AST 1 – Avalanche Skills Training Squamish

AST 1 in Squamish, on Paul Ridge

AST 1 Squamish is Altus’s Avalanche Canada AST 1 course with its field day on Paul Ridge, in the Diamond Head area of Garibaldi Provincial Park. You do 3–4 hours of online learning at home, meet us in Squamish, and spend the day on the ridge learning to read avalanche terrain, plan a tour and rescue a buried partner. You finish with your AST 1 certificate. It’s the closest Altus AST 1 to Vancouver: $245 midweek, $295 on weekends, up to 8 students per instructor.

Book a weekend course Book midweek

Field day Paul Ridge, Diamond Head
Garibaldi Provincial Park

Meet Bluebird Coffee & Rentals
Squamish, 8:00 am

Length 1.5 days
3–4 hrs online + 1 field day

Price $245 midweek · $295 weekend
CAD per person

Group size Up to 8 students
per instructor

Certificate AST 1 (Avalanche Canada)
after the field day and online exam

Why Paul Ridge

Paul Ridge climbs gradually from the Diamond Head parking lot at 914 m along a marked winter route, so most of the day goes into learning rather than getting there. From the ridge you can see a wide range of avalanche terrain to practise recognizing and rating, and there’s open ground for transceiver searches and companion rescue. There’s cell coverage along most of the west-facing ridge.

The course content is the same as our AST 1 in Whistler. Choose Squamish if you’re coming from Vancouver or don’t want to buy a Whistler Blackcomb backcountry pass.

Your day

1. The week before: finish the AST 1 online course (3–4 hours) and pass the online exam.
2. 8:00 am: meet your guide at Bluebird Coffee & Rentals in Squamish for a gear check and the day’s plan.
3. Drive to Diamond Head: 16 km up Garibaldi Park Road to the parking lot. Chains are mandatory October to May.
4. On Paul Ridge: trip planning, terrain recognition, snowpack and travel, then companion rescue practice.
5. About 4:30 pm: back at the cars, and your AST 1 certificate follows.

Chains are mandatory October to May. BC Parks requires properly fitting chains in your vehicle even when the road is bare. If you don’t have them, tell us when you book and we’ll help sort out a ride.

Not sure Squamish is right?

Prefer Whistler?

The same course runs at Whistler, with backcountry access through Whistler Blackcomb.

Already touring?

AST 1+ in Whistler adds a second field day managing avalanche terrain on a real tour.

Already have AST 1?

Next is Intro Backcountry Touring or AST 2.

Mtn Club members save on AST 1

Midweek $245 $208.25

Weekend $295 $250.75

Plus 10% back in Altus credit, member-only mentorship days with ACMG guides after your course, and every Altus online course. $149 for the season, limited to 100 members.

See the Mtn Club

Itinerary

Day 0.5 (Online)
Complete the online learning at your own pace in the week before your field day (3 to 4 hours).

Day 1 (Paul Ridge)
8:00 am - Meet at Bluebird Coffee & Rentals, Squamish
Field session on Paul Ridge, Garibaldi Provincial Park
About 4:30 pm - Back at the cars

Chains are mandatory on Garibaldi Park Road from October to May.

Online Pre-Course

Before your Paul Ridge day, you complete the AST 1 pre-course on Altus Online Learning. It takes about 3 to 4 hours: videos and presentations built by our guides, then a final exam. You need 60% on the exam to receive your AST 1 certificate, and you keep access for 2 months so you can come back to it.

Partners