If the costs of a full backcountry touring setup weren’t enough to scare you off, consider the time and money required to take formal avalanche courses on top of all that. I’ve met many backcountry newbies over the years who have put off formal avalanche courses because they just wanted to get outside and get some experience and figured they could just play it safe and take courses later.  The danger here is that most new backcountry tourers don’t know what they don’t know and may not be able to play it safe without some basic education. While formal avalanche education courses are great and I recommend taking at least a basic course at some point in your touring career, there are lower-cost options available.  First off, there are great books on the topic that can introduce you to the concepts you’ll learn and apply in an in-person avalanche course. Bruce Tremper’s Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain is a classic reference and Allen & Mike’s Avalanche Book takes a sometimes-dry topic and makes it fun and relatable with plenty of illustrations. Ethan Greene of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center advises that you can start to build avalanche awareness before you pursue formal education or even have basic rescue gear by using free resources. “Once you get a basic travel setup together, start reading the local weather and avalanche forecast (you can find it at avalanche.org in the US) and get familiar with the information your avalanche center is presenting. You'll need a little education. There is a lot of material online and www.kbyg.org is a good place to start. Focus on identifying avalanche terrain and applying the information in the avalanche forecast.”