Spend seven days deepening your understanding of avalanche terrain in the Tetons as you earn a Recreational Level 2 Avalanche certification. You’ll refine the decision-making skills, snowpack assessment, and group risk management you’ve been building since your Level 1.

You’ll start at NOLS Teton Valley refreshing your previous training and checking gear before heading to Teton Pass for two days of applied avalanche education. Mornings focus on avalanche curriculum — interpreting forecasts, developing travel plans, and working with the Conceptual Model of Avalanche Hazard — followed by afternoons of ski touring that put those frameworks into practice. You’ll return to campus each evening for a warm meal and time with your group.

Then you’ll ski into a backcountry yurt for three nights, where the terrain gets more demanding and the decisions are yours to make. You’ll assess snowpack stability, practice companion rescue in realistic scenarios, and evaluate routes as a group in variable, fast-changing conditions. 

A Recreational Level 1 Avalanche and Avalanche Rescue certification is required before you arrive. You’ll leave with your Level 2 Avalanche certification, recognized by the American Avalanche Association, and the tools to travel with greater confidence in complex terrain.