Course Outline
The Advanced Avalanche Awareness course is a practical course with most of the time spent on the mountain. The main aim of the course is to develop each participant's ability to travel safely in avalanche terrain and on completion of the course you will be able to forecast avalanche hazards, navigate and find suitable routes in avalanche terrain and undertake complex search and rescue.

The course content includes the following topics:

A. Snow, slopes and triggers
• Revision of topics from the Foundation Course
• Snow profile comparisons and analysis
• Field test comparisons and analysis
• Weather forecast analysis
• Avalanche hazard forecasting

 B. Information, observation and decision making
• Revision of topics from the Foundation Course
• Weather observations
• Detailed terrain evaluation
• Advanced route choice, navigation and group organisation
• Analysis of decision making and risk reduction techniques

C. Rescue organisation, searching and emergency care
• Revision of topics from the Foundation Course
• Advanced transceiver exercises and rescue scenarios

Dates
All courses will take place in Chamonix
Other dates & venues available for private groups on request.

Price
The price includes all course fees, all training materials and the Certification of Training.

Course Duration
Three days and two evenings. A total of 28 hours of contact time of which around 75% is practical.

Trainers
The training will be provided by fully-qualified IFMGA British Mountain Guides and BASI 1 Instructors who are approved to teach the Advanced Avalanche Awareness courses.

Skill Level & Pre-requisites
Participants on the advanced level course must be competent off-piste skiers or boarders. Introductory Level course certification or equivalent training/experience is required. A winter of practical experience after the introductory-level course is recommended before taking the advanced-level course.

Equipment
Participants will need to bring their own skis/boards and a day pack.
On request trainers can provide the safety equipment: transceiver, shovel and probe.
For the classroom activities, you should bring a notebook and pen.
Participants must also have a valid lift pass.

Group Numbers
The maximum group size is 6 per instructor.

Getting to Chamonix
The easiest way to get to Chamonix from the UK is to fly. The nearest airport is Geneva and the transfer time from the airport is about 75 minutes.
Our friends at Easyjet tend to have the most affordable flights and a comprehensive service that serves many UK regional airports including Bristol, Belfast, Bournemouth, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Luton, Gatwick, Liverpool and Nottingham/East Midlands.
Check www.easyjet.com for more details.

Recommended accommodation in Chamonix
Accommodation is not included in the price of the courses. For anyone requiring accommodation there are lots of hotels in Chamonix starting at about £35 per night for B&B. Contact our office for more information.

What previous participants say
“The course was great - really interesting & informative. Great instructors & we all got a lot out of the course - will definitely recommend it!”
“Good balance of theory and practice. Excellent opportunity to learn how to use the search equipment. Raised all the questions I should be asking myself”
“Our instructor was excellent. I feel very lucky to have done the course with someone of his caliber and experience. He was a great teacher for all of us who were at different levels and experience.”

Insurance
It is a condition of booking that you are insured for off-piste skiing covering personal accident, rescue and third party risks. You are strongly advised also to take out cover against cancellation and curtailment.
If you are looking to purchase insurance for your trip we recommend SNOWCARD. They specialise in travel insurance for adventure sports particularly skiing and snowboarding. Their rates for both single trip and annual policies are very competitive.

For details on their policies and to get a quote click here or contact our office for further details.