AIARE- American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education

Saving Lives Through Avalanche Education

COVID-19 Update

We are continuing to monitor the evolving guidelines set forth by National, State, and County Health Organizations.  Our goal is to continue to deliver quality avalanche education in the safest and most responsible manner possible.  We will update this page throughout the summer. 

AIARE Scholarships

There are several scholarship opportunities for AIARE Instructor Training courses and AIARE PRO courses, as well as AIARE 1 classes. Please note that you must apply for the respective course for which you seek a scholarship. .

Kizaki-Wolf Scholarship for Instructor Training, Course Leader Training & PRO Training

The Kizaki-Wolf AIARE Scholarship supports outstanding outdoor professionals in furthering their avalanche education and teaching skills. This scholarship provides full or partial tuition for an Instructor Training Course, Course Leader Training Course or PRO 1 or PRO 2 course. The selection committee focuses on four criteria in evaluating applicants:

  • Outdoor professional career (guide, patroller, outdoor educator, etc.) dedication and achievement;
  • Demonstrated leadership, character, and fellowship;
  • Under-represented populations within outdoor professionals;
  • An appreciation of, and commitment to, an inclusive and diverse community of outdoor recreationalists and professionals.

Application Process:

  • CV, including outdoor professional positions, education, courses, certifications, and number of days worked annually as an outdoor professional.
  • Video (5 minutes or less), upload to YouTube or Vimeo and be password protected. Please address the following:
    • What is your background? What led you to an outdoor professional career? Include any critical events or experiences.
    • What are your goals and career aspirations as an outdoor professional? As an avalanche professional?
    • Why are you a great candidate for this scholarship?
    • How have you demonstrated an appreciation of, and commitment to, an inclusive and diverse community of outdoor recreationalists and professionals?
  • Three professional references who can attest to your character and intellect in an outdoor professional-setting.
  • Submit CV, video and references in one package/email to kizaki@avtraining.org
  • Deadline for submitting your application has been extended to November 15th. Notification of award will be extended til Dec. 1, 2020.
  • Scholarship recipients must provide a brief, post-course video debrief discussing their experience, what they learned, how it will apply to their career development, and any advice or words of wisdom they’d give to future scholarship recipients.

Kizaki-Wolf AIARE Scholarship Recipients

Weston Powder to the People Scholarship

There are plenty of existing barriers to entering the backcountry. We want to help get rid of one of them. Interest in backcountry skiing and snowboarding is peaking this season more than ever before. As we welcome in new members to our backcountry community, we firmly believe in doing our part to not only equip riders with the appropriate gear to get out there but with the proper training and education to do it safely and responsibly.

For the 20/21 snow season, AIARE and Weston have teamed up to create scholarship opportunities to help reduce the barrier of cost for underrepresented groups in the backcountry such as Women, BIPOC, and LGTBQ individuals in hopes to bring forward a more diverse backcountry community. If this applies to you, follow the link in our bio to learn more!

This scholarship is facilitated through partial donations of sales from our AIARE co-branded ski and splitboard lineup.

Guides Fund Yearly Scholarship

This scholarship is intended to both support AIARE’s mission of ‘saving lives through avalanche education,’ and encourage historically underrepresented populations in American backcountry pursuits to move into leadership roles, by partially or fully subsidizing tuition for an AIARE ITC or CLT.
Application should include a list qualifications as pertaining to ITC/CLT prerequisites, and a short description of current work, education and future in the field of avalanche research and education.
There are no reporting requirements for this scholarship.
Please direct applications to darkstarmtguide@gmail.com, between September 1 and November 1.

Live Large University AIARE Scholarship

The #LiveLargeUniversity AIARE scholarship is intended to support motorized backcountry riders. Funds for this scholarship are raised by donation and through purchases from the Jon Ferrian Live online shop. Full and partial scholarships are available for students taking an AIARE Motorized Rec Course, PRO 1, PRO 2 or ITC course.  Initial scholarship announcements will occur on September 12 2020 and a second round on January 4, 2021. Read more about qualifications & apply.

George Dirth Memorial Scholarship

The George Dirth Memorial Scholarship fund supports Colorado-based backcountry skiers/snowboarders. The Fund provides partial tuition for an AIARE 1 course. Please visit George Dirth Memorial for more information on this scholarship opportunity.

Backcountry.com and Backcountry Babes Women’s  Scholarship

An exciting partnership between these organizations working to promote more women becoming AIARE Course Leaders.  The scholarship extends over multiple seasons and is intended to cover the costs of moving through the progression of courses required to reach the full credential.  More info and application can be found on Backcountry.com’s website.  Application period runs through early August.