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The Alaska Avalanche School, an outgrowth of the Alaska Mountain Safety Center, is a non-profit organization created to promote public safety in the mountain environment. We offer a variety of avalanche safety classes for all levels of expertise. Because we believe that people learn best by doing, we emphasize intensive, hands-on field training at all of our major workshops. Participants will have the opportunity to involve themselves in small groups with daily exposure to different concepts, methodologies, and skills. Pre-registration is required.

Most of the avalanches catching people are triggered by people, and the same mistakes are being made repeatedly. While some accidents are a result of not recognizing potential hazards, most accidents occur because the victims either underestimate the hazard or overestimate their ability to deal with it, often exercising poor route selection or choice of timing. Many avalanche accidents involve "experienced" skiers or mountain travelers. There is a tendency to assume that these people are also experts at evaluating avalanche hazard, but this is often not the case.