Avalanche Level 1

How the course runs

Weather and snowpack decide the details. What follows is the shape of the course. Your instructors will change the venue or the order when conditions give them a reason to — and explaining that reasoning is itself part of the teaching.

Before you arrive

Do the online module properly

The single most useful thing you can do before the course.

It’s self-paced, takes six to eight hours, and you do it at home. The field days are built on the assumption that you’ve done it, and the people who skip it spend day one catching up on material everyone else already has.

Give it real attention rather than clicking through. Don’t leave it to the night before the seminar.

The live evening seminar

Online, the night before the first field day. You’ll need a laptop or tablet and about an hour — a phone works but you’ll be squinting at maps.

You’ll meet your instructors, look at the current conditions together, and get the plan for the morning.

Where and when you’ll meet

Field days run in the Salt Lake or Provo area mountains. The exact venue is confirmed close to the course, once we know what the snowpack is doing — so don’t book anything that assumes a fixed trailhead.

Early starts. Winter days are short and the teaching needs the daylight.

Canyon parking usually requires a fee. Bring a card or cash.

If you’re new to touring gear

Put your skins on at home once, before the course. Learning how your bindings switch modes is much easier in a warm room than in a car park in December.

If you’ve rented, do it the evening you pick the gear up.

Getting ready

You don’t need to train for this. But if you have a few weeks, hiking uphill with a loaded pack is the most specific preparation there is. The course isn’t a fitness test — you’ll just learn more if the earlier days haven’t emptied you.

Day one — observation

Into the field, and straight into making observations that mean something: snowpack, weather, and what the two are doing to each other.

Terrain assessment starts here and never stops for the rest of the course — slope angle, aspect, what’s above you and what’s below you.

Beacon rescue in the afternoon, run as a scenario rather than a demonstration. You’ll search under time pressure, with a probe and a shovel, until it works.

Day two — judgment

The morning starts with a plan built from the current advisory and what you saw yesterday.

Stability tests: how to run them, how to read them, and how much weight they actually deserve in a decision. This is the part most courses teach as a procedure and we teach as a judgment.

More terrain, more travel technique, and the running conversation about consequence — not just could this slide but what happens to me if it does.

Day two closes with the final debrief: what you’d do differently, what to work on next, and an honest read on where your judgment sits. Certification on completion.

Certification

An AAI Level 1 certificate of completion, awarded after the online module, the evening seminar and all field days — both field days.

Weather and hazard

We teach in weather. Bad weather makes some of the instruction better. Some of the best judgment lessons happen on the worst days.

High avalanche danger is instructive, not disqualifying. It changes the terrain we use. Your instructors choose ground that suits the day’s hazard, and the reasoning behind that choice is part of what you came to learn.

If conditions become unsafe or unworkable, we’ll change the venue or talk to you about rescheduling.

Getting here and where to stay

Getting here

Salt Lake City International is about 35–45 minutes from the field areas, with direct flights from most of the country. It’s one of the easiest mountain destinations in the US to reach, and the drive from the airport to the canyons is short enough that people underestimate it.

You’ll need a car. Rideshare into the canyons works but is unreliable coming back out, and the meeting times are early.

Where to stay

The night before matters most — the seminar is that evening and the first field day starts early.

In Salt Lake City: more choice, cheaper, and about 30–45 minutes from the canyons in the morning.

In the Cottonwood Canyons — Alta, Snowbird, Solitude, Brighton: closer to the field areas and a shorter, less stressful morning drive. More expensive, and canyon road closures for avalanche control are a real possibility on a storm morning, which cuts both ways depending on which side of the closure you’re sleeping.

Tell us your dates and we’ll say which suits that course better.

If you’re building a longer trip

Clients regularly add a guided ski day either side of a course, while the learning is fresh. After the January course, the free MLK Monday is the natural slot. Ask and we’ll tell you whether conditions justify it.

Is this for you?

If you’ve toured a season or two and want the certification with real depth behind it, yes.

If you’ve never toured, no — take Backcountry Essentials first. Two days, no camping, and you’ll get far more out of Level 1 the season after. We’d rather tell you that now than take your money twice.

What you need

Touring experience. This course assumes it. You should be able to skin, transition and travel without thinking hard about the equipment, because your attention needs to be on the snow rather than your bindings.

Skiing or riding ability. Intermediate to advanced — comfortable on steep blue to black terrain, in ungroomed and variable snow.

Solid fitness. You don’t need to be fast. You need to still be thinking clearly on the last morning — which is a different requirement, and the one people underestimate.

No prior avalanche education. We start at the beginning.

Two days or three?

This page is for the two-day course. It’s a complete course, not a reduced one — the right choice if you want the certification and a solid foundation, you’re fitting it around work, or you’re not sure yet how deep you want to go.

If there’s a bigger objective ahead — Baker, Alaska, an expedition — or you want to find out how your judgment holds up tired and cold, look at Avalanche Level 1 with Winter Camping: three field days, two nights out, same certificate.

Who this is really for

People who’ve been touring with the advisory open on their phone, following the recommendation without fully understanding the reasoning, and want to close that gap.

People who want the certification for its own sake — as a prerequisite, for a partner’s peace of mind, or as a foundation to build on.

And people with something bigger ahead, who know that snow judgment is what everything else sits on.

