Mountain Education Center

A first step before entering the backcountry from the Mt. Baker Ski Area, our intro awareness course is designed for in-area skiers and snowboarders seeking foundational knowledge about avalanches, mountain weather and big mountain safety.

Our two-day awareness and safety course combines a Mt. Baker region-focused overview of avalanches, mountain weather and terrain selection with a companion rescue session that teaches the small group rescue skills required to respond to a burial in the backcountry.

Aimed at experienced Baker backcountry travelers, our annual skill-sharpening refresher focuses on multiple beacon search, pinpoint probing and strategic shoveling with an objective of speeding search and recovery times in the event of an avalanche incident.

Backcountry safety gear is pointless unless you have the skills to use your beacon, probe and shovel in high-pressure situations. One of the best venues to gain search speed and confidence is in a BCA Beacon Park where practice targets are buried and the digging in is already done. The Mt Baker Mountain Education Center will be sponsoring and maintaining BCA beacon parks this season during select weekends.

Introduced to the Mt Baker MEC programs last season, and co-sponsored by Remote Medical Training, our critical care course is designed to provide hands-on critical care education about in-the-field avalanche incident medicine and evacuation techniques.