Avalanche safety courses?

Marmot does one as well.

I believe Baker's is actually a university level class, you'll get credits for it.

i took the one at baker. 3 days 9:00-4:00, $150. i learned a lot of new stuff about snow science, how to chech avalanche safety in a pit, and warnign signs.. Each day had the morning in the classroom and afternoons in the field. I think it was a good class. on the last day we got to run through 3 separate avalanche situations in a group, which really helped me. i would reccomend you to do it. its definetly worth the money. i havent dug any snow pits or used snow science yet, but propbably the number 1 thing i pulled away from the course is how to evaluate a backcountry run to see if it will slide - asking questions like are there other avalanches nearby? whats the nwac forecast? is it warming up? is it in the sun? whats the steepness? are there safety zones/are they easily accesible? how well do i know the line? wind loading? etc. i have probably taken about 6 serious backcountry runs (hiking) so far this year and i havent felt bad about a situation yet. i would say is knowing when to ski what line in what conditions with which people will keep you alive. the course is desinged to equal the american avalance association level 1 training.

i took one through the REI in bham, and it sounds similar, besides that we only had one full day of field training. but yeah, knowing how to stay away from terrain traps and trigger points and stuff is extremely important, and although i didnt get OB much at all this year, im very glad i took the class.

i learned stuff from the best pro patrol in washington, he did some stuff at crystal mt.