Who this is not for

If you’ve never toured — Backcountry Essentials first.

If you want a guided powder day, book one. This is a course. You’ll spend real time standing still, digging, discussing and running scenarios. That’s the point, and it’s worth knowing before you arrive.

Essentials or Level 1?

Most people who do both do Essentials first and Level 1 a season later. Some go straight to Level 1 and do fine. Tell us what you’ve skied and we’ll give you a straight answer — including “wait a year” if that’s the honest one.

Age

The minimum age is 13. Anyone under 18 will need a parent or guardian to sign on their behalf.

Gear and equipment

What we provide

• WMG instructors
• The online module and all course materials
• Avalanche beacon, shovel, probe and pack, if you need them

What you bring

Your touring setup

• Alpine touring, telemark or splitboard equipment with skins
• Ski or snowboard boots
• Poles with powder baskets

Clothing

• Non-cotton base layers, top and bottom
• An insulating layer — fleece, synthetic or down
• Waterproof, windproof shell jacket and pants or bibs
• Wool socks, and a spare pair
• Two pairs of gloves — warm ones and a lighter pair for going uphill. You will want both.
• Warm hat
• Sunglasses and goggles
• Helmet, recommended
• Sunscreen

A headlamp with fresh batteries, and a spare set. Winter days are short and canyon starts are early.

Food and water

• Two litres of water per day. Bladders freeze — bottles are more reliable.
• Lunch and quick energy snacks for every field day
• A thermos of something hot, when it’s cold

Renting touring equipment

Book it before you fly. In a busy season, and especially around the holiday weekends, the good touring setups go early.

Rent your touring setup in Salt Lake City, and sort it out before you fly. Skimo Co is our main rental shop; the others are good alternatives, especially for splitboards. Avalanche gear comes from us and is included in the course rate.

Skimo Co — our main rental shop. 2477 E Fort Union Blvd, Cottonwood Heights · 801-942-9084. Touring skis, boots and skins. In store, first come, first served, Monday to Saturday 11am–6pm — pick up the day before. No splitboards.

evo Salt Lake City — 660 S 400 W, Suite 300 · 385-379-3172. Ski and splitboard packages with boots. Booking online ahead is cheaper.

Salty Peaks — 3055 E 3300 S, Millcreek · 801-467-8000. Touring skis and splitboards, by the day or the week.

University of Utah Campus Recreation — 1836 Student Life Way · 801-581-8516. Open to the public; touring skis and splitboards. Snow rentals stop in mid-April.

Wasatch Touring — 702 E 100 S · 801-359-9361. Call ahead to confirm what’s available.

White Pine Touring (Park City) — 1790 Bonanza Dr · 435-649-8710. Alpine touring and telemark packages.

If you rent one thing, make it boots that fit. More people have a bad course because of boots than because of skis, and it is the hardest problem to fix at 7am in a parking lot.

On borrowing versus buying

Avalanche gear — borrow from us the first time and decide afterwards. Your instructor will tell you honestly what’s worth owning, and they have no reason to point you at anything in particular.

A note on the December date

The December course runs on an early-season snowpack — colder, shallower, and with the shortest daylight of the season.

That’s exactly why it teaches well. It also means warm gloves, a warm hat and a headlamp matter more on that date than on the others, and standing still to dig and discuss is colder work than moving. Bring the extra layer.

Not sure about a piece of your equipment?

Send us a photo. We’d rather sort it out a week early than at the trailhead.

Rates and booking

Rates

Certificate: AAI Level 1 certificate of completion.

Minimum two clients for a course to run. 2–4 clients per guide.

2026–27 dates

Complete the online module before you arrive. The live seminar runs the evening before the first field day.

Looking for the three-day course with winter camping? See Avalanche Level 1 with Winter Camping.

Private and custom dates are available for groups of two or more, December through February.

What’s included — and what isn’t

Fitting it around work

Both dates sit on a weekend, and the January course falls on a holiday weekend.

Sat 5 – Sun 6 December — an ordinary weekend. No time off.

Sat 16 – Sun 17 January — Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. No time off, and the Monday is free if you want a guided day while the course is still fresh in your hands.

How to book

1. Contact us with your dates, which course you want, and how many of you there are.
2. We’ll confirm availability and send you the registration link.
3. You register directly with Wasatch Mountain Guides. The link is WMG-branded; that’s expected. You’ll complete the application, sign the acceptance of risk, and pay in full there.
4. You’ll get a confirmation email with the online module access, the seminar link, a full kit list, and your instructor’s contact details.

What to tell us when you register

• What you’ve toured, honestly. It changes how your instructor pitches the first morning.
• What equipment you need from us — avalanche gear
• Whether you run cold. Useful information, and it changes what we send you out with.
• Injuries or medical conditions your instructors should know about

You’ll complete an application and sign an acknowledgement and acceptance of risk with WMG before the course. Please read it rather than clicking through.

Minimum age: 13. Anyone under 18 needs a parent or guardian to sign.

More questions? Choosing between Backcountry Essentials, Level 1 and the winter camping course is covered in the Avalanche Education FAQ. Booking, payment, cancellation, insurance and tipping are in the General FAQ. Dates, rates and cancellation terms for this course are on Rates & Booking.