>>1315341>too chicken shit to get out there and learn some stuffy tho
time? cost? commitment? sucky friends?
I used to be way more cautious than I needed to be... chose to stay off things that I could have safely ridden. Now I look at the terrain a little differently... go in a little more prepared (better understanding of the forecasts) and always look for "what can slide" and more importantly "what can't slide".
AIARE1 is a 3-day course. We usually do ours fri/sat/sun or sat/sun/mon. Take a day off work to go play in the snow. It's worth it.
Had a few guys take our course one year, then come back and do it again with their friends the next year. They'd commit to the class and furthering their avy knowledge, then talk it up to the guys they ride with.
And to be honest... if the guys you're riding with don't care about avy safety in the mountains, are they really people you want to be in the mountains with?
Course is definitely worth the money. I learn something new every time I teach one.
Even an awareness course gets you companion-rescue and terrain evaluation basics, enough that you can practice those skills correctly with your group later and not pick up bad habits trying to figure things out from youtube videos.
>my skis have an engine between them 
