Avalanche bulletins are essential resources for anyone planning to travel in snow-covered mountainous areas. They provide detailed insights into current snow and avalanche conditions, helping backcountry travelers, such as skiers, snowboarders, and snowmobilers, to plan their routes safely. Understanding these bulletins can mean the difference between a safe adventure and a potential disaster.
Avalanche bulletins are published regularly during the winter season and offer a structured overview of the avalanche hazard in a specific area. These bulletins are crucial for anyone engaging in winter sports or backcountry travel as they provide vital information on the likelihood of avalanches, current weather conditions, and snowpack stability.
Aspect | Details |
Definition | Avalanche bulletins provide crucial information on avalanche hazard, snowpack stability, and weather. |
Components | Bulletins typically include danger ratings, avalanche problems, and detailed forecast discussions. |
Importance | Essential for safe backcountry travel, helping users assess risks and make informed decisions. |
Interpretation Tips | Understanding danger levels, regional forecasts, and specific avalanche problems is critical. |
Safety Measures | Regularly check bulletins, plan routes accordingly, and carry essential safety gear. |
To effectively use avalanche bulletins, follow these steps:
Bulletins are specific to regions, providing localized information crucial for accurate risk assessment. It’s important to check forecasts for the specific area you plan to visit. For example, the avalanche conditions in the Rocky Mountains might differ significantly from those in the Sierra Nevada.
Avalanche centers across the United States play a crucial role in providing safety messaging, educational resources, and real-time avalanche forecasts to help backcountry travelers make informed decisions. Here’s a concise overview of the main avalanche centers and the areas they serve:
Forest Service Avalanche Centers
State Avalanche Center
Local Nonprofit Avalanche Centers
Understanding and interpreting avalanche bulletins is a crucial skill for anyone involved in backcountry activities. Education and training on avalanche safety are highly recommended. Many organizations offer courses that cover the basics of travelling in avalanche terrain. These courses provide hands-on training in recognizing avalanche terrain, using safety equipment, and making informed decisions in the backcountry.
Avalanche education doesn’t stop at a single course. Regularly updating your knowledge and skills is crucial as snow science and forecasting techniques evolve. Participating in refresher courses and field training sessions can help keep your skills sharp and ensure you are up-to-date with the latest safety practices.
Avalanche bulletins are essential tools for ensuring safety in avalanche-prone areas. By understanding how to read and interpret these bulletins, backcountry travelers can significantly reduce their risk and enjoy their activities more safely. Regularly checking the bulletin, understanding its components, and planning accordingly are key steps in avalanche safety. Remember, no bulletin can replace personal vigilance and caution; always be prepared and stay informed.
For more information on how to read avalanche bulletins and stay safe in avalanche terrain, consider enrolling in a Baker Mountain Guides avalanche education course.
Avalanche education is crucial for anyone planning to venture into backcountry areas during the winter season. With the growing popularity of backcountry skiing, snowboarding, and winter mountaineering, understanding avalanche safety is more important than ever. This guide will provide an in-depth look at the different levels of avalanche courses, helping you choose the right training to ensure your safety and preparedness in avalanche terrain.
Course Level | Length | Focus |
Avalanche Awareness | 1.5 hours | Basic knowledge of avalanche hazards |
Level 1 | 3 days | Terrain selection, hazard recognition, rescue |
Avalanche Rescue | 1 day | Rescue techniques, beacon searches |
Level 2 | 3 days | Snow science, weather, avalanche forecasting |
Pro Level 1 (Pro 1) | 5 days | Advanced skills, professional decision-making |
Pro Level 2 (Pro 2) | 6 days | Operational risk management, leadership |
Avalanche Awareness courses are the starting point for anyone new to backcountry travel or looking to refresh their knowledge. These courses are typically free and consist of short lectures that provide an overview of basic avalanche knowledge. Topics covered include recognizing avalanche terrain, understanding the basics of snowpack and weather, and learning about the necessary safety equipment.
These courses are designed to give participants a fundamental understanding of avalanche hazards and how to avoid them. While they do not provide certification, they are an excellent introduction to avalanche education and a stepping stone to more advanced courses.
