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Stories: Intro to Backcountry

Our Stories

Mountain adventures create the best stories, and we want to share some of ours with you. Dive into Alpenglow Stories to stay up to date on expeditions in the field, read blogs, and get tips and tricks from guides.

Two ski mountaineers on a snowy slope of a volcano in Ecuador with Alpenglow Expeditions' professionally guided ski mountaineering trip to Ecuador's Ring Of Fire.

How to Get Into Ski Mountaineering

Learn how to get into ski mountaineering by building mountaineering skills and backcountry skiing experience. Discover the best training paths and first objectives to start your progression.
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How to Layer

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Mount Shasta using CalTopo

Cal Topo

CalTopo is most effective when it is integrated into a repeatable planning and travel system. The goal is not to use every feature, but to understand which tools matter, when to use them, and how they support decision-making before, during, and after a trip. Here we will go over how to use CalTopo and our favorite features.
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Snow Pits: 101

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Breaking Trail: Interviewing Alpenglow Expeditions’ Outdoor Representation Scholarship Recipients

In 2024, Alpenglow Expeditions proudly awarded the Outdoor Representation Scholarship to two recipients, Gabriel and Jennah. Both took AIARE 1 Avalanche Courses and share their thoughts on the scholarship, backcountry skiing, and accessibility and representation in the outdoors in an interview below:
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private backcountry ski guiding in lake tahoe with professional mountain guides

LABOR DAY SALE: 20% OFF WINTER COURSES

No frills, just deals. Between August 26 and September 2, 2024, use the code LABORDAY20 to save on: AIARE 1 (this includes AIARE 1 Hybrid, 3-Day AIARE, and Women’s AIARE 1) AIARE Rescue Lift-Accessed AIARE Rescue BC 1.0 (North and South Lake) Palisades Backcountry Tours
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Ski mountaineers on the summit of a volcano in Ecuador during an Alpenglow Expeditions guided Ring of Fire backcountry ski expedition

Courses & Trips To Learn Ski Mountaineering

So you’re looking to go from backcountry skier or splitboarder to stepping into bigger, steeper terrain? Here are the courses and trips that we offer that will help you do just that
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aiare course in lake tahoe taught by professional mountain guides

How To Start Backcountry Touring In Lake Tahoe

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A closeup of a climbing guide from Alpenglow Expeditions holding an orange colored rope in their hands as they explain glacier travel to a nearby student in Lake Tahoe

How Our Guides Take Advantage Of The Underwhelming Snowpack

While Tahoe’s snowpack may be underwhelming, these are the perfect conditions for technical skills courses like Ice Climbing, Intro to Mountaineering, Glacier Travel & Crevasse Rescue, and Backcountry 3.0: Intro to Ski Mountaineering!
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private backcountry ski guiding in lake tahoe with professional mountain guides

What You Need To Start Backcountry Skiing or Splitboarding

A Beginner’s Guide to Backcountry Touring in Lake Tahoe with professional mountain guides.
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