Private ski guiding allows you to customize your day for up to 4 skiers and riders. Most interested in backcountry education? Or are you looking to ski fresh tracks on steep slopes all day? Give us a call to start planning your dream ski adventure in Lake Tahoe. Alpenglow Expeditions operates under a special use permit from the Tahoe, Inyo and Eldorado National Forests. This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
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Alpenglow Expeditions private trips will be run in accordance with your schedule and demands. If there is something that you wish to accomplish, we are excited and prepared to guide and organize nearly any adventure. Tell us your ideas and parameters, and let us organize your dream adventure!
Alpenglow Expeditions operates under a special use permit from the Tahoe, Inyo and Eldorado National Forests. This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
Excellent physical fitness is required. Skiers must be able to hike for many hours at a time while carrying a pack.
Skiers must be competent resort skiers able to link turns in a variety of terrain and snow conditions.
You tell us what your goals are and we'll build the ski experience that you'll never forget.
Simple, lightweight probe, 240-300cm. Must have an auto-locking feature.
Buy on Backcountry.comSimple, metal bladed avalanche shovel. Extendable handle recommended.
Buy on Backcountry.comThese skis should be relatively lightweight, 90-110mm underfoot, and have a shape that works well in a variety of snow conditions. "Tech" style bindings strongly recommended. Make sure your skins are trimmed to your ski.
Read more1. We reserve the right to cancel any trip at any time. Reasons for cancellation might include (but are not limited to) natural disasters or inadequate enrollment. If we cancel a trip prior to its start for low enrollment, we fully refund your payments. If we cancel your trip prior to its start due to natural disasters or other reasons of that nature, we will refund all but non-recoverable costs. Changes to a trip itinerary made by our guides for any reason do not constitute a cancellation, and no refunds will be made in this case.
2. If you cancel your trip more than 30 days prior to departure, Alpenglow Expeditions will refund your payment minus a 25% cancelation fee, or the option to rebook to another available date with 100% credit. Cancellations between 10 and 30 days prior to the course start, you may reschedule with a 25% rebooking fee. Inside of 10 days, there are no rebookings or refunds. In light of this, Alpenglow Expeditions highly recommends purchasing trip insurance to protect yourself in the event that you are unable to attend.
3. On any trip, our guides reserve the right to remove any person, for any reason. These reasons generally stem from a person jeopardizing the safety of themselves or another team member. This includes a person who is not physically able to climb or ski/ride at the level necessary for the chosen objective. In all these cases, there are no refunds whatsoever, and the client will be responsible for any additional costs incurred in leaving the trip.
4. Travel in the mountains can be difficult at times. Winter weather can have a significant impact on travel times, with temporary road closures, chain control, traffic, and slow driving conditions, poor visibility, and other issues all possibly contributing to delays. Additionally, there is a certain amount of inherent risk involved with winter driving, we recommend that all participants take the time to be prepared for unforeseen circumstances or delays. As these issues are a normal part of mountain travel, Alpenglow will not cancel courses due to challenging travel conditions.
You will receive a welcome email shortly with more information about your day. Please be sure to fill out our waivers, and let us know if you have any rental needs. Verify you have all your personal gear that you’ll need, and give us a call if you have questions about any aspect of your Alpenglow adventure.
No problem, just head back to our expedition page and select “ski” under activities. There you’ll see all of our available ski trips.
Skiers must be confident on a variety of terrain, including black diamond-caliber descents. Prior ski touring experience is not required, although excellent physical fitness is important. If you can get down the mountain- we can get you up!
The amount of hiking during the day varies largely on the size, pace, and motivation of the group. On a light day, you can expect about 1-2 hours of hiking, and on a larger day some groups may surpass 4 hours of hiking throughout the course of the day.
Location and timing vary depending on the conditions and objectives of the group.
In general, your gear for the day will be very similar to a day of skiing in the resort, but here are a few key pieces that are unique to the backcountry and crucial for the day –
A hat and pair of sunglasses (These come in handy on the hike up)
Sunscreen
Water and snacks (Our guides recommend between 1-2L of water depending on your intake)
Lighter, more breathable layer options than a typical resort layering system. An additional light pair of gloves is preferred for uphill travel
Ski poles with powder baskets, or a pair of collapsable poles for splitboarding. (We have these available at no extra charge if you need them)
A backpack, and any avalanche rescue gear you may own. (Our guides recommend packs around 20-30L)
**Please give us a call if you have any questions about what to bring, or if your gear will be appropriate for the day.
We have an excellent selection of backcountry ski gear available to rent. We offer top of the line equipment from Blizzard Skis, Technica Boots, Jones Snowboards, and Black Diamond. Many of our guides use the same gear available in our demo fleet. If you have any gear or sizing questions, we would be more than happy to get you situated to ensure you get the most out of your day in the mountains.
A/T Skis
We can offer touring specific skis from Blizzard, a personal favorite for our mountain guides. We have skis available for both females and males. We have sizes available in 164cm, 171cm, 178cm, and 185cm.
Splitboards
We have Jones Splitboards available to rent in sizes 145cm, 152cm, 160cm, 161cm, 162cm, and 164cm) Please let us know your stance/binding angle preferences if you are planning to rent a splitboard setup.
A/T Ski Boots
Alpine touring ski boots from Technica Boots are available to rent. Sizes range from 23.5 to 29.5 in both genders.
Avalanche Equiptment
Avalanche gear is mandatory for all peoples traveling in alpine terrain. If you do not already own gear, we offer a beacon, shovel, probe setup available to rent for $25/day.
