Avalanche Courses

If the class you’re interested in attending is not available please sign our waitlist

Instructors for the Avalanche Courses

Our instructional staff consists of highly qualified individuals from our community. We are pleased to have Erich Peitzsch, Jenny Cloutier, Lloyd Morsett, Morgan Goetting, Jamie Burkholder, Kody Coxen, Burket Kniveton, Hannah Farrell, Jeremiah Primmer, James Young, and Paul Fotter joining us in this capacity. Each is an active and experienced trainer and backcountry enthusiast. In order to meet or exceed the American Avalanche Association (AAA) guidelines for student-to-instructor ratio, each course will have one lead instructor and two co-instructors.

Location

All classroom and field studies will be held at Whitefish Mountain Resort and in the backcountry immediately surrounding.

Parking

Most instructors will have students convene at 8:00 at the lift plaza kiosk, in between the bottoms of Chairs 1 and 2 (but please check your email before your course with your instructor’s information). Here’s the tricky part: at Whitefish Mountain Resort most of the free parking lots are down low at Chair 6, which will not be running that time of the morning. The paid lots open at 8:00. So your options are to park down low, and hike up Chair 6 (make sure to give yourself time for this), or you can pay to park at the upper lots and have an easy walk to the lift plaza. On weekends - Birch Lot: $15, Cedar Lot: $10, and Dogwood Lot: $5 or free if you carpool with 3+ people. Larch Lot is also free, near the Kandahar Lodge, if you’d prefer free parking with a 5-10 minute walk on the road. If this all sounds confusing (it is!) here’s some more info and a handy map that should help.

Lift Ticket & Access

The resort is providing day-use tickets for students and/or instructors who do not have a season pass. During our field study days, the resort will also grant students and instructors lift access at 8:30 am.

  • • Whitefish Mountain Resort ski pass (if you don’t have one please let us know that you need a day ticket)

    • Skis or split-board (must be fitted with some sort of brake/retention device)

    • Skins for skis or split-boards (no snowshoes)

    • Boots

    • Ski poles (also required for snowboarders)

    • Avalanche transceiver (with two or more antennas)

    • Avalanche shovel (no plastic shovels)

    • Avalanche probe (at least 260cm length)

    • Sunglasses

    • Goggles

    • Sunscreen

    • Ski pants or bibs

    • Ski jacket or shell

    • Warm gloves and/or mittens (at least 2 pairs of hand-warming clothing is preferable)

    • Warm hat

    • Neck gaiter or scarf

    • Water bottle and/or thermos

    • Lunch/snack food

    • Warm Layers (extra insulation for the non-moving time in the snow pit like a “puffy” jacket)

    • Backpack with a reasonable method for attaching skis/board

    • Be prepared to fit all of your belongings into your backpack! Students will not have indoor storage space while we are in the field.

  • • Compass (phone is acceptable)

    • Inclinometer (compasses with inclinometers are fine - we recommend app called Theodolite)

    • Pencil

    • Snow saw (required for Level 2 courses)

    • Rutschblock/ECT cord (provided for students)

    • Magnifying lens/loupe (recommended for Level 2 courses)

    • Crystal screen/card (required for Level 2 courses)

    • Folding ruler or marked probe (marked in centimeters)

  • • Pencil

    • Notebook/paper/tablet

  • • Camera for reviewing avalanches, pits, or noteworthy terrain observed in the field

    • Tablet/phone with wireless connection for accessing remote weather data, avalanche advisories.

    • Hand/foot warmers

  • • Rocky Mountain Outfitter (Kalispell) sells most of the snow study gear and, of course, other stuff.

    • Great Northern Cycle and Ski in Whitefish sells most backcountry ski and avalanche rescue equipment.

    • Stumptown Snowboards in Whitefish sells splitboard equipment.

    Some recommended brands:

    • Backcountry Access

    • SnowPit Technologies

    • Snow Metrics

    • Rite In The Rain (make sure it is spiral bound, recommended: No. 313)

Level I Avalanche Course Details

Level I Avalanche Course Details
Level II Avalanche Course Details

Level II Avalanche Course Details

Cancellation Policy

Cancellations received up to 30 days prior to the registered course are eligible to receive a refund less a $50 service fee. Cancellations received up to 14 days prior to the registered course are eligible to receive a refund of 50%. Cancellations within 14 days of the registered course will NOT be eligible for a refund. No exceptions.

Cancellation requests are made on the website OR via email directly to The Patrol Fund, Inc.

Due to the everchanging policies regarding Covid-19 please be aware that in the case a course is canceled, full refunds will be administered to all participants.