Our instructor team is the strongest in New England, and our courses reflect that. We were at the table early on when the concept of furthering public avalanche education in the U.S. was being discussed, and the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education was being created. For several years we were the only climbing school sponsoring AIARE avalanche courses in the eastern U.S. We often ran them at a financial loss, brought avalanche guru Karl Klassen (Canadian IFMGA guide, chief forecaster for the Canadian Avalanche Association, and initial technical director for AIARE) in from western Canada to teach them, and corralled all of our friends to attend to have enough people to run the course. In fact, many of the snow rangers and current avalanche course providers who are working or have worked on Mount Washington were participants in those early courses. Today, times have changed, and the demand for courses has created an abundance of courses and providers. While all the courses are good, we believe ours to be superior, and our instructors are why:

Course Leaders: All AIARE courses must have a course provider overseeing the course and present for all field sessions.

Jon Tierney is the longest standing, continuous course leader of AIARE avalanche courses in the east. He first brought avalanche courses to New England as early as 1986 on Katahdin. He began co-instructing with and was mentored by Karl Klassen in the mid-’90s with the inception of AIARE. In his lifetime, Jon has a love of high places and has spent a lot of time on snow and in various snowpacks as an alpine and ski mountaineering guide and a climbing ranger, and you will benefit from that experience. He brings you experience ranging from high altitude peaks in Alaska, China, and South American to New England’s mountains. Jon is known for making things easy to understand and his excellent blend of teaching skills that are highly effective with groups. As many clients have said, “If you take a course with Jon, you will take another.” To be one of the few fully certified international IFMGA/AMGA mountain guides, Jon is also a practicing flight paramedic.
Jon is an AIARE Level 1 and 2 Course Leader and Level 3 graduate.

“Jon is a very experienced professional guide and one of the best outdoor educators in the AMGA. His client care and technical skills are excellent.” – 2006, Bela Vadasz (Ski Mountaineering discipline coordinator) and Rob Hess (AMGA Technical Director).

Al Mandell is a superb, technically precise skier who has coached several aspiring IFMGA guides on their ski skills in preparation for their ski exams. But more than that, he has a huge passion for skiing that you can’t help but become infected by. He is an engineer, so avalanche science makes sense, and he can share it with participants in a very understandable and excited manner. Al has completed the AMGA Ski Guides Course and AMGA Advanced Ski Mountaineering Course and Aspirant Exam and is pursuing the AMGA Ski Mountaineering Certification. Al is an AIARE Level 1 and 2 Course Leader, Level 3 graduate, and Pro I course provider trainee.

Course Instructors:

Ben Allen hails right from Gorham, NH, and knows the Presidential Range in great detail. He is a superb skier with a knack for teaching about snow. His low-key demeanor, combined with his enthusiasm for getting people out on the snow, makes it easy for people to learn. Ben is a Level 1 course instructor and a graduate of the new Pro 1 course. 

Mark Renson picked up skiing at the now-abandoned Ohoho ski area – 300 feet of vertical but skied like 325 – while attending the University of Connecticut. After years of lift-served skiing, he hooked up with a guide in Rogers Pass Canada and became intrigued with the backcountry. Mark also enjoys dabbling in rock climbing, ice climbing, and whitewater kayaking. Mark also instructs courses for Colorado Mountain School.

• Completed American Mountain Guides Association Ski Guide Course
• Level 3 Avalanche Certified by the American Avalanche Institute (Pro 2 equivalent)
• Completed AIARE Course Leader Training
• Canadian Avalanche Association AST-2
• Senior Outdoor Emergency Care & CPR certified
• Senior Alpine Ski Patroller supporting the Mount Washington NH Avalanche Center

Dick Chasse has guided and climbed throughout the US and in South America. Favorite routes include Wafer Step in Acadia National Park and Barren’s Direct on Katahdin in Maine, North Ridge Mt. Baker in Washington, Vulcan Cayambe in Ecuador, Damnation Gulley on Mt Washington in New Hampshire, and Dark Shadows in Red Rocks Nevada.  Embracing his Franco-American roots, Dick’s goals for the coming year include expanding Acadia Mountain Guide’s offerings in Quebec, especially in the Parc de la Gaspesie and surrounding area.

Dick’s specialty is the attention he devotes to his clients; he truly loves guiding. “I constantly find myself thinking about how to make the next experience better for my clients. I consider it an honor to take people out to the cliffs and mountains,” he says. “The wonderful secret of guiding is that I learn as much from my clients as they learn from me.”

So before you sign up for a course, compare our instructor team to others. When you do, the choice will be easy.

Each participant on an AMGCS avalanche course will be provided a beacon, probe, and shovel. Additionally, each group of four will be provided a group snow study kit. Of course, if you have your own, you are welcome to use it.

At each course, we bring a selection of brand new beacons, probes, and shovels along with avalanche packs and snow study tools. Students can try these and purchase them at a significant discount if they like. If you need outdoor gear, all AMGCS clients also get a lifetime 15% personal purchase discount at AlpenglowGear.com.

We have access to Katahdin, and some years we run an avalanche course there! Hands down, Katahdin is the best area in New England for an avalanche course. For our Katahdin avalanche courses, we stay in a warm bunkhouse (courtesy of Baxter State Park) and are only minutes away from real avalanche terrain on various aspects. The area works well for both skiers and snowshoers.