Prior to AIARE, there was no national curriculum recognition for avalanche education in the USA. The American Avalanche Association (A3) has “recommended guidelines” that AIARE adheres to. However, the A3 distributes no unified curriculum. We support the A3 and all AIARE instructors are members of the A3. There are many avalanche courses and programs available but in large part, course providers operate according to their own personal beliefs and ideas. There are few means for the public to assess the quality of an avalanche course or instructor.
AIARE’s Birth
AIARE was formed to give the public a means to assess the quality of an avalanche course or instructor. We develop curriculum standards for a complete program of avalanche courses that meets the needs of students at all levels, from recreational to professional and from novice to advance. AIARE creates course materials for instructors and students to maximize the effectiveness of both teachers and learners. We require instructors to meet pre-requisites and attend training sessions before they are allowed access to AIARE materials and curriculum.
In addition, instructors are required to:
- sign an agreement stating they will abide by the AIARE guidelines
- attend regular refreshers to maintain their currency
- improve their avalanche knowledge, instructional skills, and their understanding of the evolving AIARE curriculum and materials.
Standards and Guidelines
The AIARE standards and guidelines are not unilateral declarations by an elite group. Where applicable, AIARE standards and guidelines adhere to existing national and international standards. These include those developed by the American Avalanche Association and the Canadian Avalanche Association. In addition, AIARE consults with qualified instructors when developing new curriculum or materials so the products we develop and distribute are based on a wide variety of experience, background, and knowledge. The result is a consensus driven process that has produced an avalanche education program and training courses that meet the needs of the trainers and course participants alike.
Curriculum Use
Because the AIARE curriculum and materials are not owned by a private, for-profit organization they can be disseminated to people who share our educational philosophy and who meet the requirements for qualification as an instructor. By making our products available to anyone who qualifies, we hope to stimulate healthy competition in the marketplace. This competition will not be based on curriculum or quality of materials but on delivery, venues, and instructor quality. We feel this will result in a better education for students.
AIARE Purpose
The end result is that you need not be concerned about the curriculum or the materials when you sign up for AIARE avalanche training. You can be confident you’ll get the same information from any AIARE course or instructor no matter where you take your course. Rather than wasting time shopping for a good curriculum and quality materials, leave that to AIARE. You can concentrate on finding a course that has a location, venue, and instructor team that meets your personal needs.
Finally, you as a student have a means to influence the ongoing evolution of the program, the courses, the materials, and the instructors. Course providers are required to report student feedback to AIARE on a regular basis. Students also have direct access to AIARE if they wish to voice concerns, give feedback, or provide ideas for improvements.
A Short History of AIARE
In 1992, Jean Pavillard, AIARE Co-Founder, was instructing guide courses for the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA). During a spring course in the California Sierra, he met visiting guide, Karl Klassen. His chance to meet Karl led to the eventual formation of AIARE.
Karl and Jean have full certification as IFMGA guides. Karl’s is from Canada and Jean’s is from Switzerland. They were living in Crested Butte, Colorado at the time. From the start, they both agreed the guide candidates presented an uneven avalanche knowledge during their California courses.
United States
At the time, the United States had no nationally recognized curriculum although the American Avalanche Association (A3) had published avalanche course guidelines. While many excellent avalanche course providers existed, avalanche education lacked consistency across providers. Consequently, candidates came with varying degrees of knowledge.
Meanwhile, backcountry recreation was becoming increasingly popular. More and more, people were heading into avalanche terrain. They could start to see the benefits of education on risk mitigation in the backcountry.
Tom Murphy was course director for Jean’s guiding company, Adventures to the Edge in Crested Butte, Colorado. He saw a need for a unified approach to avalanche education. People needed a method, a framework for assessing risk and moving through avalanche terrain. With Karl’s course curriculum development experience, he began assisting Tom and Jean.
AIARE is Born
AIARE was born from this collaboration. Course providers began to hear about AIARE, and they became interested in the development of the program. AIARE worked on integrating national and international standards. They began to incorporate a ’decision makers’ approach to risk management in avalanche education. An instructor training program was initiated to keep instructors consistent to provide information exchange and professional development.
Today, the organization provides avalanche education to more backcountry travelers than any other single avalanche education organization in the United States.
What AIARE Does
AIARE was established as a 501(c)3 tax exempt non-profit educational organization in 1998.
They develop research based Professional and Recreational avalanche training for backcountry users in the United States, South America and Europe.
AIARE’s Recreational Program is represented by over 100 Course Providers and 450 AIARE-trained Instructors. The Professional Program designs the training and instructs professionals to promote workplace safety.
For our curriculum and training, we gather the latest knowledge, research, and ideas in avalanche safety. We use this to create avalanche training courses that reflect the needs of today’s backcountry travelers and professionals.
AIARE’s Goals
- Increase the public awareness of avalanches and avalanche safety.
- Provide high quality avalanche education thereby enhancing public awareness and safety.
- Provide avalanche instructors with the curriculum, training and tools with which to educate students about the knowledge, methods, and decision making skills necessary to travel in avalanche terrain.
- Develop an international network of professional avalanche educators, and provide professional development in the form of instructor training and continued professional education.
- Promote safety for all avalanche workers through professional avalanche training.
- Fund projects that develop avalanche course support materials for educators and students.