Backcountry Skiing

The Sierra is legendary for the thousands of acres of the finest backcountry ski and snowboard terrain in our country. Plentiful snow, a wide variety of terrain, and good weather combine to make for an unforgettable experience. We offer guided tours throughout the Sierra. The combined backcountry experience of our staff totals over 100 years. While some are excellent one-day trips, others are overnight and multi-day excursions. Whether backcountry skiing or snowboarding is something you have always wanted to try, or you are a veteran and want to experience some of our most cherished spots, we can offer you a memorable experience. Some popular offerings are listed here, or we will design a custom trip to fit your needs.

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Introduction to Backcountry Skiing / Snowboarding

2 Days
Beginner – Intermediate
This two-day course is designed to introduce snowboarders, alpine and telemark skiers to skills needed for the backcountry. Over the weekend we work on a variety of backcountry techniques for ascending and descending slopes including the use of climbing skins, kick turning, snowshoeing, and traversing. We also introduce avalanche awareness, terrain evaluation, and snow camping skills. There is plenty of time reap the rewards of our uphill climbs by making fresh tracks on the descent. Helpful techniques will be introduced for negotiating the variable snow conditions and terrain encountered in the backcountry. Throughout the weekend our guides share their wealth of knowledge gleaned from many years of enjoying the backcountry on skis and snowboards.

Cost:

$280 per person based on a group of two or more

Dates:

TBA

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Backcountry Tours - One Day Descents

The Sierra is loaded with options for legendary ski and snowboard descents accessible in one day from a car. There is terrain available for every skill level. Popular tour options include the Negatives, Chicken Wing, Rock Chute, Tele Bowl, Wahoo Gully’s, Table Mountain, Bishop Bowl, Onion Valley, the Sherwins, and many more.

Cost:

$170/person with a minimum of two people or $250 for one person

Dates:

January 7, 2012

January 21, 2012

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Spring Corn Camps

5 Days
–Advanced
These camps are designed to give us a chance to take advantage of terrain directly from a base camp. The first day is spent ascending and setting up our camp. We spend the next four days taking tours to bowls and chutes above our camp with the last day being our descent back to the cars. This is an excellent way to maximize your backcountry time in an exhilarating setting and countless acres of untracked snow.ore.

Cost:

$720 per person based on a group of two or more

Dates:

TBA

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Sierra High Route

This Trans-Sierra trip ranks as one of the finest ski tours in the world. It combines excellent terrain with spectacular scenery and real mountaineering challenges. We traverse the Sierra from east to west over an 8-day period ending up at Giant Forest in Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park. The journey finishes with a magnificent 45-minute chartered flight over the route we have just finished.

Cost:

$1300 per person including flight

Dates:

TBA

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Prices include: professional guides, permits, all group equipment including tents, stoves, fuel, shovels, avalanche probes, breakfasts and dinners.

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Introduction to Backcountry Skiing

Learn fundamentals of skiing out of bounds to expand your horizons! Learn basic travel skills, avalanche awareness, avalanche rescue, terrain selection, and hazard mitigation, all while having a great time in the mountains and skiing powder. One day intro course on basic terrain in the Mammoth Lakes area.

$220 Per Person

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Intermediate Backcountry Skiing

For those with a little experience but want to delve deeper into the mountains and on steeper terrain. Expand your knowledge of avalanche awareness/rescue, terrain selection, travel in the mountains, and skiing the steeps. Have you ever wanted to ski that line or that peak but weren't so sure you could. Come ski with us and make your dreams come true. One day course on steeper terrain in the Mammoth Lakes area.

$220 Per Person.

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Advanced Ski Mountaineering

This two day program is for more advanced skiers with backcountry experience who want to tackle bigger objectives. Winter is a great time for peak bagging! We will glide in, set up a base camp, summit a peak and then ride down! There's nothing like a winter Sierra summit! Advanced Ski Mountaineering Skills will be covered as needed to tackle the chosen objective including Avalanche Awareness, ascending/descending steep slopes and couloirs, winter camping and staying comfortable in the winter backcountry environment. Course will be held in the Eastern Sierra. Participants should have participated in the Intermediate course or have equivalent experience.

$440 Per Person.

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