NWAC Avalanche Awareness Courses
The Level 1 Avalanche Course is the foundational course for recreational backcountry users. Typically spanning three days, or 24 hours, this course includes both classroom sessions and field training. The curriculum is designed to provide a comprehensive introduction to avalanche safety and covers several critical areas:
Participants will spend time both in the classroom and in the field, applying what they have learned in a practical setting. This course is essential for anyone new to backcountry skiing or snowboarding and provides a solid foundation for further avalanche education.
AIARE Level 1 Avalanche Course
The Avalanche Rescue Course is a one-day, intensive field course that focuses solely on rescue scenarios. This course is designed to teach participants the essential skills needed to conduct a successful avalanche rescue. Key components of the course include:
This course can be taken before or after the Level 1 course and is a prerequisite for the Level 2 course. While the Avalanche Rescue course does not provide certification, it is an invaluable addition to your avalanche safety education.
AIARE Avalanche Rescue Course
The Level 2 Avalanche Course builds on the knowledge and skills gained in the Level 1 course and the Avalanche Rescue course. This advanced course is designed for those who want to deepen their understanding of snow science and improve their decision-making skills in avalanche terrain. The Level 2 course typically spans three days and includes both classroom and field sessions.
Key areas of focus include:
The Level 2 course is ideal for experienced backcountry travelers who want to take on leadership roles in their groups and make more informed decisions in avalanche terrain.
AIARE Level 2 Avalanche Course
The Pro Level 1 course, also known as Pro 1, is intended for those pursuing a career in avalanche safety or those looking to enhance their professional skills. This five-day course provides rigorous training in advanced avalanche safety and decision-making. It includes both classroom sessions and extensive fieldwork, mirroring the pace and flow of an operational environment.
Prerequisites for the Pro 1 course include:
The Pro 1 course covers advanced skills such as professional observation techniques, operational risk management, and effective communication strategies. Participants are evaluated on their ability to apply these skills in real-world scenarios, and successful completion results in professional certification.
The Pro Level 2 course, or Pro 2, is designed for experienced avalanche professionals who are looking to take on leadership roles within avalanche safety operations. This six-day course builds on the skills learned in the Pro 1 course and focuses on advanced risk management, forecasting, and leadership skills.
Prerequisites for the Pro 2 course include:
The Pro 2 course includes advanced classroom sessions, field exercises, and operational risk management scenarios. Participants learn to lead avalanche safety operations, make critical decisions in high-stakes environments, and communicate effectively with their teams. Successful completion of this course results in advanced professional certification, opening up opportunities for leadership roles in avalanche safety.
Selecting the right avalanche course depends on your current skill level, experience, and goals. Here’s a guide to help you decide:
By understanding the different levels of avalanche courses and their respective focuses, you can make an informed decision about which course is right for you. For more information on course offerings and schedules, check out Baker Mountain Guides’ courses and the American Avalanche Association for additional resources and professional training opportunities.
So, you’re ready to begin your avalanche education, and you’re asking yourself “how much does an avalanche course cost?” Well, in the spirit of transparency, Baker Mountain Guides and the Northwest Avalanche School are going to break it down for you. Not only are we going to be upfront about our prices this winter, but we’ve done the hard work of gathering current prices from a number of other well-known avalanche course providers, so that you don’t have to. Because we are based in Bellingham, WA, we’re going to be looking, mostly, at other providers in Washington State. But we’ll throw in some rates for a couple other folks around the country as well, for good measure. Quotes includes curriculums produced by the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE), as well as the American Avalanche Institute (AAI). Both curriculums meet national standards set by the American Avalanche Association (AAA).
Some of these providers are cheaper and some are more expensive, and you may be asking yourself, why? We’re going to break that down as well. We like to mind our own business, so we don’t know the specific ins and outs of anyone else’s operations, but we’ve been in this gig long enough to know how the industry works. It basically boils down to margins, which are driven by competition, ratios, wages, and general overhead.
Get ready for the numbers.
