On average 37 people are killed each year by avalanches in the United States alone. The people caught in them start almost all of these avalanches. Some basic level or training and knowledge can dramatically increase your margin of safety while traveling in the backcountry. In this four-day course, we will teach students what to look for in the snowpack, how to test stability, how to read terrain and avoid danger zones, and how to rescue themselves and partners if caught in an avalanche.