AST1 – SCC – Ottawa

Saturday 29 November 2025 - Sunday 30 November 2025

Contact the course organizer directly for more details.

Goals

The Avalanche Safety Training Course (AST1) will provide a framework for decision-making in avalanche terrain at the beginner level, based on the latest available knowledge. It has been developed to meet the needs of people with minimal training and little experience. In addition, this course introduces the prerequisites for further avalanche training and presents the Advanced Avalanche Skills Training 2 (AST2) as the logical next step to obtain intermediate-level decision-making skills.

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

• Describe avalanche forming and triggering factors;
• Recognize avalanche terrain;
• Plan and complete a mountain outing using available resources;
• Describe and practice safe techniques in avalanche terrain;
• Perform a companion rescue;
• Understand the limitations of the training.

There are a total of 6 hours of mandatory classroom training, with the remainder of the training taking place outdoors. Each participant must have their own avalanche safety equipment and other equipment necessary for traveling in the mountains.

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