Like everything else, avalanche courses have been increasing in price steadily over the last few years. Why have avalanche course costs been going up? Well, there are a lot of moving parts, but basically, it’s becoming more expensive to operate an avalanche course. Baker Mountain Guides and the Northwest Avalanche School are an AIARE provider, so we’re going to look at what is costs to run an AIARE avalanche course.
AIARE is a non-profit organization whose mission is to “Save Lives through Avalanche Education.” AIARE produces curriculum that providers can use to educate their students. AIARE providers pay a number of provider fees, for the right to use AIARE’s curriculum. The initial cost to purchase the AIARE Level 1, AIARE Level 2, and AIARE Avalanche Rescue Curriculum is $2500, followed by $250 each year afterwards. Additionally, providers are required to pay AIARE $40 for every level 1 and level 2 student taught, as well as $20 for every avalanche rescue student taught. Providers also have to provide each student with an AIARE branded field book, or “blue book,” which costs $17, or $14.50 if purchased in bulk.
In addition to AIARE provider fees, most avalanche course providers pay overhead for land use permits and commercial liability insurance as well. These amounts are typically a percent of total revenue. For example, the National Forest Service charges 3% of total revenue, and generally, outfitters and guides expect to pay 7% – 10% of their total revenue for insurance.
Baker Mountain Guides and the Northwest Avalanche School are charging $600.00 for an avalanche course this winter, which breaks down as follows for AIARE Level 1 courses operated in the National Forest – assuming we have minimized our costs:
Student Taught Fee: $40.00
Blue Book: $14.50
Permit Fees: $17.25
Insurance: $40.25
So, in this example, it costs us $112/student to operate an avalanche course, not including payroll, and payroll is almost always the largest expense in any service-oriented business.
Before talking about how much an avalanche course instructor gets paid, it’s worth reviewing what all is involved to become an avalanche instructor, and how much it costs.
Individuals need to have a deep breadth of backcountry experience and mountain sense before they can consider becoming avalanche course instructors. The costs associated with gaining this experience are intangible, but likely include many years of equipment and travel expenses. Along their journey of becoming backcountry skiers, riders, and mountaineers they likely paid for a level 1 avalanche course, and possibly an avalanche rescue course. At this point, they would be ready for professional level training.
To become a ski or avalanche professional requires completion of the Professional Level 1 avalanche course and the Professional Level 2 avalanche course. The Pro 1 is basically a Level 2 on steroids for aspiring professionals. The minimum cost for the AIARE Pro 1 is $1800, and the minimum cost for the AIARE Pro 2 is $2475.
Additionally, AIARE instructors are required to complete the AIARE Instructor Training Course (ITC), and AIARE course leaders are required to complete the AIARE Course Leader training (CLT). The minimum cost of the AIARE ITC is $1750, and the minimum coast of the AIARE CLT is also $1750. Finally, anyone teaching or leading an AIARE avalanche course is required to participate in annual AIARE continuing education (CE). These CE programs run $100 – $200 per year.
So, let’s make sense of all of that. Instructing an AIARE course requires completion of the Pro 1 and the ITC. Leading an AIARE course requires the additional completion of the Pro 2 and the CLT. Assuming the most affordable prices this winter, these instructional certifications would cost the following:
AIARE Instructor: $3550
AIARE Course Leader: $7775
That’s a lot of money, especially considering that most instructors and course leaders are paying for these trainings out of their own pockets. These costs also do not consider all of the associated travel and lodging expenses. Additionally, there are other requirements that must be met to be an AIARE instructor or course leader that have intangible costs. In short, becoming an avalanche course instructor requires a substantial commitment of time and resources, which is why we choose to pay them well.
Avalanche course wages are the primary driver of avalanche course costs. Obviously, wages are going to be different depending on where an instructor works. Baker Mountain Guides and the Northwest Avalanche School can’t speak for other organizations, but we can be transparent about our pay structure.
In the outdoor industry, we often structure compensation in the form of day wages. There is a shift underway towards hourly compensation, for various reasons, but day wages are still the norm. At Baker Mountain Guides and the Northwest Avalanche School, our AIARE instructors and course leaders start out at the following base, day wages:
AIARE Instructor: $350/Day
AIARE Course Leader: $425/Day
For every 5 courses an instructor or course leader commits to for the winter season, they get an extra $25/day, up to 10 courses, so an instructor could make up to $400/day, and a course leader could make up to $475/day. For perspective, when I began teaching avalanche courses in 2009, I was making $75/day as an instructor. Times have changed.
