Mar 15, 2026 | AIARE Avalanche Education, Backcountry Skiing, Colorado, Education, Ski Mountineering
This spring in Colorado there was a pattern with the kinds of avalanches people were getting involved with: dry snow avalanches in a spring context. There are a couple nuances with this specific setup that can help us operate more effectively in the...
Dec 1, 2025 | AIARE Avalanche Education, Backcountry Skiing, Colorado
The use of the North American Danger Scale has a fair bit of nuance to it. Some people tend to get distracted by the “likelihood” verbiage especially when it comes to understanding the difference between Moderate and Considerable danger. In considerable danger...
Oct 4, 2025 | AIARE Avalanche Education, Backcountry Skiing, Education, Ski Mountineering
Colorado is known for big scary avalanches. But some seasons are worse than others. How do we tell if a season is going to be a scary one or a moderate one. A good way to understand it is through the idea of snow climates. Colorado’s mountains tend to follow the...
Aug 1, 2025 | Alpine Climb, Backcountry Skiing
In a recent article in the A3 journal, psychologist Maria Konnikova’s work around decision making was used an example to highlight the way our brains are hardwired to seek concrete answers. We want a clear cut answer, a concrete story about what is happening...
Oct 9, 2024 | AIARE Avalanche Education, Backcountry Skiing, Colorado
When it comes to avalanche education, I only use the curriculum developed by the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE). The main reason for this is the curriculum support and instructor standards created by the non profit structure. Non...
