Intro to Backcountry in Washington - Private
We'll cover the following topics and skills:
- How to find the best mountain weather forecast for your day's objective
- How to find and understand the Avalanche Advisory for the day
- How to perform a trailhead transceiver check
- Fundamentals of using your touring gear, whether you're using alpine touring skis or a splitboard
- How to apply, maintain and store climbing skins
- Techniques for efficient skinning and track setting
- Basics of backcountry navigation
- Basics of avalanche rescue tools
- 8:00am - Meet your guide in the field at the designated trailhead
- 8:15am - Review avalanche hazard rating, gear check, trailhead departure check
- 8:45am - Begin the course / tour - with lessons and teachable moments along the way
- 12pm - Lunch on the go
- 3:30 - Finish tour at the trailhead. Debrief of the day and discuss strengths, areas for improvement, goals, and next steps in your backcountry progression.
Here are the skills and fitness you'll need for your course:
- This is an introductory program - No ski touring / splitboarding experience is required!
- Advanced Resort Riding skills - Including off-piste terrain in challenging snow conditions
- Basic Fitness - Able to spend an active day outside, moving uphill at 1,000’ per hour for durations of roughly 1 hour between breaks. Participants should be able to hike 3-5 miles and climb 1,000-1,500 vertical feet throughout the course of the day.
- Ski/Split Touring & Avalanche Gear - Come prepared with your own gear or rent from us
Here's what's included with your course:
- Experienced AMGA/AIARE Trained Guide
- Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest Permit
- Group Safety Gear - Snow Science, First Aid Kits
- Wag Bags - for human waste disposal, in compliance 'Leave No Trace' principles
- Ski/Splitboard Gear
- Avalanche Gear
- Transportation
- Meals
- Winter Parking Passes
- Guide Gratuities
Washington Backcountry Skiing Gear List
- Avalanche Gear - Come prepared with your own gear or rent from Blackbird
- Ski/Split Touring Gear - Come prepared with your own gear or rent from:
Know Before you go
PRIVATE PROGRAMS
- Custom Scheduling: Choose your dates and plan around your availability.
- Tailored Experiences: Itineraries and objectives are adjusted to suit your goals, experience, and fitness.
- Cost-Effective for Most Large Groups: Private programs are typically more cost-effective for groups of 3 or more.
- Flexibility Comes at a Price: For groups of 1-2, private programs are generally more expensive.
- AIARE Courses: AIARE course pricing is based on a group of 6. Running these as a private program with fewer than 6 participants will increase the per-person cost.
SCHEDULED PROGRAMS
- Fixed Dates & Costs: Scheduled programs have set dates, itineraries, objectives, and pricing.
- Great for Solo or Small Groups: Ideal for individuals or small groups looking to share costs with others.
- Affordable for 1-2 People: Scheduled programs are typically less expensive for groups of 1-2.
- Less Flexibility: Dates fill quickly, and group programs require adapting to the skill level and pace of all participants
- Group Atmosphere: Meet others with similar interests and make some new backcountry buddies!
Note: Any scheduled program can also be run as a private program with customized dates and rates.
Both options offer exceptional guiding and experiences. Choose what works best for you!
8:00am Meet your guide in the field at the designated trailhead.
The venue will be in Mt Baker or Snoqualmie Pass. These are excellent zones to learn the fundamental skills you'll need to explore the backcountry with ease and efficiency.
During this meeting your guide will discuss:
- The avalanche hazard rating for the day and our plan for managing that hazard. The Northwest Avalanche Center provides a daily avalanche forecast and we'll discuss concerns for the day, our intended route and observations we'll make along the way to keep tabs on the conditions.
- Gear Check. We'll do a quick gear check to make sure everyone has the appropriate layers, gear, and food and water for the day. Make sure you consult the gear list and bring everything listed! Conditions can change quickly and the weather in the mountains is significantly different from town. If in doubt, bring an assortment of gear and your guide can help you select the best items for the conditions at hand!
