Check out http://www.silvertonavalancheschool.com/
I took a level one there 6 or 7 years ago. Probably half of it is in the field. The instructors are very knowledgable and all are professionals in their field in some capacity. I feel it is good choice as the San Juan Mountains are probably one of the sketchier snow packs in the state, some would even say the lower 48. (wind, snow, cold, elevation, sun, etc...) Plus there are over 100 avalanche paths that cross the local highways on a regular basis. Some instructors are out every day locally and some are CDOT employees. Many years classes get to go out with the crews that blast. Plus the local bar is bar none for ski town shadyness and debachery.
scott
Give one of these a try. I have taken the BOC course, very good, informative, reasonable price and good instructor (when I took it). As for the other two I have only heard about the San Juan Course and heard it was comprable to the one I took. Good luck. Knowledge is power!!
I really liked the idea of doing it this way... There was a write up about our class in the Vail Daily, a three or four part series. I'm sure you could find it if you did a search there. Great instruction, nice hut (P. Estin), fun weekend away, good food...
The best avy class is the one you take. Refresher/intro classes, like those offered by the Friends of Berthoud Pass guys, are a great start, but a full level one is the real way to go.
Like dgosn, I took my level one at Silverton many years ago, and it was a great time and great experience. What Laurie describes, taking it a hut, also sounds awesome. Of course, no skiing and staring at all the sweet lines at Estin would just about kill me.
I did my level 1 through Colorado Mountain College (www.colomtn.edu I think). Very solid instructors, and like all CMC classes, easy on the pocketbook compared to doing it through a commercial school.
Whitelightning: Is this the course you are talking about?
OUT-160 Level I Avalanche Seminar - Not Transferable 1.00 CR
This professional seminar is for persons interested in snow and avalanche phenomena, hazard evaluation, backcountry travel procedures, rescue techniques, and/or ski area avalanche forecasting and avalanche hazard mitigation. Students will receive a certificate of completion stating that the course was taught following the guidelines of the American Avalanche Association.
I took a class through the Colorado Mountian School. It was a weekend long class (Fri night, Sat and Sun) It was awsome. We spent time in the classroom and in the field. They dont do a class a Berthod (I dont think) but they do offer their course at Winter Park, but it is only a couple of weekends so if you want to take it there you should check out the web site soon.
Steve Z, that's the one. I did mine through the Vail campus. The instructors were Dan Aguliar who I believe did some guiding on Everest, and Mike Bradley, the local mountain rescue guru along with some others. We did a couple of evenings doing lecture, watching videos, discussing snowpack, rescue techniques, etc. We did a full day on Vail pass on a ridge doing simulated rescue scenarios, beacon training, probe lines, dug pits, etc.
They also do a level II course that is an overnight hut trip somewhere, which I'm sure would be very good as well.
Refresher/intro classes, like those offered by the Friends of Berthoud Pass guys, are a great start, but a full level one is the real way to go.
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