Event Details

Webinar via Zoom & In-Person at the American Mountaineering Center (Conference Room A & B): 710 10th Street, Suite 200, Golden, CO 80401

Introducing the newest addition to CMC's backcountry ski and snowboard program: Intro to Backcountry Skiing/Splitboarding 101. Colorado Mountain Club strives to provide recreation, conservation, and most importantly education to our community and beyond. Backcountry Skiing started booming last year due to the closure of resorts, the minimal contact with people, the unbelievably hefty lift lines, and the beautiful, almost magical sensation that is human-powered travel in the snowy mountains. We're here to help those Coloradans interested in getting out into the backcountry achieve the skills necessary to start their human-powered journey by ski or splitboard. We will be offering exclusive backcountry trips for any students that complete that class, immediately following the class! 

To learn more about the course, please sign up for one of our two Backcountry Ski/Spliboard 101 Info Sessions! The info session will include a detailed gear talk for those in the market for new gear. The info sessions will be on Wednesday, October 21 and Wednesday, November 18! We will be talking logistics of the course, selection of gear for the sport, and answering overall questions about the upcoming season! Join us for a fun, virtual event! If you missed the gear talk, let me know, and I can send you the recording! https://www.cmc.org/Classes/CMCClassesandSchools/IntrotoBackcountrySkiingSnowboarding.aspx

Maddie Miller

maddiemiller@cmc.org

303-279-3080

The Intro Backcountry Ski School is designed to provide Intro-level and basic backcountry skiing/splitboarding skills for the Colorado backcountry, including trip planning, gear selection, and navigation/location selection. The school is open to:

• new backcountry skiers coming from the resort who may or may not have some aspirations to continue into ski mountaineering, but are definitely interested in some meadow skipping, and


• current backcountry skiers who want to develop skills and learn in a more professional setting and meet new ski partners.

The only prerequisite is the ability to confdiently ski blue runs on a resort and get down black diamond runs. However, we highly encourage anyone who goes through the course to take an AIARE Level 1 immediately following the course.

January Course Dates:

Wednesday, January 6 6:00pm: Session A Lecture 1: Equipment and Trip Preparation

• Gear to bring
  
  
  
  • Equipment being used: skis, skins, poles, beacon, shovel, probe, etc.
  
  
  • How to use it
  
  
  • How to dress
  
  
  • What to bring vs. what to leave at home
  
  
  
  


• How to pack


• Nutrition/fuel for the day


• Decision Making


• Transitions


• Things to expect on a trip
  
  
  
  • ​On snow evaluation of conditions - constant monitoring on this trip and throughout the season
  
  
  
  

Wednesday, January 13 6:00pm: Session A Lecture 2: Planning and Fitness

• Planning a reasonable trip based on:
  
  
  
  • Team
  
  
  • Objectives (tour distance, downhill route, laps, etc.) 
  
  
  • AVALANCHE FORECAST & Weather
  
  
  • Fitness & Skiing ability
  
  
  • Access
  
  
  • Traffic
  
  
  • Backup plan!
  
  
  
  


• Break into groups to plan Field Day 2 with a trip leader: location, education expansion, route, condition report & More!

Saturday, January 23 6:00am: Session A Field Day (TBD)

• Trip led by CMC instructors, but with heavy input from group


• Focus on decision making, route finding skills, snow assessment by students


• Practice pacing, skin track maintenance, uphill route selection/downhill selection


• Group communication


• Transition practice


• Group wrap-up

&



Notes



 

We will be complying with CMC's COVID-19 protocol, as found on our website (https://www.cmc.org/COVID-19andCMCProgramming.aspx). The following guidelines will be followed during our courses:

1. Social distancing measures will be followed throughout the duration of the course, meaning a distance of 6 feet or greater will be kept at all times. 
2. A mask will be required and worn at all times by students and instructors during the course. 
3. Our field day group sizes will be 10 people or less.
4. Every participant is required to sign our updated liability waiver: https://waiver.smartwaiver.com/w/5ad11e69247c3/web/.

 

 






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