WASATCH BACKCOUNTRY SKIING COURSES
Level I - Avalanche Safety - AAI
(Low Ratio)
This practical-application based Level I avalanche course is designed specifically for recreational skiers looking to ski tour safely in the backcountry. Our course offers two full fields days at a low (4:1 max. Student:Instructor ratio) to facilitate learning and model appropriate touring group sizes. To maximize time in the field, material is introduced to students with a robust self-guided online learning module provided by the American Avalanche Institute, designed to be completed prior to the start of the course. This Level I is run by AMGA Certified Ski Guides, and with this training (the highest level of training available for ski guides in the world) we can provide insight and a level of safety that may be missed on other courses.
Course includes:
- American Avalanche Institute online curriculum (season access)
- 2 Eight hour field day sessions
- 4:1 Low-ratio field instruction
- 2hr Zoom prior to field days, 1hr Zoom to conclude course
- Course and field sessions run by AMGA Certified Ski Guide
- Course sanctioned by American Avalanche Association
Learning Outcomes:
-Interpret and implement avalanche forecasts
-Identify avalanche terrain and safely move through the backcountry
-Communicate more effectively with your partners
-Preform an avalanche rescue
-Plan and execute an appropriate ski tour for a given day
-Assess conditions in the field, including the use of snow pits and stability tests
23/24 Wasatch (Cottonwood Canyons):
12/01-12/02 (A)
12/06-12/07 (A)
12/27-12/28 (A)
1/3-1/4 (A)
1/08-1/09 (A)
1/16-1/17 (A)
2hr Zoom 7pm evening prior to each course A-Section, 1hr Zoom 530pm last day of each section of the course )
Rates:
$645pp
Trip Duration: (2) 8hr Field Days, 2hr Zoom, 1hr Zoom, 7 hrs Online Learning
Field Group Ratio: 4:1 max
Prerequisites:
Advanced ski or snowboarding ability
Good Fitness- Ability to skin a minimum of 1500' at a moderate pace per day
YURT BASED - Level I - Avalanche Safety - AAI
(4 Day/3 Night)
This is the same curriculum as the normal Level I but based from an overnight yurt in the mountains and with more field time. To get a better feel of what a yurt offers see our guided yurt trip offerings.
Course includes:
- American Avalanche Institute online curriculum (season access)
- 4 Eight hour field day sessions
- 4:1 Low-ratio field instruction
- 1hr Zoom 7pm evening prior to field days
- Course and field sessions run by AMGA Certified Ski Guide
- Course sanctioned by American Avalanche Association
- Instruction at 4:1 ratio
- Accommodation at Yurt
- Meals
23/24 Dates:
2/06/24-2/09/24 (Bunchgrass Yurt, Logan Canyon)
1hr Zoom 7pm evening prior to each course
Rates:
$1475pp
YURT BASED - Level 2 - Avalanche Safety - AAI
(4 Day/3 Night)
This course is designed to take experienced backcountry skiers to the next level with their real-world ski touring skills with the added bonus of operating out of an overnight yurt! To get a better feel of what a yurt offers see our guided yurt trip offerings.
Whereas in LI the focus is on interpreting a forecast and being introduced to fundamental skills, in L2 students learn to forecast and put the wheels in motion themselves, gathering observational data to verify their hypotheses. Route selection, field observational techniques and decision making highlight the field days, while risk analysis, forecasting trends in stability, planning and debrief fill evening conversation.
Our course offers four full fields days at a low (4:1 maximum Student:Instructor ratio) to facilitate learning and model appropriate touring group sizes. To maximize time in the field, material is introduced to students with a robust self-guided online learning module provided by the American Avalanche Institute, designed to be completed prior to the start of the course. This course is run by AMGA Certified Ski Guides, and with this training (the highest level of training available for ski guides in the world) we can provide insight and a level of safety that may be missed on other courses.
Course includes:
- American Avalanche Institute online curriculum (season access)
- 4 Eight hour field day sessions
- 4:1 Low-ratio field instruction
- 1hr Zoom 7pm evening prior to field days
- Course and field sessions run by AMGA Certified Ski Guide
- Course sanctioned by American Avalanche Association
- Instruction at 4:1 ratio
- Accommodation at Yurt
- Meals
Learning Outcomes:
- Ability to track season history
- Understand weak layer formation and implications
- Generate and implement avalanche forecasts
- Greater understanding of the nuanced nature of terrain
- Make better decisions - Solutions to human factor influences
- Greater understanding of stability
- Communicate more effectively with your partners
- Plan and execute an appropriate ski tour for a given day
- Assess conditions in the field efficiently, including the use of snow pits and stability tests, but also in a real-world context
23/24 Dates:
2/19/24-2/22/24 (Bunchgrass Yurt, Logan Canyon)
1hr Zoom 7pm evening prior to each course
Rates:
$1475pp
Trip Duration: (4) 8hr Field Days, 1hr Zoom, 7 hrs Online Learning
Field Group Ratio: 4:1 max
Prerequisites
Level I Avalanche Safety
Advanced ski or snowboarding ability
Good Fitness- Ability to skin a minimum of 3500' at a moderate pace per day
Backcountry Skiing 101
In this single field day basic backcountry skiing instructional clinic we teach you the basics to get you started moving about the mountains. We will try to get some good turns in too!