Most level 1 and level 2 avalanche courses in the United States are 3 days, or 24 hours in length. At Baker Mountain Guides and the Northwest Avalanche School, we split the first 8 hours into 2 online zoom sessions, which we staff with a course leader and one instructor. AIARE mandates 6:1 ratios in the field, which means that we add in 2 additional instructors for the two field days on our 24-student courses. So, one avalanche course costs us 3 days of course leader wages and 7 days of instructor wages. When you do all of the hard math things and add in payroll tax, You’ll find that an average of $181.25 of the $600 that you spent on your avalanche course is going to the pro who is out in the backcountry with you.
So, on average, every student that we teach at Baker Mountain Guides and the Northwest Avalanche School costs us $112 in program overhead and $181.25 in payroll. That means that our net profit is $306.75 per student this winter. Keep in mind that this number does not include business overhead such as curriculum costs, office space, administrative staff, guiding equipment, or taxes. These are the primary variables that drive differences in avalanche course costs from one provider to another. But generally, everyone has a similar business model, which is why most advertised avalanche course costs fall within a range. Beyond that, competition normally drives everyone toward the same number, and this winter, the median avalanche course cost is about $600.
If you have a calculator and some spare time, you can probably pull the curtain back a little further. For profit businesses go into business for a profit, and that’s true for Baker Mountain Guides and the Northwest Avalanche School as well. This is what we do for a living, and like everyone else, we have to pay our bills, fuel our car, feed our family, enjoy ourselves some, and save a little for the future. All that being said, at Baker Mountain Guides and the Northwest Avalanche School we are good at what we do, and we are proud to make a living doing it. We hope you agree.
Baker Mountain Guides is transitioning our avalanche education courses over to our new brand, the Northwest Avalanche School. The Northwest Avalanche School will operate alongside Baker Mountain Guides and is founded on the same passion and experience that has, historically, driven the quality of our avalanche education program. This shift marks a return to our core values and brings us into alignment with our identity as backcountry skiers, riders, and outdoor educators.
Brands tell a story, and the story of a brand is one of people, places, and the events that shaped their journeys. The story of the Northwest Avalanche School began long before Baker Mountain Guides.
These words still ring in my ears, years later. His wife’s voice was strong and clear, despite the immense weight of grief that it carried. “He was killed in an avalanche earlier today, outside Driggs.” I had never known anyone who had died in an avalanche. I didn’t know what to say. “I’m sorry,” was all I could think to offer at the time. “We’re in southern Idaho. We’ll be there soon.”
I set the phone down and stared out the passenger window into the inky black of the night. “Paul is dead.” I said. “Fuck,” Dana replied. “Yeah…Fuck,” I whispered. That was all we said. We were enroute from British Columbia to Colorado, after two weeks of touring in the Selkirk Mountains. We were on a collision course with the Tetons, and with the harsh and unforgiving reality of backcountry skiing. We were growing up fast.
Dana parked the truck behind a gas station in Driggs a little after midnight. We crawled into the back and zipped ourselves into our sleeping bags. I rolled over and stared out the window of the canopy. The dark silhouette of the Tetons rose menacingly above the rooftops of town, and for the first time in a long time, I felt scared. I cried for Paul, and for his newlywed wife, and for the life they would never share together. “This doesn’t need to happen,” I said to myself. “I can change this.”
I took my AIARE Level 1 avalanche course 20 years ago at Berthoud Pass in Colorado. Things were different back then. Alpine touring equipment was in its infancy, and telemarking was still super cool. This was the golden age. People had certainly been backcountry skiing and riding long before me, but the mountains were still a pretty quiet place during the winter months. However, the volume was about to get turned up to 11. Improvements in equipment, media attention, and even COVID were to eventually transform backcountry skiing and riding forever. What was once the realm of a handful of eccentric dirtbags has now become the fastest growing segment of the entire ski and snowboard industry.
