Dining in Squamish
Dining in Squamish Food always tastes better after spending a day playing in the mountains The Squamish food and beverage scene has gained a lot of traction in recent years, adding several notable restaurants to it’s roster. Offering everything from the classic West Coast pub on the water to authentic Lebanese Cuisine to award winning…
Pemberton Backcountry Tours
Pemberton Backcountry Tours Short drive for big peaks Simple; choose a date, join a group! Transportation is included (Whistler village to Ski Area) Just north of Whistler lies the Duffey lake area, a roadside ski touring mecca with the biggest peaks in the Whistler area. From big alpine lines like Matier West Face, Slalok North…
Scrambling Skills Course
Scrambling Skills Course Open the door to a world of mountain adventures… Exploring the mountains, beyond the established trails takes skills, practice, and a serious approach. This scrambling skills course is designed to help you take your hiking trips to the mountain tops. Taught by experienced ACMG guides who have spent their careers scaling technical…
Navigation Skills for Runners
Multi-pitch climbing course Open the door to a world of rock adventures Learn the alpine running essentials with a gang of like-minded foot-powered fanatics! We’ll give you the rundown on gear, trip planning, route finding, and safe ascending and descending techniques. Single-pitch climbing / Multi-pitch climbing / Alpine rock /DGroups, Schools, Corporate Trip Add-Ons / Dates & Prices…
Climbing Skills for Runners
Climbing Skills for Runners When the “trail” gets a bit too steep Arm yourself to tackle anything the mountain trails can serve you. Learn how to read steep rock and how to safely climb vertical terrain. This clinic will cover vertical rock safety, how to set up a top rope, belaying, rappelling, and climbing techniques. …
Sky Pilot Climb – West Ridge (May 26, 2019)
Sky Pilot Climb – West Ridge (May 26, 2019) May 26, 2019 Climbed the West Ridge of Sky Pilot today in great conditions. Trail The trail in is snow free to the end of the old FSR. Where the road ends and the single track weaves up the forest we chose to kick up the…
Top 5 Beginner Trad Climbs in Squamish
Top 5 Beginner Trad Climbs in Squamish Get it going. Are you just discovering traditional climbing? Is your idea of fun plugging in your own protection whilst ascending granite splitter perfection? Do you dream of being able to do find classic trad climbs all within a short stroll from your car? Well then we’ve put…
Half Day Rock Climbing Experience
Half Day Rock Experience Word Class Rock Climbing Imagine showing up in Squamish for a half-day of rock climbing with your friends where you never need any gear and have all the routes ready to go for you to try out. Join our professional ACMG guides on the immaculate granite of Squamish and let them…
Squamish Rock Weekend
Squamish Rock Weekend Word Class Rock Climbing Tick off a weekend on the world-class Squamish Rock. This option is available to weekend warriors seeking more time on the rock than just a single day. We have designed this weekend to be the ultimate value for a Squamish rock climbing experience. Come spend the weekend exploring…
Intro Mountaineering Course
This long weekend mountaineering course initiates you in to the world of Mountaineering through a development of climbing skill sets. We start with the basics at out local cliffs and progress through the weekend to attempt a high alpine summit. For the neophyte, there’s safety in numbers so this course runs at a 6:1 student to instructor ratio.
What is Backcountry Skiing?
Do you have a craving to ski on ungroomed, all-natural snow in some of the most beautiful wilderness mountains' have to offer? If your answer is yes, then backcountry skiing can provide the adventure you're looking for.
Backcountry skiing generally occurs in sparsely populated areas outside designated ski resorts - truly making it an adventure. Human power is frequently the means of access and ascent, but some adventures may require helicopters and ski lifts may be used so long as the land accessed is backcountry.
Types of Backcountry Skiing
According to Wikipedia, backcountry skiing can include:
- Frontcountry: off-trail within ski area boundaries where ski lifts and emergency services are close at hand.
- Slackcountry: terrain outside of the ski area boundary that is accessed from a lift without having to use skins or bootpack. Usually this also includes area with access back to the lift as well. For purists, this could also include where people use a car as a shuttle.
- Sidecountry: terrain outside marked ski area boundaries yet accessible via ski lift. Typically sidecountry requires the skier to hike, skin, or climb within ski area boundaries to reach or return from the sidecountry area, or both.
- Backcountry: skiing in remote areas not within ski area boundaries. Ski patrol, marked ski runs, grooming, snowmaking, and ski lifts are absent.
Want to Try Backcountry Skiing?
Give Altus Mountain Guides a call to start your adventure today +1.604.848.8543
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Altus mountain guides is a group of motivated professionals dedicated to providing our clients with outstanding quality in the mountains with safe adventurous trips. From our base in Squamish and Whistler BC we provide you access to the most amazing mountain experiences the West Coast has to offer. Our exciting itineraries showcase the Coast Range but reach beyond to the interior ranges of the Selkirkʼs and Purcellʼs and onto the Rockies. We also offer trips internationally from the historic and classic European Alps to the windswept wilds of Patagonia.