Alpenglow Expeditions, the only AMGA Accredited guide service in Lake Tahoe, is proud to be offering our world-class winter Backcountry Course Series and AIARE Avalanche programs in South Lake Tahoe! We recently expanded our permits to include sections of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, allowing us to guide in brand new terrain in the Hope Valley/ Carson Pass area on the South side of Lake Tahoe. We were excited to guide a number of private ski days in South Lake Tahoe last season, and are ecstatic to expand our educational programs to the region.

Our South Lake Tahoe terrain encompasses most of the skiable terrain on Red Lake Peak and Stevens Peak – including Crater Lake Bowl, the Comma Couloir, and the big east face Red Lake Peak – along with Elephant’s Back and the east side of Waterhouse Peak.

 

Backcountry Series

We’ll be offering our complete Backcountry Series course in South Lake Tahoe. These are designed to allow both new and experienced riders to further their education and touring skills in a backcountry setting. Whether it’s your first time outside of the resort boundaries, or you’re a seasoned backcountry skier/rider, there is a course to help you progress on your journey. Our courses start with the basics of backcountry touring to ski mountaineering techniques with ice axe and crampons.

Backcountry 1.0

This course will introduce you to the fundamentals of backcountry skiing and snowboarding, and give you the skills to plan and execute an efficient yet simple backcountry tour. Learn More

 

Backcountry 2.0

This course will build upon basic backcountry skills, diving into advanced tour planning and backcountry leadership principles and practices. Learn More

 

Backcountry 3.0

Your formal introduction in ski mountaineering. In this course, you’ll learn advanced techniques to safely approach steep lines while adding non-standard tools like ice axe, crampons and harnesses to your touring tool kit. Learn More

Not sure which course is best for you? Check out this article – Before and After the AIARE 1  -by ski guide Isaac Laredo, describing our suggested educational path.

AIARE Avalanche Courses

We teach three AIARE avalanche education courses in South Lake Tahoe within the AIARE Framework that build on each other and work in harmony with our Backcountry Series courses. These courses will give you the knowledge and skillset to operate in the backcountry while managing risk.

AIARE 1 Avalanche

This is a comprehensive, entry level avalanche course based in South Lake Tahoe.  Students can expect to develop a good foundation on how to prepare for and carry out a backcountry trip, to understand basic decision making while in the field, and to learn avalanche rescue techniques. Learn More

 

AIARE Avalanche Rescue

This one day course based in South Lake Tahoe is designed to keep backcountry travelers up to date on best practices and gear for avalanche rescue. Suitable for both new and more experienced backcountry skiers and riders, this course will keep you and your friends ready for the unthinkable. Learn More

 

AIARE 2 Avalanche

The AIARE 2 is a three-day/24-hour course that provides skiers and riders an opportunity to advance their decision making skills in more complicated situations such as being a leader within a small travel group, traveling in more complicated terrain, and touring in an area without an avalanche forecasting center. It will take the AIARE framework that you learned in your AIARE 1 course, and teach you to apply it to more complicated situations with the evaluation of critical hazard assessment factors. Learn More

 

Private Ski Guiding

In addition to our educational courses, we also offer South Lake Tahoe Private Ski Guiding . If your goal is to get out and find the goods on any given day, this is the way to go. Our guides are intimately familiar with the terrain and conditions, and will help you have the best day of backcountry skiing/riding possible.

Ski South Lake Tahoe with Us!

Check out our website for available dates and to book online, or call our office at 877-873-5376. We look forward to skiing and riding with you and educating our community this winter.

If you would like to keep up with Alpenglow Expeditions local and international news, you can sign up for our newsletter at alpenglowexpeditions.com.