Replying to Avalanche Classesr, help me get into the BC!

Hello guys, slowly putting together a side/backcountry set up all i need is a beacon and a shovel to finish it off. I've been looking around online for some classes and I've found some stuff at Mountain Adventure/ REI but they only seem to have classes and workshops in the winter, same as other agency's I've looked into. I know that the ideal thing is to take a class in the winter so you can work in the field and get an overall better grasp of things but is there anything you'd recommend so that I can get ahead of the game? Any classes you've taken or other people have taken would be great recommendations thanks.