Head Further into the Backcountry by Taking Your Avalanche Safety Skills to the Next Level

Taking an AST 2 course is an essential ingredient for the intermediate backcountry skier or splitboarder who wants to start exploring more complex avalanche terrain safely and independently. Unlike an AST 1, participants can expect to be fully involved in the day-to-day selection of routes and objectives on this course, with the support and feedback of your guides. You'll also be introduced to more advanced stability tests and snowpack analysis.

At ACC Adventures, we cover the standardized curriculum (as outlined by Avalanche Canada) but with an ACMG ski guide as well as a CAA professional license holder on staff, we've gone much further to create a customized program that caters specifically to skiers and splitboarders.

This year we have two versions of our AST 2 Course:

1. The Original (multiple offerings): This is our standard course that happens over 4 consecutive days. You will enjoy a classroom day in the ACC Clubhouse's Heritage room with beautiful views over the Bow Valley and a field day in nearby Kananaskis or Bow Summit - the perfect learning environment. For those coming from further afield we also have on-site, award-winning accommodation available for a modest additional fee. The following three days will be out in the field around Canmore, Banff and Lake Louise.

2. Wheeler Hut Edition (March 25-28): This year we are offering for the first time a chance to take the course in the world famous backcountry ski destination of Rogers Pass. Wheeler Hut allows access to multiple terrain choices for learning as well as a backcountry trip experience of staying in the classic Wheeler Hut. Food will not be provided so you also have the chance to see what it's like to organize and pack food for a hut trip. The ski in is less than 2km but make sure you can carry your pack!

Head over to the "Register Now" button to choose the edition that best fits you!

Camp Objectives

Field Days will have a heavy focus on getting students into the lead and making decisions on the move. Your guides will introduce a variety of new snow stability tests, as well as a more advanced set of snowpack analysis skills and their application, not previously introduced on the AST 1 course.

All our students receive a certificate upon successful completion of the course. The AST 1 is a prerequisite certification course you are expected to have before attending AST 2.

Day by Day Adventure Itinerary

Day 1

Participants meet at 8:30am in the Heritage Room at the ACC’s Canmore Clubhouse. Curriculum topics which will be covered this day include:

Review of the basic principles of avalanche phenomena
Terrain photo study – how to recognize avalanche terrain & choosing routes
Accessing public avalanche forecasts – where to find them; their strengths and limitations
Snowpack metamorphism – what actually drives change in the snowpack
Snowpack layering, crystal shapes, temperature gradients
Emergency response review
Trip planning considerations
Equipment choice, use, and maintenance
Identifying hazards
Route plans
Emergency contacts
Timings & turnaround times
Introduce the principles of companion rescue with multiple burials
Review of our “Guide’s Pack” & discussion about appropriate gear selection for avalanche terrain
Discussion and route planning for the objective for Day 2.

Day 2, 3 and 4

Meeting times, locations and objectives will vary each day but you can guarantee you will be out in the field with your instructor(s), typically either in Kananaskis Country or the Icefields Parkway, making real-life observations and gaining hands-on experience. Curriculum topics which will be covered over these days include:

Review of transceiver checks – range and transmit function checks
How to use avalanche & weather forecasts in your decision making
Use of the AVALUATOR as a travel tool
Hazard identification and mitigation
Identifying areas of increased hazard
Good travel habits
Group management & decision making
Snowpack observations & snow stability analysis
Review the procedure for a compression test
Introduce new snow stability tests and discuss when to use them
Extended Column Tests
Propagation saw tests
Deep Tap Tests
Companion Rescue – dealing with multiple burial situations

Evening Sessions

Each evening of the field days, the group will reconvene in the ACC Clubhouse Heritage Room after the opportunity to grab some dinner and a shower - usually around 6.30pm. We will review how the day went, including our observations and how our snow pack analysis compared with the avalanche forecast. We will also preview the avalanche forecast for the following field day. These evening sessions are not mandatory but are highly recommended to get the most out of your AST 2 experience!

Is this Camp For Me?

Intermediate

To receive the AST 2 Certificate, participants must first take the AST 1 Program. This program is open to all ACC members who are at least an intermediate or type II skier and have an interest in learning about avalanche phenomena in more challenging and complex mountain terrain. Participants can expect longer and more physical days than on the AST 1 Course.

Food, Accommodation and Guiding

Food

To keep the cost of this course as low as possible for participants, food will not be provided as part of the course. So please brink along your peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (or favoured alternative), a packed lunch and some snacks for each day.

Accommodation

As this course is offered out of the ACC Clubhouse in Canmore, we welcome all participants to stay with us and enjoy the remote atmosphere that surrounds us. Located on a high bench overlooking the Three Sisters, Ha Ling and Mount Rundle, the ACC Clubhouse is the perfect place to relax while completing your course. You can reserve your room while completing your booking or by using the contact details at the top of this page.

For full details on the Canmore Clubhouse accommodation click here.

Guiding

Our dedicated on-staff ACC guide Doug Latimer oversees our AST programs. Doug has almost 20 years of experience in teaching AST and other winter instructional courses, as well as in developing course materials and winter guiding. We are extremely excited to have him on board for our 2018/19 season going forward and believe it will make our courses the best ever in terms of standardization and professionalism.

The tours we did were fab and far exceded my expectations! I'm still buzzing from the course!

An over-all excellent learning experience

The guides instruction brought everything together into a package that will give me much needed confidence in the backcountry.

The guide did an excellent job ensuring each person was getting as much out of it as they needed/wanted to. He kept the environment open for comments and was not afraid to challenge your thinking.

The guide was there to share as much knowledge as possible & provide the highest level of mentorship to a group of young adventure enthusiasts. All the information the course was designed to deliver was delivered in a manner & style that was so comprehensible you couldn’t help but to absorb it.

- Past ACC AST Course Participants-

Adventure Map

more information

Email us
403 678 3200 ext. 213
Gear list

Organizing Fantastic ACC Adventures For Over 100 Years

Local Knowledge - based out of Canmore, AB, we know the Rockies region and the best local caterers, guides and porters
Dedicated resources - full-time office staff, ACMG guides and group equipment on-hand to ensure your trip runs smoothly
Not-for-profit - any money we make on camps and courses is reinvested into providing services for our members and the mountain community

Cancellation policy and travel Insurance

Please be sure to review our cancellation policy before registering for ACC Adventures:

Cancellation Policy
We sell Tugo^® Travel Insurance suitable for both ACC Adventures and personal trips:

Travel Insurance

Included WITH YOUR CAMP FEE

4 days of instruction from ACMG certified ski guides
Pre course learning and materials provided by ACC lead ski guide Doug Latimer
Official Avalanche Canada course materials
Official Avalanche Canada course certificate
Classroom space at the ACC Clubhouse

Participants Must Provide

Transportation to and from field locations
Accommodation is available at the ACC Clubhouse for an additional $30 per night
Meals and lunches
Personal gear (see gear list)

Your Guides

Doug Latimer

Doug has 20 years of guiding experience behind him as an ACMG ski guide and an ACMG apprentice rock guide. As well as his private guiding he has spent a number of years working for the UoC where he taught a range of instructional programs in avalanche training, crevasse rescue and backcountry ski and ski mountaineering. He also somehow finds time to run a multimedia production company! In 2019, we are excited to announce Doug will be joining us as our on-staff winter guide; the perfect guy to take care of our Intro To, avalanche safety and other ski courses.