Advanced Ski Mountaineering Camps
Silverton, Red Mountain Pass, and San Juan Mountains, Colorado
Have you skied some peaks and want more? Would you like to build on the knowledge you gained from our Introduction to Ski Mountaineering course? If you answered yes, than our Advanced Ski Mountaineering Camps are for you! The San Juan Mountains around Silverton, CO provide the ideal classroom for improving your ski mountaineering skills! As in all our courses, or education heavy philosophy shines in these advanced level courses courses!
Let our guides help you bulld you how to blend multiple backcountry disciplines into one. Learn more advanced alpine rope work, improve further on your snow safety knowledge, and work on improvised sheleter construction winter camping. Timing is everything with big mountain skiing. That's why we hold our Advacned Ski Mountaineering Camps in the spring. The months of March and April offer up safer avalanche conditions than mid-winter as well as amazing snow conditions. This allows us to ski virtually anything what we want!
Ski routes may include but are not limited to:
- Hallway Coulior, Sultan Mountain 13,368 ft: South Minieral Creek. Outside Silverton, CO
- Grand Turk 13,148 ft: South Minieral Creek. Silverton, CO
- Bear Peak 12,987 ft; South Minieral Creek. Outside Silverton, CO
- North Look Out Peak 13,661 Chatanooga Curve. Outside Silverton, CO
- South Lookout Peak 13,357 Ophir Pass area. Outside of Silverton, CO
- Point 13,156. Outside of Silverton, CO
- So Many More!
Topics to be covered include but are not limited to:
- Advanced Gear and Equipment selection and use
- Decision Making in Avalanche Terrain: Avalanche: 201
- Advanced Navigation
- Roped movement in a ski mountaineering setting
- Transitions in extreme terrain: skinning to skiing, skiing to skinning, skinning to booting
- Ski mountaineering techniques/ Alpine Rope work
- Mountain weather and conditions forecasting in relation to skiable snow
- Steep downhill skiing techniques (45+ degrees)
- Rescue techniques and emergency procedures
- Shelters/ Food/ Alpine LNT techniques
Price Includes
- AMGA and AIARE trained guides
- All meals while on the overnight
- Group equipment (stoves, cooking fuel, technical climbing equipment / ropes, first aid kits)
- Backcountry Skiing: Skills for Ski Touring and Ski Mountaineering book by Martin Volken, Scott Schell & Margaret Wheeler. A $26 value!
- Backcountry Access avalanche equipment; DTS Tracker beacon, traverse shovel, Spot 203 probe
- Transportation from KMG office in Durango to trailhead and back
Price Does Not Include
- Travel from your location to Durango, CO and back
- Personal clothing , climbing, and skiing equipment: Backcountry skiing equipment is available for rent from out partner shop, Backcountry Experience, for an additional cost. Get in touch for pricing and selection.
- Individual travel costs, delays, etc.
- Excess baggage fees
- Alcoholic drinks and personal snacks
- Hotels before and after trip
- Recommended Travel/trip cancelation insurance. highly recomended!!!
- Guide/ Staff gratuity
Prerequisites:
- Skiers/ riders should be in excelent physical condition.
- Skiers/ riders should be comfortable skiing black diamond terrain at a typical ski resort.
- Be comfortable skiing with 20 lbs pack
- Skiers/ riders should have prior avalanche training, preferablly an AIARE avalanche course
- If you do not possess these skills or need review, we recommend doing a skills course with us in Colorado prior to your expedition.
Registration and Cancelation:
- To reserve your spot on a domestic climbing or skiing program please fill out the enclosed application and return it to us along witha 50% deposit if applying more than 60 days out. If your trip/ course starts in less than 60 days please submit full payment
- If notice of cancellation is given in writing at least 60 days prior to the trip start date, you will be refunded your fulldeposit except for a $50 processing fee.
- If notice of cancellation is given in writing within 59 - 30 days prior to the trip start date, a cancellation fee equal to thedeposit amount will be charged.
- If notice of cancellation is given in writing less than 30 days prior to the trip start date, a cancellation fee equal to 100% of the program fee will be charged.
