Backcountry Ski & Snowboard Course

This course offers a great introduction to safely meeting the challenges of travelling in the Cascades backcountry on snow.

This course is designed for alpine skiers, telemarkers, and splitboarders of advanced intermediate level or better. A prerequisite for the course is having completed an AIARE or AAA Level 1 course within the last 3 years. 

Leader permission is required: when requesting leader permission, please provide the following: evidence of recent AIARE 1 course completion and description of your recent skiing experience (difficulty/snow type). 

LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Become a competent and engaged group member on Mountaineers day touring trips rated M1-M3 (no glacier travel) 
• Plan and execute day tours in the backcountry by evaluating important safety factors such as weather, terrain, avalanche risk, and group fitness
• Demonstrate correct use of the equipment necessary for backcountry touring
• Demonstrate mastery of backcountry touring skills such as kick-turns, ascending with climbing skins, skiing downhill on touring gear with a heavy pack, and transitions
• Demonstrate successful practice of avalanche safety skills including route planning, observation, identification of avalanche hazards, beacon use, and companion rescue

COURSE FORMAT

This course includes 3 required lectures, 3 required day field trips. The field trips are tours where we put it all together, from planning where to go (tour planning) to making decisions on how to travel uphill and downhill (route finding). Everybody will get the chance to practice skills they have learned while receiving coaching and feedback.

Note: Field trip locations and dates may change depending on weather, avalanche forecasts, road closings, or other conditions.