Topics Include:
-How to use skins and alpine touring equipment/split-board to go up and down the mountain efficiently
-How to use basic avalanche safety equipment
-How to interpret an avalanche forecast
-How to recognize avalanche terrain
-How to plan a basic trip
-How to choosing appropriate equipment
-How to deal with an emergency
-Constructing an emergency shelter
Prerequisite:
Advanced ski or snowboarding ability
Moderate to good fitness
Course includes Zoom based evening session at 7pm day prior to the posted field day date
Available: 1/4, 1/11, 1/18, 2/1, 2/15
Trip Duration: 6-8hrs
Minimum Group Size: 1
Student/Instructor Ratio: 5:1
Rates:
$235pp
Avalanche L1 Skills Refresher
An early season must do! Polish up on essential skills to help keep you and your partners safe while traveling in avalanche terrain. This one-day field and touring-based course focuses on strategies to help prime your brain for the coming season. We will review and apply skills students learned or missed in their Level 1 course and put the wheels in motion while on a ski tour.
All Backcountry Pros instructors work as professional ski guides and consequently we focus heavily on 'real world application.'
Topics Include:
-Companion rescue review
-Early season stability forecasting
-Snow pit review and application
-Selecting appropriate terrain for the conditions
-Review of avalanche terrain
-Review of safe travel techniques
-Group management
Prerequisites:
Advanced ski or snowboarding ability
Good fitness - Ability to skin a minimum of 2000' at a moderate pace
Avalanche I Certification
Course includes Zoom based evening session at 7pm day prior to the posted field day date
Available: 12/03, 12/18, 1/10
Trip Duration: 9+hrs
Minimum Group Size: 1
Student/Instructor Ratio: 5:1
This course is also available on a private basis at Private Day Guiding rates.
Rates:
$200pp
Advanced Backcountry Skiing Mentorship (Mixed Group-Set Dates)
We put you in the hot seat while touring and provide critical feedback to help you refine your skills! Our focus is to help you be more efficient while touring and make better decisions on bigger objectives. This is a limited ratio course (3:1) to help facilitate travel and maintain a realistic nature of the touring party size.
Topics Include:
-Planning challenging yet realistic objectives based on conditions
-Skinning/route finding in advanced terrain
-Efficient track setting
-Terrain management with a group on uphill
-Terrain management with a group on downhill
-Time management
-Evolving your avalanche forecast based on observed conditions
-Backcountry preparedness
-Improvised rescue and evacuation
Prerequisites:
Advanced ski or snowboarding ability
Ability to skin a minimum of 3000' at a moderate pace
Avalanche I certification
Course includes Zoom based evening session at 7pm day prior to the posted field day date
Available:
TBD
Trip Duration: 9+hrs
Minimum Group Size: 1
Student/Instructor Ratio: 3:1
Rates:
$275pp
Private Backcountry Skiing Mentorship
Learning the ways of the mountains takes a lot of time and getting out with a professional in a mentorship role can help you learn more efficiently, reducing the overall learning curve. Our working guides can help foster the growth of both the hard physical skills of touring as well as soft skills like decision making and forecasting. The ability to get direct feedback in an environment that can otherwise be fairly nebulous to interpret is invaluable to the learning process. As backcountry travelers, we don't alway know whether our process' and decisions were sound or smart at the end of the day but we can help keep you honest and increase your odds of success moving forward.
Mentorship Options:
-Planning and forecasting
-Hazard interpretation in the field
-Setting and executing realistic objectives
-Terrain management on uphill
-Terrain management on downhill
-Group management
-Skinning technique
-Time management
-Nutrition
-Steep skiing technique
-Powder skiing technique
-Technical ski mountaineering techniques
-Self rescue
-Improvised evacuation
-Training
-Setting appropriate goals
Please contact us for a custom program! We will put you in the hot seat!
Available: April - November
Trip Duration: 3 days
Group Size: 1-4
Rates:
Private Group Size
1 2 3 4
$1400 $750pp $625pp $525pp
Ski Mountaineering Course
Advanced skiers need a specific skillset to keep them safe and moving in steep and technical terrain and this backcountry skiing based course focuses on just that. This course operates from an overnight basecamp in the Wasatch alpine and is truly a fun time!
