In reply to Milesy:
Well there clearly is a risk of avalanche as soon as you venture out into snowy mountainous conditions, be it on skis, snow shoes or boots (climbing or hill walking).
The Lodge is the closest centre in proximity to the Cairngorm massive and as such I'm sure that the instructors are pretty clued up on conditions etc. HOWEVER, this is scotland and its rather dynamic out there. This point is proven by the simple fact that Glenmore Lodge groups have been avalanched over the years… tragically with the loss of a young lads life last year. A few days after that event another group from the lodge were avalanched, fortunately only resulting in a twisted ankle. Evidence of Heuristic traps?
As a customer on a course i would want to be trained in all skills regarding winter activities, and yes, prevention is obviously better than cure. However, our stability tests are hardly scientific and only relate to that one small area, so in order to mitigate further use of safe travel techniques could be employed, thats all well and good, but if 1 person gets avalanched and the group doesn't have shovel probe transceiver, the individual is practically as good as dead, unless they are incredibly lucky…. i'm not sure i want to be relying on Luck to save my life.
I would say that the issue, training and use of the "holy trinity" (probe, shovel, transceiver) is not exactly an excessive step to take.