AIARE Level 2, February 11-14, 2011

This is a bit of a trial. Trying out "mobile blogging". See if this works any easier than posting through the phone browser.

My most recent guiding assignment was teaching an AIARE Level 2 course. And it was quite the experience. We run far fewer of these courses, and the content requires far more preparation than a Level 1. So Howie and I worked very hard planning and executing this course. I hope that it showed...

Another neat, and somewhat intimidating, thing about a Level 2 is that the clientele is far more experienced than average. In the case off this course, we had ski-movie stars, full-time patrollers, globe-trotting ski bum lifers, and even a real live rock star!

The course provided quite the humbling experience for all involved. I was humbled by the athleticism and worldliness of these folks skiiing. And students absorbed a ton of info with great humility. At many instances in the course, folks exclaimed at just how lucky they had been to survive their backcountry careers up to this point.

Hopefully all now have an even better understanding of the avalanche phenomenon, and skills to help keep them out of trouble!