Intro to Backcountry Skiing

Intro to Backcountry Skiing is a trip aimed at people who can ski already who want to get into backcountry skiing and tent camping. The objective of the trip is to camp and do some skiing above camp, or climb a peak and ski down (not just skiing to camp and back). Participants should ski well enough that they will be able to descend through forest with a pack on without hitting trees, but they do not have to look remotely good while doing it (this is called Survival Skiing). The trip is a one night excursion to an area with simple terrain and no hut. Participants stay in tents and cook in a snow kitchen, while getting some advice on travelling in the backcountry and winter camping from the more experienced trip leaders.

Past locations have included

• Marriott Basin, (before the construction of the Wendy Thompson Hut)
• Needle Peak, Coquihalla
• Caspar Creek
• Red Heather
• Rainbow Lake

Equipment List

Personal

In winter especially, none of your clothing should be made out of cotton. Anything synthetic is safe. Just remember, Cotton Kills.

Personal items are in regular font, shared items are in italic font

Essentials

• water bottle (at least 2L, unless you know yourself)
• headlamp and batteries
• sunscreen
• sun glasses and/or goggles
• map
• compass
• backpack
• pocket knife
• whistle
• lighter and/or waterproof matches
• first aid kit
• Toilet Paper
• tent

Clothing / Equipment

• warm jacket (fleece or down)
• long underwear (top and bottom)
• toque / hat
• mitts / gloves
• weatherproof jacket (goretex or coated nylon or softshell if weather is forecast to be sunny)
• weatherproof pants (goretex or coated nylon or softshell if weather is forecast to be sunny)
• hiking poles?
• gaiters (optional if your pants have an integrated snow cuff)
• warm pants (fleece or down)
• insulated booties (optional)

Food

• Lunch and snacks x2
• Breakfast x1
• Dinner x1

Sleeping

• sleeping bag
• sleeping pad
• ear plugs, because somebody will snore (optional)

Cooking and Eating

• bowl, spoon
• Stove with fuel. If using white gas, for each person bring 200 mL

• Pot and matching pot gripper
• Toothbrush
  

Ski hardware

• ski helmet (optional) (most climbing helmets do not protect from frontal or side impacts and are not acceptable substitutes)
• skis (must have touring bindings that allow the heel to be free) or a split snowboard
• skins for going uphill. They must fit your skis and have reasonable glue. Test them.
• bindings. Applies particularly for splitboards.
• poles
• boots to match your skis or snowboard - there are many different kinds of binding interfaces. Make sure to test that both your boots fit into your bindings before the trip.
• ski repair kit
  

Avalanche Safety Gear

• 457kHz avalanche transceiver (with batteries, tested in advance)
• shovel
• probe
• snow saw (optional)
• rutschblock cord (optional)
• loupe (optional)
• crystal card (optional)
• CAC Avaluator card (optional)
• CAC Public Avalanche Bulletin Printout{{#if:|
  

===Climbing Gear===}}

Big Group

Make sure that if you don't have one of these yourself, you at least know where it is:

• Tent
• first aid kits
• song books
• snow saw
• maps, compass, etc
• repair kit

Events

See Category: Intro to Backcountry Skiing for both past events and the next trip. The new trip page for the year is usually posted in early January.