AIARE 1 Avalanche Course

Why This Course Costs More — And Why It's Worth It

You'll find AIARE 1 courses for less. Here's what the difference actually buys you:

A guide who trains guides. As an AMGA Instructor, I teach and examine guides working toward certification. The same skill of breaking hard judgment into usable steps is what you get on this course.

One lead instructor, start to finish. You’re with me both field days. You won’t be handed off to an assistant.

A guide who does this full-time. This isn't a side gig for extra income during ski season. Guiding and teaching in these mountains is Keith's career — which means the judgment you're learning has been tested and refined over two decades, not one or two winters.

The real cost of skipping quality instruction isn't the money you save — it's the decision you get wrong in the field because no one caught it in the classroom first.

How I teach.

Most avalanche courses hand you rules, and rules break the first time conditions don’t match the checklist. I teach the framework underneath them: why slopes fail, how weather builds the problem, and how groups talk themselves into bad calls. You’ll leave able to reason through terrain you’ve never seen, not just remember what not to do.

What You Will Learn

This AIARE 1 course follows the national AIARE curriculum and covers:

• Avalanche terrain recognition and hazard identification

• Snowpack, weather, and avalanche problem interpretation

• Backcountry trip planning and terrain selection

• Companion rescue (beacon, shovel, probe)

• Group communication and human factors

Emphasis is placed on applying these skills in real mountain environments.

Coming from Boston or NYC

Most of my students aren't local — they're driving up from Boston, New York, and around New England. That's normal here. It's 2.5 hours from Boston, about 5.5 from NYC. A lot of people just make it a weekend: drive up Friday night, course starts Saturday, home Sunday evening.

If you're weighing a course near you versus coming up here — Mount Washington has some of the most serious avalanche terrain in the Northeast. You're not learning theory in a parking lot. You're learning it where it actually matters.

Why Train in the White Mountains

Field sessions take place in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, including terrain influenced by Mount Washington.

This environment provides exposure to:

• Rapidly changing weather patterns

• Wind-loaded alpine terrain

• Variable snowpack conditions

• Real avalanche terrain decision-making

Training here builds judgment for Northeast backcountry skiing and splitboarding.

What's Next

After AIARE 1. Most of my students’ next step is a private ski touring day built around what they found hard on the course. From there, it’s bigger objectives, up to the Haute Route from Chamonix to Zermatt. Private ski days or [Haute Route

Booking & Availability

Courses are limited to 6 students to keep instruction personal. Booking early secures your preferred dates, especially mid-winter.

Bring your crew. Have a ski group of 4–6? Book every seat on one date and the course is yours: same people all weekend, same per-person price. Pick any date with 6 seats open, or email me for a private date.