It’s true those who spend more time in avalanche terrain are more likely to get caught at some point. Can’t argue that. However, most avi incidents are out west because there is exponentially more people traveling in avalanche terrain.
Let’s focus on our home turf...
Over the last 10 years we’ve had 5+ avalanche fatalities, all climbers, all without any avalanche education...
I’ll be bold and generalize, but East coast climbers often neglect some basic snow savy-ness but can throw down on Grade 5 ice...
My only real point here is technical ice climbers can benefit from a AIARE 1 course. I know because 100% of the ice climbers I’ve had in courses over the last 4 years have commented how eye opening the course was for them. Seasoned vets with 20+ years climbing BIG routes, names that are very common in the guidebook, folks who took an avalanche course 8+ years ago and wanted a refresher... they all walk away with a renewed sense of how to manage this risk that is inherent to our sport, be it climbing or skiing...
It’s not “big words” that matter, but I have watched skilled ice climbers ignore classic warning signs and die or break femurs...
At the end of every course it is stressed that we are not safer for having taken the course. We need quality experience to be able to relate what we think we know with what is real...
You are right “All the avi classes in the world won’t save you”... but to shamelessly steal a phrase from our resident deep thinker “A deep understanding” can help you make better decisions... I know I climbed ice for years in Tucks & Huntington under the belief that “Moderate” meant I was safe... I now know how to conduct quick assessments like hand shears, better intrepret what I read in the avalanche advisory to pick my line, avoid more hazardous terrain, and stay tuned to the current weather to determine the trend... just recognizing wind slabs takes experience which can be accelerated by a formal avalanche course, but as I implied already, “safer” is a really tough thing to ascertain...