Avalanche courses · Washington, Tahoe & the Eastern Sierra, Colorado and Utah
AIARE avalanche courses in the US, compared
AIARE 1, the one-day Avalanche Rescue course and AIARE 2, priced side by side across the Cascades, Tahoe, Colorado and Utah. Same national curriculum everywhere — the price, the format and the refund rules are what actually differ.
Start here
Where do you ski?
Copied from each provider’s own pages on Oct 20, 2026. Every “See dates” button opens the page we used. Where a page says which season a price is for, we show it. Prices change; the operator’s page wins if it disagrees with this one.
Read this before you pay a deposit
The curriculum is set nationally by AIARE, so a Level 1 in Colorado and a Level 1 in Tahoe teach the same 24 hours. What you are actually choosing between is price, format and who is teaching — and the price for the identical course runs from $528.50 to $759 that we found, a spread of more than 40%.
Do the rescue day. It is one day and $269–$329, it has no prerequisites, and it is the part of avalanche education you will actually use under pressure. It is also compulsory before AIARE 2, so buying it early costs you nothing.
Two providers fold the rescue day into Level 2: Sierra Mountain Guides starts its $680 AIARE 2 with it ($755 after Christmas), and Utah Mountain Adventures' $799 Level 2 runs 32 hours including an 8-hour rescue day. Against Alpenglow's $759 plus a separate $325 rescue course, that saves $285–$404 for the same two certificates.
Watch the student minimums. Mountain Madness's rescue course needs 3 students and its Level 2 needs 5 — a quiet date gets cancelled. It refunds in full when that happens, but you may be rebooking in January when everything is sold out.
AAI's $500 registration fee is most of a $725 Level 1, and under its domestic terms you lose all of the tuition inside 120 days. For a course you book in October for February, that window closes almost immediately. Compare that against providers who take a smaller deposit before you pick on price alone.
- AIARE 1 is 24 hours of contact time — pre-course online learning, classroom and backcountry field time — with no prerequisites beyond being able to travel in avalanche terrain with the right equipment. Providers split those 24 hours across days differently, so a 2-day and a 3-day AIARE 1 can be the same course. avtraining.org ↗
- Avalanche Rescue is a separate one-day (8-hour) course with no prerequisites. Taking it before AIARE 1 is optional — but it is required before AIARE 2. avtraining.org ↗
- AIARE 2 is a three-day (24-hour) course and requires both AIARE 1 and Avalanche Rescue first. avalanche.org ↗
- AIARE 1 teaches you to plan a backcountry trip, identify avalanche terrain, run the AIARE Risk Management Framework as a group and perform companion rescue. Expect roughly 40% classroom and 60% field work. avtraining.org ↗
- The recreational AIARE track (1, Rescue, 2) is separate from the professional track (AIARE Pro 1 and Pro 2), which is aimed at people working in the industry. avtraining.org ↗
The providers
Sierra Mountain Guides
- Based
- Bishop, CA
- Courses
- 4
- Refunds
- Trips in the lower 48 states: cancel 30+ days out for a refund minus $100 per booking. 14–30 days out: you owe 50% of the fee. Under 14 days: you owe the full fee. If SMG cancels for conditions, you can reschedule at no extra cost or request a refund in writing.
Policy from: sierramtnguides.com, sierramtnguides.com, sierramtnguides.com, sierramtnguides.com
Alpenglow Expeditions
- Based
- Olympic Valley, CA
- Courses
- 4
- Refunds
- Alpenglow points at a separate domestic cancellation policy we could not retrieve, and strongly recommends trip insurance. Ask for the schedule before you pay.
Policy from: alpenglowexpeditions.com, alpenglowexpeditions.com, alpenglowexpeditions.com, alpenglowexpeditions.com
American Alpine Institute
- Based
- Bellingham, WA
- Courses
- 4
- Deposit
- $500 registration fee on domestic programs, credited against tuition — a large share of a $725 course, so read the refund tiers before you book.
