Tyler's Backcountry Awareness

01/28/2026

Course Description
If you are interested in completing the AIARE 1 and the AIARE Rescue course this season then this is your course. With the growing interest in more education from the public, TBA has decided to combine these classes.

These courses were originally designed to be stand alone courses with that there is some overlap. Being able to combine these will allow students to have more field time and complete more rescue serinos in the field, in turn allows students to spend more time on their level 1 content as well more travel time evaluating avalanche terrain and diving deeper to snow science.

Combination of the AIARE 1 and Rescue will allow participants to have less repeated content and more time developing skills

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. The Rescue modules cover multiple-burial situations, a deep-dive into specific rescue techniques & gear, and feedback from professionals.

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+Rescue 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.
-Employ probing on a line with a partner to reduce search times and need for bracketing.
-Apply foundational skills to multiple victim scenarios without close proximity burials.
-Recognize challenges associated with deep burials.
-Employ repeatable method (Micro-strip or 3-circle) for locating close-proximity multiple burials

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01/22/2026

The best way to prepare is with your consistent riding group. This helps develop fluidity on the safety process as well as gives the group a chance to practice the safety techniques together ahead of an emergency situation. In doing so, the odds of a successful rescue improves immensely.

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01/19/2026

We can never be prepared for everything, but we can certainly improve our preparation by thinking and planning ahead. There is no sureshot way to predict what might happen in the backcountry, but by discussing, planning, and preparing for what could happen, we have a much better chance of making it back off the mountain at the end of the day.

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01/16/2026

Small-team avalanche rescue isn’t simply practicing with your transceiver, probe, and shovel. It is important to learn not only how to use your equipment, but also how to execute all the components of a rescue under pressure, including taking in the overall scene, making a plan for how to allocate resources, and considering how you will connect to outside help.

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01/13/2026

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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01/11/2026

Only a couple days left to get registered, don't miss out on the Seeley Lake experience with us and Rich's Montana Guest Ranch

01/07/2026

Your ability to survive a day in the backcountry is as reliant on your riding group as your own knowledge on backcountry safety. Both are vitally important, but your riding group becomes important for you if you are the one who is injured or buried in an avalanche.

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01/05/2026