A new AIARE safety quiz about winter backcountry travel has sweet rewards: a Weston Backcountry Backwood Splitboard or Summit Skis with custom artwork by Renan Ozturk. Plus, win a scholarship for avalanche safety courses.
This winter’s volatile snowpack and pandemic stress are reasons alone for recreationists to prioritize avalanche education. Avalanche fatalities nationwide reached a historic high recently, with the most recorded loss in more than a century.
To elevate awareness, the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE) launched a campaign to engage folks in avalanche safety. And it’s incentivized by one-of-a-kind backcountry gear.
After completing an online quiz, seven contestants will receive gear, avalanche course funds, or both to support their backcountry exploration. The AIARE-developed test covers basic avalanche safety knowledge. It’s similar to the course final of “Recreational Training: AIARE 1.”
Participants enter their responses for 26 multiple-choice questions, then receive corrections and additional resources at the end. Finishers are entered into the gear-and-scholarship drawing regardless of their results.
Prizes
Grand Prize
The grand prize winner will receive two setups of their choice (splitboard or skis) plus $1,000 to support an AIARE-certified course for them and their touring partner.
2nd Place Prize
At this level, the winner will receive a pair of skis or splitboard, plus $500 toward an AIARE-certified course.
3rd Place Prize
Four separate winners will receive $300 toward an AIARE-certified course.
Artistic Flair
The campaign’s eye-catching limited-edition equipment is not available at retail. AIARE, Tincup Whiskey, and Weston Backcountry partnered with landscape artist Renan Ozturk, an expedition climber and filmmaker, to create the artistic goods.
On a backpacking trip last fall, Ozturk painted the custom artwork featured on the Backwoods Splitboard ($899) and Summit Skis ($849) for contest winners.
How to Enter