- Refunds
- Domestic programs: cancel more than 150 days out and AAI keeps the $500 fee. 120–150 days: the fee plus half the remaining tuition. Inside 120 days: the whole tuition. Requests must be in writing and received by the deadline, and AAI describes partial refunds as discretionary.
Policy from: alpineinstitute.com, alpineinstitute.com, alpineinstitute.com, alpineinstitute.com
Mountain Madness
- Based
- Seattle, WA
- Courses
- 2
- Deposit
- The deposit contains a non-refundable registration fee; the amount for these courses was not published where we looked.
- Refunds
- Domestic: full refund less the non-refundable registration fee at 91 days or more before departure, and no refund at 89 days or less. Its own wording leaves day 90 undefined. Full refund if Mountain Madness cancels for insufficient sign-ups — worth knowing, because these courses carry student minimums.
Policy from: mountainmadness.com, mountainmadness.com, mountainmadness.com
Colorado Mountain School
- Based
- Estes Park, CO
- Courses
- 6
- Refunds
- Courses and custom guiding: cancel 30+ days out for a full refund minus a 15% processing fee, or full credit. 8–29 days out: credit minus 15%. Within 7 days: no refund or exchange. No refund for no-shows or leaving early. If CMS cancels for weather, low enrollment or safety, you get a full refund or credit.
Policy from: coloradomountainschool.com, coloradomountainschool.com, coloradomountainschool.com, coloradomountainschool.com
Utah Mountain Adventures
- Based
- Salt Lake City, UT
- Courses
- 2
- Refunds
- Not published on the pages we could read. Get the schedule in writing before you pay.
Policy from: utahmountainadventures.com, utahmountainadventures.com
Get an email when bookings open
Avalanche courses sell out by December most winters. Get an email when we see new dates or price changes.
Before and after the trip
Most programs start in Washington, Tahoe & the Eastern Sierra, Colorado and Utah. Lodging is extra on nearly all of them.
More comparisons
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Sources
- avtraining.org/aiare-level-1/
- avtraining.org/motorized/
- avalanche.org/avalanche-courses/
- avtraining.org/recprogram/
- avtraining.org/aiare-pro-1/
- sierramtnguides.com/avalanche-courses/
- sierramtnguides.com/tour-item/aiare-i-avalanche-course/
- sierramtnguides.com/tour-item/aiare-companion-rescue/
- sierramtnguides.com/tour-item/aiare-2-avalanche-courses/
- sierramtnguides.com/tour-item/arcteryx-aiare-1-avalanche-course/
- alpenglowexpeditions.com/adventure/aiare-1-hybrid-avalanche-education
- alpenglowexpeditions.com/adventure/aiare-1-3-day-avalanche-course
- alpenglowexpeditions.com/adventure/womens-hybrid-aiare-1-avalanche-education
- alpenglowexpeditions.com/adventure/south-lake-aiare-rescue
- alpenglowexpeditions.com/adventure/lake-tahoe-aiare-2
- alpenglowexpeditions.com/adventure/south-lake-aiare-2
- alpineinstitute.com/programs/avalanche-training-aiare-1/
- alpineinstitute.com/programs/avalanche-rescue-course-aiare/
- alpineinstitute.com/programs/avalanche-training-aiare-2/
- alpineinstitute.com/programs/avalanche-refresher-aiare-1/
- alpineinstitute.com/policies/terms-conditions/
- mountainmadness.com/classes/avalanche-rescue-education-course
- mountainmadness.com/classes/avalanche-course-level-2-course-2
- mountainmadness.com/policies/trip-terms-and-conditions
- coloradomountainschool.com/course-category/avalanche-training/
- coloradomountainschool.com/course/avalanche-level-2/
- coloradomountainschool.com/product/aiare-avalanche-rescue/
- coloradomountainschool.com/product/avalanche-safety-development-series/
- coloradomountainschool.com/product/aiare-1-hut-trip/
- coloradomountainschool.com/product/aiare-2-hut-trip/
- utahmountainadventures.com/courses/avalanche-level-2/
- utahmountainadventures.com/courses/avalanche-rescue/
- Each course’s own page, linked from its “See dates” button.