Go Farther — Get Avalanche Trained

Contact us to book your session or learn more at youth@avalanche.ca and we'll happily get you started.

This site is your first step for youth snow safety education. We have a wide range of material aimed at students K–12, created for inside and outside the classroom. Whether you are taking your first step into youth avalanche education or looking for some new material for an existing program, Avalanche Canada is here to help.

Elementary School Programming: 

Winter Awareness

Each lesson is grade specific and the curriculum builds on topics moving up through the grades. In class theory, introduction to general winter safety around snow caves, winter clothing, roof-avalanche, the buddy system, tree wells, ski hill safety, and more. 

Outdoor programming 

This is the best follow up to any of our in-class theory sessions. Outdoor programming ranges from games and relay races to outdoor companion rescue training and practice. Each session can be held in the schoolyard or utilize any space available.

Secondary School Programming: 

Know Before You Go Avalanche Safety Presentation

The KBYG presentation is a 1-hour interactive session for anyone interested in learning about avalanches. The presentation includes videos, interactive content, and open discussions.

Advanced Avalanche Awareness

This program can be specifically tailored to grades based on comprehensive educational guidelines and is ideal for students who have already participated in our other offerings. Students gain an advanced understanding of winter safety and avalanche awareness. 

 Avy Savvy Online Tutorial

Building on our other programs, our instructor can guide your class though our Avy Savvy tutorial. This allows students to ask questions and engage with an avalanche professional in their own classroom. The program is designed to allow students to gain an in-depth understanding of avalanche safety and build to creating a comprehensive picture of what it takes to safely enter the backcountry. Topics include:

1. The Forecast
2. The Daily Process
3. Companion Rescue
4. Avalanche formation and Terrain
5. Trip Planning

Outdoor programming

This is the best follow up to any of our in-class theory sessions. Outdoor programming ranges from games, and relay races to outdoor companion rescue training and practice. Each session can be held in the schoolyard or utilize any space available.

The Youth Education Guidelines provide the learning objectives for the K-12 avalanche safety program. The curriculum begins with a focus on winter safety, then incorporates ski area safety information, snowmobile, backcountry, and avalanche safety as students progress. The program was developed over years of working closely with professional educators, avalanche professionals, and outdoor professionals to reflect a robust understanding of avalanche danger that develops with the students.

The guidelines provide schools, educators, and teachers with a better idea of the grade-specific programming our AvCan youth instructors offer when they come to your classroom. They can also be used  by educators if they want to teach these topics to their classrooms or outdoor clubs. These are rough guidelines and are intended to be adapted for the specific needs of each group. 

The contents of the guidelines are the culmination of discussions over years. The material has been put before a panel containing the following professions; principal, teacher, outdoor education teacher, outdoor program leader, avalanche professional, and Parks Canada employees. Click here to download the youth education guidelines document for snow safety and avalanche awareness education for Grades K-12.

Click here to download the youth education guidelines document for snow safety and avalanche awareness education for Grades K-12.

Avalanche Education Toolboxes

We’ve assembled boxes of avalanche safety gear for educational purposes, to allow students to familiarize themselves with essential backcountry gear and give them the opportunity to practice avalanche search techniques in a safe environment.

Each box contains transceivers, probes, shovels, and Companion Rescue cards. This gear is specifically for training purposes only. None of the equipment should be taken into avalanche terrain because the transceivers are not suitable for use in a real rescue.

Renting the toolboxes is FREE on a first-come, first-served basis after 1 January. To borrow a toolbox please email swerner@avalanche.ca with ‘Toolbox’ as the subject line. Specify the dates you would like to receive the box, your school or program, city and province, and your contact information. Please note the dates must be flexible as we need to accommodate a number of communities over the winter.

We can also supply educators with FREE avalanche safety resources that can be distributed to students. This includes:

• Avalanche danger cards—outlines the North American Danger Rating Scale used in public avalanche bulletins
• Companion Rescue cards—step by step instructions for a companion rescue

To order these, please email with how many students in your group, your contact information including an email address and phone number, and the mailing address for the resources. 

Online Resources for Teachers

• Avy Savvy is Avalanche Canada's Online Avalanche Tutorial. Avy Savvy is designed to be a precursor to the Avalanche Canada Training program. This resource has various engaging quizzes and exercises built into each chapter.
• Avalanche Canada on Vimeo
  This is a great resource with numerous videos covering a variety of avalanche awareness topics for both ski and snowmobile audiences.
• BCA Companion Rescue video series: Four videos on Companion Rescue.
• Rescue at Cherry Bowl: 
  Amazing case study. Five chapters with short videos on how avalanche safety training saves lives.
• Avalanche Canada recorded Webinar Series
  Catch up on our webinars, focusing on various aspects of avalanche safety, geared towards keeping you safe in avalanche terrain.
• Land of Thundering Snow
  A great resource that goes through both avalanche basics and some very interesting history of avalanches in Canada.
• AdventureSmart e-learning platform for non-avalanche related safety resources.

Free Video Resources

These videos are a perfect start for your class or a great support for continued learning after our session in your school.

Avalanche Canada Youth Ambassadors help spread our message through pictures and stories on their Instagram feed. Do you have questions for our ambassador? If so, hit up our Instagram and ask away! If you are interested in becoming a youth ambassador, please send us an email.

Meet Our Ambassador!

Alana Norie

Alana Norie (they/them) was born and raised Squamish, BC (Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw), and is currently studying Outdoor Ed and Decolonization at Thompson Rivers University. Raised in the coastal mountains, Alana loves ski touring, climbing and avalanche education. Alana is beyond grateful to work alongside AvCan to have run the Bold Backcountry Grant for the last two years, a grant that allows reduces barriers for queer folk in accessing avalanche safety gear and training. With their Avalanche Operations Level 1 course under their belt, they help organize and support AST 1s for 2-spirit, Queer and Trans folks. 

Alana is a Hiking and Sea Kayak guide, On-site Coordinator for Girls* On Ice Canada, and a Youth Development Facilitator. They aim to create more opportunities for all youth to access  the outdoors through their studies and career. If they aren’t on an expedition, you can often find them drawing, hiking with their dog or testing new backcountry meals!

You can find educational and avalanche photos in the the gallery below. Feel free to use these in your presentations. You can scroll through the gallery or search using the tag education or avalanche.