Topics Include:
-Ascending in complex terrain
-Belayed skiing
-Use of rope for belay and rappel in the alpine setting
-Crampon and ice axe use and self arrest
-Downhill movement in and management of steep terrain
-Introduction to glacier travel and crevasse rescue
-Winter camping
-Gear considerations
-Planning appropriate objectives
Prerequisites:
High Advanced to Expert ski or snowboarding ability
Ability to skin a minimum of 3000'/day at a moderate pace
Avalanche I certification minimum
Available: TBD
Trip Duration: 3 days
Minimum Group Size: 1
Student/Instructor Ratio: 3:1
Rates:
$1200pp
FAQ
Guided Backcountry Skiing
- Can I join an organized group to lower the fees of the day?
Only in the context of avalanche safety and other backcountry skiing, climbing and canyoneering courses is joining a mixed group possible. All other guided trips are private bookings.
- Does elevated avalanche danger make guided backcountry ski outings dangerous or susceptible to cancellation?
When avalanche danger rises we shift operations to areas with moderate slopes. When off of and away from slopes 30° and steeper, avalanches are generally not possible. We rarely need to cancel trips but we often shift venues that are more suitable for daily conditions. One situation which can limit a trip’s departure for individuals who are staying in Little Cottonwood Canyon, is if Inter-lodge is declared as the result of a large snow event, which prevents all individuals from going outside.
- Do I need to take an avalanche course to participate in a guided backcountry ski tour?
No, we are able to brief participants to an acceptable level of competence for touring on the day of the outing. The terrain which guides choose to utilize on the day may be due to, or at least partly, the competency of the participant overall though. For more committing objectives participants may need to display competency prior.
- What is involved in ski touring? Can I use my resort ski set-up?
Ski touring requires the use skis with touring bindings and skins to travel uphill. Alpine ski equipment, as is most commonly used at ski areas, is not suitable. None of our tours are suitable by boot-packing or using snowshoes as a means of travel.
- Do you run ski tours that start from the lifts?
Sometimes. If it makes sense with conditions we can use ski lifts to start some of the ski tours we do from Alta and Brighton Resorts. We generally only ride the lifts up once, for access purposes, though. Lift use is not included in the cost of our guided services but at Alta we have access passes available at a discounted rate and at Brighton, single-ride lift tickets are sold Mon-Thurs outside holiday periods. Backcountry ski runs that are accessed from the ski areas using gravity only are limited at Utah resorts. For those that only want to ski/ride downhill we recommend a Cat or Heli ski trip.
- How many runs will I get on a tour?
This depends on the specific touring area/objective, the fitness and experience of the group, and their acclimatization. We measure the quantity of skiing by overall vertical feet climbed or skied, which over the course of a day can average between ~1200' and 7500' or more. Overall vertical can be in a single descent or split up by several runs. Historically, a group in reasonable fitness, who are new to touring can expect around 2600' of vertical, cumulatively, over two to three runs. Some tours may have a net gain in descent numbers if a tour starts at a higher elevation than it finishes, such as when lifts or car shuttles are used.
- Do you guide and instruct snowboarders?
Absolutely, as long as a split-board is used. Split-boards are available for rent locally. We tend to use the word ski, to mean skiing and snowboarding.
- Do you rent equipment?
We rent avalanche safety (beacon, shovel, probe) and ski touring equipment to our guided clients only. If you need equipment provided, simply select what you need in the online booking process. Of note, we do not rent split-boards.
- Do you need to use ski touring equipment on your Snowmobile-Accessed ski tours?
Yes. On these trips we use snowmobiles to get to remote areas to ski tour. We do not use snowmobiles as a means of taking skis runs by shuttling people to the top of slopes for ski runs.
- Utah's mountains aren't that high, will the altitude effect me?
Many people have a misconception that the altitude will not affect their performance while ski touring in Utah because they haven't had big issues while resort skiing here in the past, even coming from sea level. The reality is that ski touring is much more cardio-intensive than resort skiing and that the altitude WILL affect your performance, regardless of whether you feel sick or not. The question is more, how significant of an effect it has. To make the most of your time out with us, we recommend not ski touring with us on the first day or two of your trip and getting to altitude at the resorts first. This is particularly true if you live close to sea level and have not been at altitude previously for two weeks or longer, or if you live at altitude, having been near sea level for three to four weeks or longer.
-What elevations do you ski at?
7,000' - 11,500'
Avalanche Courses
- Do I need ski touring experience to take a Level I Avalanche Course?
At a minimum, we ask individuals to become familiar with the use of touring equipment prior to starting a course. Our Backcountry 101 course makes for a perfect introduction to skinning but we can also set up a private session if that is preferred.
- Do I need to use touring equipment on an avalanche course?
Yes. Alpine ski and snowboard equipment, or the use of snowshoes is not sufficient