Recommendations for Avy 1 Course/Instructor in CO?

It's my first winter here in Colorado and coming from N. Vermont, I'm scared as hell of this snowpack. I've been trying to gain as much knowledge as possible over the summer, attending some local beacon practice sessions and I'm looking to take any Avy 1 class within the next month or so.

I live outside of Boulder, so plenty of options. I'm willing to drive a few hours if there's an instructor or course that's highly regarded. Closest option would be in RMNP. Seems like there are some good outfits in Estes.

Does anyone have experience with Eli Helmuth at Climbing Life out of RMNP? I also heard that Eldora put on a good course.

Any suggestions/advice would be appreciated.

It would be great to make some turns with CO mags this season if anyone is up for it. So far things are off to a strong start.

http://crestedbutteguides.com/annouc...nter-20132014/

Supporting the local crew, but they do run a really good course and the snowpack here *can* be more interesting than that of the front range.

I took this one in the san juans last year - I think that extra full day of touring really helps to put all the stuff together. The huts are unreal -

http://mtnguide.net/skiing-avalanche...-professional/

how many mtn. ranges did you ski last year?
mine, whistler, hoods, ec's somewhere, and rockies,
wow nice
b

we aint got no mtns back here - just practice hills to get ready for more exotic locales - smart move twd -

^^^^^^yer doin it wrong, JONG. still.

rog

These things always turn into "what I got/where I go" so here's mine:
http://avyschool.com/courses.html

But I will say Silverton has some major avy rock stars on the roster...at least when I took avy 2 there. I always fully recommend that place.

If you're willing to make the drive you can't do better than Silverton IMO.

Thanks for the recommendations (and for that vote of confidence, NoPost...) That San Juan hut trip/class looks badass. Long drive, but might be worth it to get into a more challenging snowpack and I'm sure it'd be sweet overall. Trying to book a course this week, so any more ideas are welcome.

Might just end up in RMNP and save the road trips/gas money for pow-chasing missions...

Tomorrow should be fun for anyone getting out on the mtn. Still scheming to get off of work, but considering it's my first week on the job, it's not looking good. Enjoy.

Edit to say: Going to put Silverton on the short list, now that you mention it. Got the unguided pass this year, so it would be good to tour around in that zone.

I did the 3 day hut based Avy 1 with SJMG and was super happy with it. Our class ended up being 4 people, my girlfriend and I and two 55-60 year olds who had minimal interest in bc skiing and wife was only there for the husband. Long story short they did not know how to put skins on and our instructor was going to call in a second instructor so that my girlfriend and I could have a real field day rather than being held back by the other two. It didn't end up coming to that due to a knee injury while skiing a 10 degree slope, but I was super impressed by the willingness to make sure that we got our money's worth.

Thanks for the reminder. I just signed up for the Silverton School Jan. 10-12. Only two tix left.

I like the focus on decision making.

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Originally Posted by hortence

Thanks for the reminder. I just signed up for the Silverton School Jan. 10-12. Only two tix left.

I like the focus on decision making.

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Nice. Just pulled the trigger on those last 2 spots at Silverton for me and my cousin. Glad to see there will be some other mags in the class... How many in your crew?

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How many in your crew?

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Just me. Most of my peeps down here don't like Silverton too much.

I was pretty happy with the instruction at Alpine World Ascents. They also focused heavily on decision making. For me, most of it was going through the paces trying to pick up differences between CO and WA (where I took my first Avy 1). I felt like everything they taught was extremely relevant to how me and most of my partners tend to tour in a location that has a very dangerous snowpack - heavy focus on planning, communication and route selection.

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Originally Posted by treewell-dweller

It's my first winter here in Colorado and coming from N. Vermont, I'm scared as hell of this snowpack. I've been trying to gain as much knowledge as possible over the summer, attending some local beacon practice sessions and I'm looking to take any Avy 1 class within the next month or so.

I live outside of Boulder, so plenty of options. I'm willing to drive a few hours if there's an instructor or course that's highly regarded. Closest option would be in RMNP. Seems like there are some good outfits in Estes.

Does anyone have experience with Eli Helmuth at Climbing Life out of RMNP? I also heard that Eldora put on a good course.

Any suggestions/advice would be appreciated.

It would be great to make some turns with CO mags this season if anyone is up for it. So far things are off to a strong start.

