About Avalanche Savvy

Finding Inspiration in Winter!

We are a collective of veteran Avalanche Instructors, with decades of experience in snow safety and avalanche education. And we're not just educators, we are all from guiding operations with snow safety programs including but not limited to - Avalanche Education, Training Avalanche Instructors, developing Avalanche Education programs, Ski touring guiding, Heli Skiing, Cat skiing, Snowmobile guiding, and Forecasting to ski patrolling. Most of us have both northern and southern hemispheres to boot.

All of our classes are done according to the A3(American Avalanche Association) guidelines and we are an officially recognized US Recreational Course provider. You can find our listing here on the A3 list under Colorado.

Our Classes and events are Based in Steamboat, Denver and you may find us anywhere in between.

Our Story

The last few years interest in backcountry travel in avalanche terrain has grown significantly for all types of users. Avalanche Savvy was created to:

lower the barrier of entry to avalanche education for skiers, snowmobilers, Split boarders, and snowshoers thru a variety of intro-level awareness classes
Provide the bedrock level 1, companion rescue, and level 2 classes
Provide a variety of continuing recreational avalanche education options for people who already have Level 1 or higher.

Certifications and Experience

All of our instructors and guides exceed the American Avalanche Association(A3) standards and each has decades of operational experience in avalanche education and snow safety management operations in a healthy variety of locations, climate zones, internationally, and northern and southern hemispheres.

Avalanche Pro1 + Pro2, ProAvSar, American Mountain Guides Association, New Zealand Mountian Safety Council, New Zealand Mountain Guides Association, Canadian Avalanche Association, Wilderness First Responder Medical cert, Emergency Medical Technician, Mountain Weather Forecasting, Helicopter loading/safety, and more are some of our qualifications.

We're pros at all forms of travel on snow as well from non-motorized backcountry skiing, split boarding, and snowshoeing to snowmobiling, snow biking, cat skiing, and Heli skiing to boot.

Avalanches don't discriminate between skiers and snowmobilers.. Neither do we. How, when, and where you interact with the snowpack determines your chances of getting caught in an avalanche. We're here to educate you on how to manage and reduce that risk whilst having a super fun time.

Meet The Team

Lee

Owner / Head guide / Lead Avalanche Instructor / ski guide / 20 winter seasons across both Hemispheres / Helis Cats sleds skis all the things, Currently rocking SkiDoo w/expert package and its red so it goes faster!

https://venmo.com/u/avalanchesavvy

Chris

Chris Peterson grew up in Boulder, Colorado and started exploring the Rocky Mountains from a young age. He studied Adventure Guiding at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia. After two years of training and traveling in the Canadian mountains he returned to Colorado. Chris began ski patrolling at Loveland Ski Area, field instructing with NOLS and completed the Avalanche Science Program at Colorado Mountain College. Chris has a strong passion for teaching outdoor-based skills and enjoys connecting with students while moving in the mountains. He is keenly aware of highlighting all the teachable moments that the surrounding environment or moment has to offer. Currently Chris is the Snow Safety Foreman at Loveland Ski Area, an Avalanche Technician with the Colorado Rapid Avalanche Deployment and still finds time to teach recreational avalanche courses!

https://venmo.com/christopher-peterson-2

Anthony

Anthony is a full-time ski patroller at Loveland Ski Area, where he serves as a forecaster, mechanized ski guide, and Colorado Rapid Avalanche Deployment Technician with Flight for Life. He is an experienced avalanche instructor, teaching avalanche courses for multiple providers across Colorado. Anthony holds a degree in Natural Resource Management with a minor in Watershed Science from Colorado State University. Over the past twelve summer seasons, he has worked as a raft guide, safety kayaker, and river ranger for the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management across Colorado and Wyoming.

https://venmo.com/anthony-potter

Dan - the snowmobile
bus driver

The Governor General of Hayden and so much more, he says he Tele's but we say his bindings are broken

https://venmo.com/pasimme

Amanda

Amanda has been employed in the outdoor industry since 2011 as a guide, technician, instructor and educator. She has worked for organizations including Eldora Mountain Resort, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC), Avalanche Savvy and the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE). Amanda is deeply passionate about sharing her love of snow with others and maintaining her 130+ month ski streak (as of November 2025). She is based in Durango, Colorado and is also a Licensed Professional Counselor specializing in trauma.

https://venmo.com/amalou_2024

Dave

He slays A-Bay on skis as Patroller and the backcountry on skis or sled. Oh and W-EMT.

He's looking for a new sled what do you have for sale?

Amanda K

When she's not crushing Mahogony Ridge Patrolling at Steamboat she's teaching for us or working as and engineer.

Warren

Growing up in Colorado Skiing has always been a huge part of my life. My parents started me on skis at the ripe age of three. Since that day my passion has continued to grow. After graduating highschool I took a gap year to work lift operations at Arapahoe Basin. The Ski area offered me a position on patrol the following season and that single gap year has turned into a decade of working in the mountains. I obtained five years of experience as a line patroller providing medical care and understanding the fundamentals of a respected snow safety operation at Arapahoe Basin. For the last five years I have been an Avalanche Forecaster and Technician for the Basin honing my skills and gaining experience. Currently I hold the Snow Safety Supervisor position for Arapahoe. Through my Career I have obtained a Pro 1, Pro 2, and a ProAvSAR certifications. I was able to patrol at the Remarkables ski area in Queenstown, New Zealand to gain experience mitigating avalanches in a different snowpack. I am currently a member of Colorado Rapid Avalanche Deployment team where I operates as an Avalanche Technician for Summit County.

The last four years my passion for snowmobiling has really taken hold as I can apply my knowledge to new skills in an effort to better understand the ever changing environments in which we travel and operate. I am thrilled to be part of the Avalanche Savvy team where I can share my experiences and continue to learn more about the industry and how to better educate recreational users.