If you want to go on an overnight hut trip or ski the wilds of the backcountry, it’s essential to learn backcountry skills. Knowledge and good judgment about weather, avalanches, navigation, appropriate terrain and equipment, and overall safety are key to a great backcountry experience.
The intermediate ski instruction and some AT car trips, hut trips and yurt trips include back-country skills instruction. The ski club offers overnight trips to back-country huts and yurts as well as day tours of steeper terrain, including alpine touring (AT) and telemark opportunities. Indoor sessions prior to these trips and outdoor discussions focus on various backcountry skills. Avalanche beacons, probe poles, and shovels may be required. See the calendar for dates and the Backcountry Skills and Backcountry Checklist PDFs and other documents below. Also see our Resources pull down menu for avalanche education, wilderness medicine courses, and information on huts and yurts, snow, weather, and avalanche conditions, available from various organizations. There are numerous books, web resources, and courses available in addition to resources on this website.