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You certainly will have a good time in Silverton, but I wish I had read this earlier. I took Eli's class and think it is a fantastic choice. A friend took Eldora's at the same time and we compared notes. The student teacher ratio is much better with Climbing Life, and Eli stays on top of new developments and leading edge info (versus the old "dig pits ad nauseum!" schools).

Regardless, welcome to Colorado, be safe, and have a great time here!

Colorado Mountain College Breckenridge offers the most affordable Level 1 courses in the state and they get top notch reviews from student surveys for their energetic and broadly experienced instructors. "The most I've ever learned in 3 days" is a common comment. Classes quickly fill up and have long wait lists. </shamelessselfpromotion>

I also very strongly recommend Rocky Mountain Guides and Alpine World Ascents.

Silverton Avalanche School is a great choice if you want to drive down there.

Thanks all for the responses. Many great options in this state.

Silencer, glad to hear you had a good experience with Eli for future reference, as I will likely take Avy 2 before long.

Going to be out in Silverton the next couple weekends, (this wknd to ski and next wknd for Avy1). I will report back on the course in case anyone is interested.

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Originally Posted by treewell-dweller

Thanks all for the responses. Many great options in this state.

Silencer, glad to hear you had a good experience with Eli for future reference, as I will likely take Avy 2 before long.

Going to be out in Silverton the next couple weekends, (this wknd to ski and next wknd for Avy1). I will report back on the course in case anyone is interested.

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I second silencer on taking the class with Eli. Get a nice tour of the park and Eli is a hell of a climber and skier. Small group, and legit. Check out his AMGA profile.

Just to add to the discussion, just finished my Avi 1 with Alpine World Ascents. Class led my Rob Coppolillo, AMGA Aspirant Guide, and assisted by his mentor and AWA owner Markus Beck, and by Gulmarg & New Zealand snow safety expert Brian Newman. Fantastic class, great instructors, lots of awesome insights from a variety of viewpoints... highly recommended.

I would suggest taking it in the range you plan on skiing the most if it is your first one. Our snowpacks are all slightly different and they can help you focus on the local isues. Also, try to take a course that visits where you might tour in the future.

I took mine up in Estes at CMS and really enjoyed it, we a had a 1:6 instructor:student ratio. That I've heard is unusual and it is normally a little lower around 1:9.

The Colorado Mountain Club lessons I've heard are terrible for a first time course. Any instructor/volunteer can show up and add their two cents which leads to a bunch of knowledgable people prioritizing and adding in a bunch of 'yes, but' which for your first class is not helpful.

Just got back from the Silverton Mountain School "Decision Making in Avalanche Terrain" course.

I took a class about a decade ago and it scared the shit out of me, but didn't really leave me with the analytic tools necessary to approach a day in avalanche terrain. Too much time standing around in pits, discussing crystal formation. Yeah, it's neat-o, but way too abstract for deciding to continue right now, on this aspect.

This class was different. We dug almost no pits, but instead created an analytic approach, an on-going and continuous process of data collection (observations) and decision making. With other like minded people doing the same thing, this approach will greatly increase safety.

Sure there were some speed bumps, but overall I'd give the course an A-.

It was good to meet TWD and tour around with him a bit.

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Originally Posted by Summit

I also very strongly recommend Rocky Mountain Guides and Alpine World Ascents.

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Not sure if the op has taken a course or not yet, but I would also strongly recommend Rocky Mountain Guides. I took my L1 with them, and I had a great experience. Prior to the course I had zero backcountry experience, but I had read lots online, and I had read Tremper, Snow Sense, and other material, which provided some nice technical information, but the RMG course really pulled it all together by looking at the big picture. I came out of the course with not only some excellent technical knowledge, but also with the beginning of a framework for my own backcountry philosophy.

Prior to the course I wouldn't venture in the bc because I was aware that I didn't know what I didn't know. I can honestly say that following the course, I was very comfortable venturing out. The knowledge that was gained about terrain management while on the field was totally invaluable. For me, skiing in CO in the winter, I learned a great deal on how to simply away from anything that could possibly slide. I might only be skiing 20 to 25 degree pitches, but I can now confidently assess whether or not I can safely access those areas, and this might result in me almost always saying "no go", but I'm fine with that. I'll ski the resort if I want steeper in the winter.

It was also very fortunate to have an excellent instructor and great classmates that were pretty much all on the same page. I made some touring partners that have similar goals for a tour.