This page is intended as an overview of CAA membership categories. The CAA Bylaws define different membership categories to serve different purposes and abilities. CAA bylaws and policies offer different tools to administer these categories to address the needs of members over time.

Membership Scope, Competencies, and Proficiencies

Individual CAA Membership Categories come with a scope of practice. The scope of practice for each category broadly defines the range of activities and services a CAA member in that category is authorized to perform. The competency profile for a member category establishes the minimum set of abilities that a newly qualified member in the category is expected to bring to the workplace.

In general, the CAA has two types of membership:

• Voting
• Non-Voting

Voting membership refers to the voting member categories under CAA Bylaws. Members in the categories are individuals who are involved in avalanche-related activities for work on an on-going basis. They must meet specific competency-based requirements as well as continuing professional development requirements in order to maintain their standard of avalanche-knowledge and skills.

Avalanche Practitioners

• Practitioners in the field who are early in their career, such as tail guides, non-leaders of ski hill avalanche control teams.
• Individuals with a limited avalanche practice focus who are unlikely to complete the range of requirements for Avalanche Professional membership. 
• In the field, Avalanche Practitioners work best with access to supervision, in a highly structured, program and with established protocols.
• Can teach AST1 and Companion Rescue Skills courses.

Avalanche Professionals

• Individuals whose experience and training enable them to work autonomously within an established program, leading operational decision-making processes and teams with confidence.
• Avalanche Professionals are avalanche control team route leaders, capable of issuing operational avalanche forecasts. In the guiding context, these individuals are likely well-beyond tail-guiding, having moved on to leading clients and making risk management decisions in the context of their established program as lead or assistant guides. 
• Can teach AST2 and Managing Avalanche Terrain courses.

Basic Avalanche Educators

• Teach introductory recreational avalanche education courses such as the Avalanche Canada Training Program AST 1 and CRS courses.
• This membership category is specific to Avalanche Education only, if you would like to work in other areas of the avalanche industry, please look at Avalanche Practitioner or Avalanche Professional membership. 

Advanced Avalanche Educators

• Teach advanced recreational avalanche courses such as the Avalanche Canada Training Program AST 2 and MAT courses. 
• This membership category is specific to Avalanche Education only, if you would like to work in other areas of the avalanche industry, please look at Avalanche Practitioner or Avalanche Professional membership. 

Non-Voting Membership refers to the non-voting member categories under CAA Bylaws. These categories are for individuals or associations involved in avalanche-related activities, but who do not meet the standards of Practitioner membership categories.

Affiliate members

• Individuals who wish to be connected to the industry and enjoy some of the benefits of membership early in their career.
• May be considering becoming practitioners in the future, or have other personal or professional reasons to wish to be connected and informed about the CAA and the avalanche industry in general.
• Affiliate members do not need to log continuing professional development (CPD).

Associate members

• Organizations who wish to be connected to the CAA and informed about the avalanche industry in general.
• Tend to offer services connected to the snow and avalanche sector that are valued by our practicing members.
• Receive valuable discounts on CAA’s services, such as InfoEx. B
• May be closely associated with the avalanche world, such as ski hills avalanche control technology, or more generic in nature, such as insurance, travel, or first aid training. 

The following chart provides a summary and comparison of the different membership categories for individuals. Although members often progress from Affiliate, to Avalanche Practitioner, to Avalanche Professional, this progression is not mandatory. Individuals may apply for any category of membership without previously holding membership status. 

If you are an existing Avalanche Practitioner or Avalanche Professional, you are able to teach AST in your current category, you do not need to apply to become an Avalanche Educator. You may only hold one type of CAA membership at a time.

Applying for membership overview

Continuing Professional Development

Avalanche Professionals, Avalanche Practitioners and Basic and Advanced Avalanche Educators must abide by the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) guidelines. Members must track their CPD annually in the CAA Activity Tracking Sheet. Members are not required to submit their CPD activity record to the CAA however; the Membership Committee annually selects a number of members who are eligible to be audited at which time the selected members must be able to submit their CPD record for review. For the Activity Tracking Sheet, CPD Policy and more information, please see the CPD webpage. 

Competency Based Membership

• Refer to Competency Assessment information for details about competencies.
• CAA's shift towards competency-based membership

CAA Individual Membership Categories