- Trailhead departure check. In the backcountry, each trip begins with a quick checklist to make sure everyone has the proper avalanche safety equipment and rescue gear to respond in the event of an emergency. As part of this check, your guide will walk the group through a transceiver check to make sure everyone's beacon is functioning properly.
8:45 Begin the Tour, with lessons and teachable moments along the way.
You'll start off on the route described by your guide. Your guide will find appropriate areas to broach backcountry skills, lessons and observations including:
- Navigation and route planning
- Skinning technique: the mechanics of efficient skinning and body position
- Skin track setting, including making rounded, A-V-A and kick turns
- Relevant observations of snowpack and weather that inform us on where we can find the best ski quality and avoid avalanche conditions
- Discussion of descent options
- Travel techniques including sticking together, spreading out, skiing one at a time, skiing together and how to find good places to stop while other team members are skiing
3:30 Wrap up the tour at the trailhead.
We'll close out our program with a debrief of the day and some memorable lessons learned to help solidify the knowledge gained throughout the day. We'll also talk about next steps for everyone in their backcountry progressions. We close all of our programs well before sunset to provide a margin of safety to get everyone back to the trailhead before dark.
We'll cover the following topics and skills:
- How to find the best mountain weather forecast for your day's objective
- How to find and understand the Avalanche Advisory for the day
- How to perform a trailhead transceiver check
- Fundamentals of using your touring gear, whether you're using alpine touring skis or a splitboard
- How to apply, maintain and store climbing skins
- Techniques for efficient skinning and track setting
- Basics of backcountry navigation
- Basics of avalanche rescue tools
- 8:00am - Meet your guide in the field at the designated trailhead
- 8:15am - Review avalanche hazard rating, gear check, trailhead departure check
- 8:45am - Begin the course / tour - with lessons and teachable moments along the way
- 12pm - Lunch on the go
- 3:30 - Finish tour at the trailhead. Debrief of the day and discuss strengths, areas for improvement, goals, and next steps in your backcountry progression.
Here are the skills and fitness you'll need for your course:
- This is an introductory program - No ski touring / splitboarding experience is required!
- Advanced Resort Riding skills - Including off-piste terrain in challenging snow conditions
- Basic Fitness - Able to spend an active day outside, moving uphill at 1,000’ per hour for durations of roughly 1 hour between breaks. Participants should be able to hike 3-5 miles and climb 1,000-1,500 vertical feet throughout the course of the day.
- Ski/Split Touring & Avalanche Gear - Come prepared with your own gear or rent from us
Here's what's included with your course:
- Experienced AMGA/AIARE Trained Guide
- Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest Permit
- Group Safety Gear - Snow Science, First Aid Kits
- Wag Bags - for human waste disposal, in compliance 'Leave No Trace' principles
- Ski/Splitboard Gear
- Avalanche Gear
- Transportation
- Meals
- Winter Parking Passes
- Guide Gratuities
Washington Backcountry Skiing Gear List
- Avalanche Gear - Come prepared with your own gear or rent from Blackbird
- Ski/Split Touring Gear - Come prepared with your own gear or rent from:
Epic Reviews From Adventurers
- Rated 5 out of 5 starsOutstanding experience!
Had an outstanding experience. Did the Intro to Backcountry course and Brandon Seymore as my guide. He came with a ton of knowledge, emphasis on safety and fun personality - making it a dynamite experience. Was also great linking up with other people interested in Backcountry Skiing to start building a buddy system.
Dominic C. - Rated 5 out of 5 starsGreat weekend of learning!
Had a great weekend of learning with Blackbird. I did an intro to backcountry and AIARE 1 program. It was early season so we were limited in places we could go, but the team made it work. Our guide/instructor John was great and kept things engaging and met our group at our level.
Chris G. - Rated 5 out of 5 starsgreat time
We had a great time with our guide Peter. We learned a lot and had a blast!
Michael B.Verified Buyer - Rated 5 out of 5 stars5 Stars
Jason was an awesome guide, we learned a ton and had a great time in the backcountry! Will definitely be taking more courses with Blackbird in the future
Aaron
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