Yes! Alpenglow rents beacons, probes and shovels for a small daily fee.
Lunch is not included, we recommend bringing a sack lunch and plenty of water.
At Alpenglow, we have only the highest standards of safety and guide qualifications. All of our local backcountry tours are led by AMGA trained/certified guides. Our guides assess the snow conditions and avalanche hazards every morning to mitigate risk, and are supervised by fully certified IFMGA guides.
From bushwhacking miles of Manzanita in ski boots to traversing huge glaciers in exotic ranges, adventure draws Zeb in. Originally from Vermont, Zeb has been hooked on big mountains since his first ski tour in Jackson Hole and has pursued skiing, climbing and exploring ever since. Zeb has climbed and guided in the Himalaya, Alaska, Argentina, Mexico, Ecuador and Asia among others and he’s working hard to keep that list growing. Working as a mountain guide allows Zeb to share his passion for human powered movement in the mountains and to pass along what he’s learned along the way.
Zeb has successfully guided Mt Everest [29,029′], Mt Cho Oyu [26,906′] including a ski descent from the summit, Lobuche East [20,075′], and four expeditions on Denali [20,320’], including a ski descent from the summit. He has completed 64 summits of Mount Rainier [14,410’]. Additional credentials include 12 summits of Mount Shasta [14,179’]; 5 summits of Mount Shuksan [9,100’]; 3 summits via Mount Baker [10,678’], including one ski descent from the summit, and two ski descents via the North Ridge; 2 summits of Aconcagua [22,841’]; 1 summit of Cotopaxi and 1 summit of Cayabme; 2 summits of Ixtacihuatl in Mexico; 3 summits of Orizaba in Mexico, including a ski descent from the summit; and numerous rock, alpine and ski summits from the Cascades, Sierra Nevada, Coast ranges and Rockies.
Zeb is an AMGA certified ski guide.
director of operations / chief guide
Logan has been guiding professionally for over a decade in the disciplines of Rock, Alpine and Ski Mountaineering. When not out guiding, Logan keeps things running smoothly as the director of operations at Alpenglow Expeditions. From one day ascents of El Capitan to big Alpine climbs in the Himalaya, from ski descents on Denali to backyard ski tours in Lake Tahoe, he can’t help but smile when out running around the hills. Logan is a fully certified AMGA/IFMGA mountain guide, an Avalanche course leader with AIARE, as well as a wilderness EMT. In addition to guiding, Logan has extensive experience in mountain rescue, having worked for rescue teams in both Yosemite and Denali National Parks, and volunteering locally for Tahoe Nordic SAR. When not out in the hills, he lives in Truckee, CA with his lovely wife Lynette and daughter Maggie.
Ben has been in love with the mountains from a young age. He began hiking and skiing with his family and quickly decided he never wanted to stop. After finishing university in Portland, OR Ben moved back to Washington State and began guiding on Mt. Rainier and around the Cascades. For the next many years he followed the seasons, skiing, climbing and pursuing the art of human flight through out the world. He has made expeditions into both polar circles, skied first descents in Afghanistan and climbed throughout the Americas and Europe. When not looking forward to the next adventure he thoroughly enjoys roasting coffee, reading and taking his dog out for walks.
Ben is a fully certified IFMGA/AMGA mountain guide, Certified Level III Avalanche Professional, and Wilderness First Responder.
With notable first descents in the Alps, Tim Dobbins represents Alpenglow’s cutting edge guiding philosophy providing only the best guides for every trip and expedition.
Growing up in Oregon, Tim started out skiing at the young age of 4 years old. Tim grew up ski racing for 9 years before he moved on to backcountry skiing in Aspen, Colorado. He spent 4 years working as ski patrol at Snowmass Ski Resort.
Tim moved to Chamonix in the mid-’90s where he spent 6 seasons skiing and climbing while studying French. Tim says that Chamonix is where he really started learning how to ski tour, rock climb, ice climb and eventually began skiing the steepest lines he could find.
Examples of those steep lines were the North East face of Les Courtes, Couloir Barbey from Aiguille D’Argentiere, Couloir Couturier from L’Aiguille Verte, Couloir du Diable on Mont Blanc du Tacul, East face of the Matterhorn and many, many others.
Tim has recently spent the last 9 years guiding and instructing in rock, ice, alpine, and skiing as well as becoming an IFMGA aspirant mountain guide, an AMGA certified ski guide and AIARE level 1 course leader. He lives on Donner Lake in Truckee with his wife Gisele, sweet daughter Manue and newborn Matisse.
The Alpenglow Backcountry team are extremely professional and run an excellent operation. The equipment is new, the guides are very experienced and knowledgeable about the local Squaw/Alpine terrain. I would highly recommend any to use Alpenglow and we will certainly be back.
Tim Threlkeld
I was introduced to Alpenglow by a friend and worked with them to find an AIARE Level 1 Course that worked with my and my wife's schedule. I did a ton of online research, asked friends and everything kept pointing to Alpenglow. Logan Talbott was both our coordinator and instructor and he was professional on and off the mountain. On top of that, he made the course and our interactions fun! We had a great time, feel well educated (although there is a TON of learning still to do) and are already planning other expeditions we could do with Logan and Alpenglow. As a longtime mountain/alpine enthusiast, I can't believe I didn't take this course years ago. It's a must-do for anyone who wants to venture into the backcountry.
Jordan Kobert
