Ski mountaineering is a glorious season in the North Cascades. It typically starts in April and often extends into July. Our private ski mountaineering programs let you pick your own itinerary to summit and ski peaks including Mount Baker, Eldorado Peak, Sahale Mountain and more.
Bring your team and choose an objective to fit your goals. We can accommodate fast and light missions, skills programs, and ski mountaineering traverses.
Our team of AMGA trained guide will manage the risks and logistics and plan an awesome trip for your crew!
Requisite Experience
This is a private ski mountaineering experience for your team. Whatever skill and fitness level you are at, we can build an excellent experience for your group! Describe your experience and skills and we can help you pick an objective that will work for you and your crew. We can also build skills seminars to help you build specific skills for your objectives!
Dates
Available Dates
Prices
Varies based on program.Itinerary
Varies based on program.Equipment
Gear Guide / Packing List
Backcountry Touring Gear
❏ Alpine Touring Skis or Splitboard - Light to Midweight Setup with “Tech Bindings”
❏ Alpine Touring Boots or Splitboard Compatible Boots; Scarpa F1
❏ Ski Poles - Lightweight, Adjustable Poles with Baskets; BD Expedition 3 Poles
❏ Climbing Skins - Mohair Mix is Best; Black Diamond GlideLite Mohair Mix,
❏ Ski Crampons - Specific to your Skis/Board;
❏ Ski Strap - Voile Ski Strap or Similar
Avalanche Gear
❏ Avalanche Beacon - Digital Avalanche Transceiver; Black Diamond Guide Recon BT
❏ Avalanche Shovel - Collapsible, Aluminum Shovel; Backcountry Access BT2 Shovel
❏ Avalanche Probe - Quickdraw Style Probe; Backcountry Access Stealth 300
Technical Gear
❏ Climbing/Ski Helmet - Dual Rated Helmet; Petzl Sirocco or Black Diamond Vision
❏ Headlamp - LED headlamp with fresh batteries; Petzl Actik Core
❏ Climbing Harness - Light Alpine Harness; Petzl Altitude, Mammut Zephyr Altitude
❏ Two Locking Carabiners (Petzl Attache) OR Triple Action Locking Carabiner (Edelrid HMS Strike Triple)
❏ Crampons, Steel - Steel Crampons Compatible with Your Boots; Petzl Vasak
❏ Crampons, Aluminum - Lightweight Aluminum Crampons, Compatible with Your Boots
❏ Lightweight Ice Axe - An ultralight Axe for Steep Terrain; Petzl Ride, BD Raven Ultra
Head and Neck Layers
❏ Sun Hat - A Baseball Hat; Blackbird Mountain Guides Logo Hat
❏ Sunglasses - Dark Lens Glasses with Side Coverage; Julbo Shield
❏ Goggles - Ski Goggles with a Storm Lens; Julbo Aerospace Reactive
❏ Warm Hat - Lightweight Warm Hat that Fits Under Your Helmet;
❏ Neck Gaiters - Light to Midweight Neck Gaiters; Buff or your favorite Face Masks
***These Are Required as Covid-19 Face Coverings
Upper Body and Hand Layers
❏ Long Sleeve Base Layer - Lightweight, Synthetic/Wool; Patagonia SunHoody
❏ 2 Insulating Top Layers - Light to Midweight Insulation Layers; Patagonia R1 & Nano Air
❏ Puffy - Midweight Down or Synthetic with Hood; Patagonia Fitzroy or similar
❏ Hardshell Jacket, Hooded - Waterproof, Gore-Tex, NOT insulated; Arc’Teryx Alpha FL
❏ Light Gloves - Light to Mid Weight for Warm Temps; Flylow John Henry Gloves, BD Tour
❏ Midweight Gloves - Mid to Heavy Weight for Cold Conditions; BD Legend
❏ Sports Bra - Wool/Synthetic;
Lower Body and Foot Layers
❏ Socks - Midweight Wool/Synthetic; Darn Tough Via Ferrata
❏ Underwear - Wool/Synthetic
❏ Long Underwear - Wool/Synthetic “Long Johns”; Patagonia Capilene Air
❏ Softshell Ski Pants - Breathable, Weather Resistant Pants; OR Trailbreaker II
❏ Vented Hardshell Ski Pants - Waterproof Pants for Extreme Weather; Flylow Compound
Camping & Backpacking Gear
❏ Sleeping Bag - Down or Synthetic Rated 0 to 20F; Feathered Friends Egret UL 20
❏ Sleeping Pad - Insulated Inflatable Air Mattress; Therm-a-Rest NeoAir X-Therm
❏ Compression Stuff - To Pack Your Sleeping Bag; Ultralight Compression Sack 10L
❏ Backpack - Lightweight, Simple 50 Liter Pack; Patagonia Alpinist 50, BD Speed 50
Food and Water
❏ Dinner - Your Favorite Freeze Dried or “Just-Add-Hot-Water” Meal for Each Night in the Field.
❏ Breakfast - Your Favorite Freeze Dried or “Just-Add-Hot-Water” Meal for Each Morning in the Field
❏ Hot Drinks - For After Dinner and During Breakfast; Instant Coffee, Decaffeinated Tea, Hot Cocoa, Tang, Whatever You Prefer
❏ Half Liter Nalgene Bottle - A Hard Sided Water Bottled that Can Act as your Mug For Hot Drinks and Water Bottle During the Climb; Nalgene 16oz Wide Mouth Bottle
❏ Soft Water Bottle 1.5L - Flexible Water Bladder; Hydrapak Flux 1.5L
***Please bring at least one hard sided water bottle.
❏ Bowl - Reuse your freeze dried dinner bag as your bowl, or bring another light bowl;
❏ Spoon - 9” Long Handled Spoon (For Eating Food in a Bag); GSI Essential Spoon Long
❏ Snacks - Snacks for each day of the trip, plan on 8-12 hours of activity each day
Other Essentials
❏ Sun Screen (SPF 30 minimum)
❏ Lip Balm (with SPF)
❏ Hand Sanitizer
❏ Toilet Paper
Optional
❏ First Aid/blister Kit
❏ Chemical Hand Warmers
❏ Hydration System - Flexible Water Bladder with Hose; Hydrapak, Camelback, Platypus
❏ Water Treatment or Filtration - Katadyn BeFree Filter Connects to Hydrapak Flux Bottles (we will be melting water from snow and Water Treatment is not necessary for this).
Group Gear
Blackbird Mountain Guides will supply all of the group gear for the trip, including:
✓ Slingfin Tents (Designed and Headquartered in Berkeley, CA)
✓ Stoves
✓ Fuel for Stoves
✓ Ropes
✓ Snow Pickets (if required)
✓ Rock Protection (if required)
✓ Guide’s First Aid Kits
✓ Wag Bags (Solid Human Waste Disposal Bags)