layer (PST End) and initiates when the length of the saw cut is less than 50% of the length of the column.

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03/05/2026

The process of comparing predictions and observations sets up a feedback-rich learning environment. A thorough comparison includes all the factors that affect the exposure experienced throughout the day, ranging from conditions to group decision making.

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02/24/2026

Assessing the relative hardness of layers within the snowpack is valuable for detecting the presence and strength of slabs and weak layers. Hardness, or the resistance of snow to pressure, is a proxy for the strength of a snow layer. We categorize hardness using the hand hardness scale using the same relative amount of force to push various objects into the snow. How much force? Push your closed fist into your nose until it feels uncomfortable; that is roughly the amount of force you should use.

Hardness ranges from very low, where you can push your fist easily into the snow, to ice hard, which is too hard to push a knife into. Hard snow on top of soft snow is considered poor structure; the more dramatic and sudden the change in hardness, the more concerning it is. For example, a pencil hard slab over a fist hard layer of depth hoar is a scary structure!

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02/12/2026

Course Description: The AIARE 2 is a three-day/24-hour course that provides backcountry travelers an opportunity to advance their decision making skills in more complicated situations such as being a leader within a small travel group, traveling in more complicated terrain, and/or developing a travel plan where resources are scarce.

The AIARE 2 builds on the introductory avalanche hazard management model introduced in the AIARE 1 and adds to it the evaluation of critical hazard assessment factors. Students will describe and discuss weather, snowpack and avalanche processes, and identify how these processes relate to observations and travel within avalanche terrain.

Who Should Take this Course: The AIARE 2 is a three-day course for those who have taken an AIARE 1 and Avalanche Rescue and have had at least a year of backcountry travel experience. The AIARE 2 provides backcountry leaders the opportunity to advance their avalanche knowledge and decision making skills.

Student Learning Outcomes
-Differentiate where specific avalanche hazards exist within the landscape and identify avalanche terrain where consequences may be more severe.
-Use and interpret weather, snow, and avalanche observations to locate appropriate terrain prior to entering and while in the field.
-Demonstrate leadership skills within a small team that include facilitating small group discussion, promoting appropriate terrain selection, and utilizing simple risk management strategies.
-Implement a basic forecasting framework that can be used in conjunction with and in the absences of local supporting avalanche information.

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02/09/2026

Avalanche Paths are the path an avalanche follows in the terrain. An avalanche path has three recognizable features:

• The start zone, where avalanches typically initiate. These are often associated with specific trigger points in the terrain.
• The track, where the avalanche typically gains mass and speed as it picks up snow and other debris on its descent.
• The run-out zone, where the avalanche begins to slow down and lose mass as snow and debris are deposited.

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Address

1401 E Lincoln Avenue
Fort Collins, CO
80524

Website

http://Backcountryawareness.org/

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