Want to summit and ski big, snowy mountains? This course is for backcountry skiers, like you, who are looking to gain the skills they need to climb and ski the great peaks of the world. This course provides the baseline skillset you need to get started climbing and skiing mountains with exposure to steep, firm slopes.
Whether your goal is to ski Mt Baker, Mt Shuksan, the North Cascades or high peaks across the globe, the skills covered in this course are universally beneficial. No matter where you go, these skills will be the foundation of efficient climbing and will help you manage the hazards of the mountains.
In this program we'll cover:
- Ski Mountaineering Gear
- Ice Axes
- Boot Crampons
- Ski Crampons
- Ropes
- Carabiners
- Mountaineering efficiency including the Rest Step
- Crampon Techniques
- Ice Axe Techniques including Self Arrest and Team Arrest (for Glacier Travel)
- Descending techniques for mountaineering
- Basics of rope team travel
Requisite Experience
You should have a solid ski touring background and be proficient with your backcountry ski touring gear. Beyond that, we will teach all of the skills you need for ski mountaineering on non-glaciated terrain without technical climbing (4th Class rock or ice) or rappelling.
Dates
Available Dates
Prices
See Sidebar for Pricing.Itinerary
7:30 am Meet your guide at the trailhead. This early start time will allow us to take advantage of frozen surface conditions and will help with learning fundamental cramponing skills.
Your guide will conduct a Trailhead Departure Check/Beacon Check then we’ll tour to an appropriate venue with terrain that provides excellent learning opportunities.
8:00 am From start to finish we’ll be explaining, demonstrating and coaching you while you practice the following skills:
- The Rest Step: the Foundation of Mountaineering and Ski Mountaineering.
- Crampons
- Types and pros and cons of each
- How to put them on
- Techniques: flat footing, duck step, pied a troisieme, front pointing, plunge stepping
- Ice Axes
- Types of axes and pros and cons of each
- Anatomy of the axe and how to hold it
- Ice Axe Arrest:
- Rope Team Arrest (to stop a partner who has fallen into a crevasse in glaciated terrain)
- Self Arrest (to stop yourself from falling)
- Rope Travel
- For glaciated terrain
- For steep technical terrain with a guide
- Transitions
- Skinning to Ski Crampons
- Ski Crampons or skinning to Boot Crampons
- Climbing/Cramponing to Skiing on steep terrain
- We’ll leave time to answer questions you may have about ski mountaineering and the various techniques at the end of the program
3:00 pm We will close the program after finishing the learning objectives of the course.
Equipment
Ski Mountaineering Skills 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
❏ 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
❏Ski Touring Backpack - Lightweight pack that holds all your gear, ideally with an avalanche tools compartment
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
❏ Climbing Harness - Light Alpine Harness; Petzl Altitude, Mammut Zephyr Altitude
❏ Two Locking Carabiners - Petzl Attache, etc
❏ Crampons, Steel OR Aluminum - make sure they are compatible with your boots!
❏ Ice Axe - Petzl Ride, BD Raven Ultra
❏ Ski Poles - Lightweight, Adjustable Poles with Baskets; BD Expedition 3 Poles
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 (optional) - 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
Food and Water
❏ Food - Bring enough snacks water for a full day in the field
❏ Water - Bring enough water for a full day in the field
***Please bring at least one hard sided water bottle.
Other Essentials
❏ Sun Screen (SPF 30 minimum)
❏ Lip Balm (with SPF)
❏ Hand Sanitizer
Optional
❏ First Aid/blister Kit
❏ Chemical Hand Warmers
❏ Hydration System - Flexible Water Bladder with Hose; Hydrapak, Camelback, Platypus
Group Gear
Blackbird Mountain Guides will supply all of the group gear for the trip, including:
✓ Ropes
✓ Guide’s First Aid Kits
✓ Wag Bags (Solid Human Waste Disposal Bags)