Level 2
Backcountry travelers who have completed the Level 1 wish to enhance their skills are a good fit for the Level 2 course. We recommend acquiring at least 1-year of skill practice since the completion of a Level 1 course. Avalanche Rescue will be a focus of day 1 of this course and a separate rescue certification card will be issued. The course is centered around avalanche hazard evaluation, observation, and decision-making, and offers a unique opportunity to practice those skills at Hatcher Pass or Turnagain Pass. Classroom sessions focus on the development of the snowpack, understanding the avalanche problem, including persistent and deep slab instabilities, avalanche mechanics and utilizing snow and weather resources to trip plan. In the field, Level 2 curriculum concentrates on snow stability evaluation techniques, detailed snowpack analysis, and documentation. Participants in this workshop will be introduced to documentation and record keeping as per the Snow, Weather, and Avalanches: Observation Guidelines for Avalanche Programs in the United States (SWAG) handbook. Instructors seek to study a variety of snowpack conditions, and recent avalanches are used for analysis when possible. Specific topics covered include:
