Can anyone recommend a good AIARE Level 1 course in the Tahoe area? I'm a low-expert skier, but I've never used a touring set-up or skins before. I'm looking for a course that won't include a massive climb or really advanced touring skills, although if people here say that those skills are really essential, maybe I'll take an "intro to backcountry" course first. Thank you!
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Recommendations for AIARE Level 1 course in Tahoe?
- Thread starter skiwest
- Start date
bounceswoosh
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
You don't need advanced touring skills.
My only hesitation, if that's even the right word, is that you will be getting a huge info dump during the class. You might not be able to absorb quite as much information if you're distracted by the mechanics. But really, there aren't that many mechanics.
When I took it a couple of years ago in Colorado (and I'd like to take it again), we spent most of our time in the classroom. BUT it during what probably turned out to be the coldest week of the season - it's possible we would have spent more time outside if it had not been dangerously cold to be standing around talking.
My only hesitation, if that's even the right word, is that you will be getting a huge info dump during the class. You might not be able to absorb quite as much information if you're distracted by the mechanics. But really, there aren't that many mechanics.
When I took it a couple of years ago in Colorado (and I'd like to take it again), we spent most of our time in the classroom. BUT it during what probably turned out to be the coldest week of the season - it's possible we would have spent more time outside if it had not been dangerously cold to be standing around talking.
My friend who took the course back east said the same thing (right down to it being extremely cold so they had to take in tons of information inside), but she's just going to take it again. Perhaps I can at least do a quick uphill spin on my skis during a resort day to get the very basics down...
bounceswoosh
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Yeah, I would think that should be fine. Ideally you are not "stepping" but rather gliding your feet forward. The tricky part is when you have to deal with short downhill sections where you would leave your skins on. It feels VERY weird. We were running late one day and skied through cold, thus sticky, powder (poor us!) between trees - it wasn't tree skiing, more a traverse down to the trail, but I did get psyched out by the feel of skiing on skins, got into the back seat, and fell.
@skiwest , not sure if you are looking at North Lake or South Lake, but here's a list:
https://www.sierraavalanchecenter.org/education
ASI went through some flux recently and seems to be getting back in the game. Alpenglow has many of former ASI guides. Backcountry Babes offers both all-women and mixed-gender courses, but not as frequently as the other ones.
https://www.sierraavalanchecenter.org/education
ASI went through some flux recently and seems to be getting back in the game. Alpenglow has many of former ASI guides. Backcountry Babes offers both all-women and mixed-gender courses, but not as frequently as the other ones.
Thank you! I actually ended up signing up for an Alpenglow class in January (the location sounds super convenient). Backcountry Babes didn't have any dates that worked for me, but I would love to do an all-women's class in the future.
