Expand upon baseline backcountry skiing or riding knowledge and allow the accessible South Lake Tahoe backcountry terrain to blossom before your eyes.
Solidify your intermediate backcountry touring skills in this second part of our 3-part Intro to Backcountry series. This backcountry touring course is designed for someone who already has the basic training and experience to go on a backcountry tour, and seeks the next step. Our Backcountry 1.0 course plus 5-10 days of touring experience, OR 10+ days of touring experience are ideal prerequisites. Backcountry 2.0 picks up where 1.0 leaves off, continuing the intermediate skills of touring in the backcountry.
You must be an advanced intermediate skier/rider for this course and be competent on and off-piste in a variety of conditions. Skiers/riders should be comfortable on all blue runs and most black diamond runs at a ski resort.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE BACKCOUNTRY TOURING LOCATION
This course will take place on the South Shore of Lake Tahoe, within the Carson Ranger District of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. There are multiple terrain options at our disposal, and your guide will pick the location with the best conditions for the day.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Depending on fitness level of the group, technical ability and daily conditions skiers and riders can expect to get multiple laps of fresh tracks while expanding upon techniques and skills learned on past tours. Terrain varies from wide open bowls to widely spaced trees.
Each morning starts off with a safety meeting with your ski guide and a gear check to make sure everyone has what they need for the day. Depending on the zone, we’ll either tour right out of our offices, or take a short drive to a trailhead.
Your Tahoe ski guide will come prepared with a defined itinerary for the day, but you’ll have the opportunity to stop and ask questions along the way.
WHO CAN PARTICIPATE IN OUR INTERMEDIATE BACKCOUNTRY TOURING COURSE
Advanced intermediate skiers or riders who have taken our Backcountry 1.0 and have spent 5-10 days out touring since, OR those who have 10+ tours under their belt. Participants must be competent on and off-piste in a variety of terrain and snow conditions. This is comparable to being confident on all blue runs and most black diamond runs in the resort (including ungroomed terrain). This video gives a good example of intermediate to advanced skiers and riders.
Skiers or riders 12-16 years old can join us with a parent. 16 years and over are able to join without accompaniment.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Leadership in the backcountry setting
Tour planning
Avalanche hazard management
Touring movement skills
Difficulty: Strong intermediate to advanced skiing/riding level required.
BACKCOUNTRY RENTALS
A complete backcountry touring setup is required. Tahoe Sports LTD in South Lake Tahoe has alpine touring and splitboard setups, along with beacons, probes, and shovels for rent.
THE ALPENGLOW DIFFERENCE
As a Tahoe guide company with countless expeditions to high-altitude peaks around the world over the last 15 years, we bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to our beloved “home mountain”. Our teaching and guiding philosophy has been honed from the flanks of the Himalayan giants to the technical peaks of Peru, and we are beyond excited to be able to bring our program to this fantastic mountain. In addition to our international expedition roots, we are accredited by the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA), being one of the very few guide services in the region to hold such a high standard. Each of our guides is trained by the AMGA in the terrain in which they operate, and the program is supervised by internationally licensed IFMGA mountain guides. This high standard, along with our many years of experience, translates to a fantastic mountain adventure!
Alpenglow Expeditions operates under special use permit with the Tahoe, Eldorado, Inyo, Humboldt-Toiyable and Shasta-Trinity National Forests. This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
