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Chamonix · Ski touring · Freeriding · Mountaineering · Hiking
An avalanche course teaches you to read the avalanche bulletin, judge slope angle and terrain, assess the snowpack, and carry out a rescue of burials using a transceiver, probe and shovel. Courses in Chamonix run from a half-day rescue workshop to a three-day full course. These courses are essential for off-piste skiers and snowboarders.
An avalanche course: the most essential training for an off-piste skier. A typical course teaches you to manage avalanche terrain, and to find and dig out a partner in the case of an avalanche. Courses run from a half-day rescue workshop to a three-day programme.
You would learn:
Transceiver use. How the device works, the difference between search and transmit, group checks. Then the search itself in phases — signal search across the debris, coarse search following the flux lines, fine search on hands and knees.
Probing and digging. Probing in a spiral until you strike, then strategic shovelling — digging in from downhill rather than straight down. People consistently underestimate this part; moving a cubic metre of set avalanche debris is hard work.
Multiple burials. Marking and masking, and working a debris field with more than one signal.
Reading the bulletin. Not just the danger number but the problem type, the aspects and altitudes it applies to, and how to manage the risk whilst still being able to enjoy off-piste skiing.
Terrain. Measuring slope angle, recognising terrain traps, and choosing lines carefully.
Snowpack. On longer courses, digging a pit, identifying layers by hand hardness, and running stability tests.
Most guides work toward a benchmark of locating and reaching a buried transceiver within around seven minutes. Survival rates fall sharply after fifteen, and the drill exists to make the sequence automatic.
Transceiver and rescue practice runs on accessible slopes close to Chamonix, where a search area can be set up safely and repeated all day. The area around Le Tour and the lower Argentière slopes are commonly used.
Longer courses usually include a short tour so route choice is practised under real conditions.
Chamonix has a specific complication worth knowing: much of the off-piste terrain here is glaciated, so avalanche burial and crevasse fall are overlapping risks in a way they are not in most resorts. If you are going off piste in Chamonix, consider taking both courses.
Courses run through the winter, generally December to April.
Relevant dates proposed by guides. Each option may vary slightly, so it's worth checking the details and talking to the guide first.
14 Dec 2026
90 EUR
Francesco Perrone
1 day
A one-day companion rescue course for skiers, snowboarders, ski tourers and snowshoers starting to move off-piste. You'll learn to run a transceiver s…
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15 Dec 2026
110 EUR
Francesco Perrone
1 day
A one-day companion rescue course for backcountry travellers who can already run a transceiver search and want to handle what actually happens in a re…
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3 Jan 2027
150 CHF
Didac Bartolome
1 day
🏔️ Avalanches Rescue Course ❄️ Stay safe in the mountains while having fun! 🌨️ This hands-on course teaches essential avalanche rescue skills: • Pr…
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Tell us when you want to go and we'll send your trip to qualified guides in Chamonix. Quotes come straight back to you, with no obligation to book.
Santeri
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Really great course. I got a lot out of the course that helped me progress my skiing the rest of the season. 5/5 would recommend.
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Really good, Francesco was great, I learned a lot and had a great time
yanxiang
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It was great! I had a lot of fun and learned a lot about alpinism techniques.
Alexandra
Crevasse Rescue course
The guide was super competent and the course was very useful for me. Thank you!
Satyen
Basic Mountaineering Course – Punta Helbronner 2 days
Really great 2-day BMC course in Italy! Learned a lot about mountaineering, safety, and glacier travel. The instructors were knowledgeable, patient, and made the whole experience super fun. Highly recommended!
Finlay
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Absolutely incredible tbh. The guides were always willing to give more info than the course outlined if you had a question.
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For an avalanche rescue workshop in Chamonix, no — it takes place on flat or gentle ground and snowshoers are welcome. Longer courses include touring, so you need to ski or splitboard confidently off-piste. If you are just getting into ski touring, consider taking a Ski Touring course.
An avalanche rescue workshop teaches you to find and dig out a buried partner. A full course adds bulletin interpretation, terrain assessment, snowpack tests and tour/terrain planning. If you are an avid backcountry skier or snowboarder, taking a longer course is often worth it.
From around €50 for a half-day rescue workshop. One-day courses typically run higher, and two or three-day courses considerably more. Transceiver, shovel and probe hire is usually extra.
Not to attend an avalanche course — most guides can arrange hire. But ideally, you bring your own kit, as operating fast and under pressure in the event of a burial requires you to have deep knowledge of how your kit works.
Avalanche survival rates drop sharply after around fifteen minutes of burial. Courses typically set a benchmark of locating and reaching a buried transceiver within seven minutes, which is achievable with practice.
Book in autumn for a December or January course. Chamonix avalanche courses fill before the first significant snowfall.
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