Avalanche forecasting has changed substantially as well. The mountains present the same hazards they always have, but the explosion in participation has prompted the wholesale renovation of how we communicate and manage avalanche hazard. The popularity of backcountry skiing and riding has been a boon to regional avalanche centers. As budgets have swelled, the money has allowed for a greater network of forecasters and technology upgrades, as well as the refinement of communication tools.
How we teach avalanche courses has followed suit. Years ago, when avalanche forecasting was limited, and confidence in the forecast was often low, backcountry skiers and riders needed to determine what the avalanche hazard was before they could attempt to manage it. This is an incredibly difficult part of the process, even for professionals. Consequently, avalanche courses focused heavily on meteorology, snow science, and the concept of “stability,” in the hopes that students could develop their own, real-time interpretation of the danger in any given location on any given day.
Success was often limited as students struggled to apply these hard, theoretical sciences to the very real and very dynamic mountain environment. People died, especially in continental climates with more complex snowpack structure. Safety and proficiency could be achieved, but typically only via a long apprenticeship in backcountry travel. Even then, it was found that following certain, simple rules was easier than trying to constantly assess snowpack stability. Rules such as “wait 24 hours after a storm,” or “ski and ride slope angles under 30 degrees,” or “head home when the corn is boot top high” are simple tools for making sense of a not-so-simple problem and proved effective at saving lives.
And so began the shift to rule-based decision-making, and ultimately, avalanche education that focused less on science and more on making decisions. Today, most regional avalanche centers produce fantastically reliable forecasts that are informed by a widely distributed network of highly skilled observers and forecasters who are all communicating and collaborating with each other, often in real-time. Forecast structure, language, and imagery has been standardized across most avalanche centers, and tools such as avalanche problems, observation references, and communication checklists have been developed to aid in the decision-making process.
Students no longer need to re-invent the wheel every time they venture into the backcountry. Professional forecasts, paired with rules, checklists, and frameworks have made the backcountry more accessible by making it easier for backcountry skiers and riders to both recognize and manage the hazard. We know that modern avalanche education is working because avalanche deaths haven’t risen at all, despite massive growth in the popularity of backcountry snow sports. But that doesn’t mean that the backcountry is now “safe.” The mountains still present the same hazards they always have.
I moved from Colorado to Washington in the spring of 2011 to guide on Mt. Rainier. I was a skier at heart, but back then, mountaineering was where a dirtbag climber and backcountry skier could make a little money. It only took me a summer of walking up and down Mt. Rainier to realize that I didn’t want to walk up and down Mt. Rainier for the rest of my life, so in the spring of 2012 I filed incorporation documents for Minier Guiding, LLC, doing business as Baker Mountain Guides. My intention was to offer backcountry skiing and avalanche education programs during the winter. I put in one more summer season on Rainier before calling it quits. Ultimately, Baker Mountain Guides became a year-round operation, offering summer mountaineering programs on Mt. Baker, proper, as well.
I enjoy everything about the mountains, but backcountry skiing has always been my first love. I cut my teeth as both a backcountry skier and an avalanche educator in the San Juan Mountains of Southwest Colorado, which have long held the moniker of “North America’s Avalanche Laboratory.” The Pacific Northwest has a very different snowpack than the San Juans, and over the first few years at Baker I learned a lot about skiing and teaching in a maritime snow climate. As backcountry skiers and riders, experience in different snowpacks is critical for perspective, and quickly became a requirement for all of Baker Mountain Guide’s avalanche educators.
Businesses are simply reflections of who we are as people, and they tend to flourish when aligned with values and heart. We may be best known for climbing the volcano that shares our name, but at its core, Baker Mountain Guides was and always will be a snow company, specializing in backcountry skiing and avalanche education. Like attracts like, and over the years, I hired a lot of fantastic guides and instructors who shared my passion for backcountry skiing, and my conviction in saving lives through avalanche education. Baker Mountain Guides was originally Mt. Baker Mountain Guides, and my dirty little secret is that I named the company after the backcountry terrain around the Mt. Baker Ski Area, not the volcano.
Good people, working hard, and believing in what they do is what made Baker Mountain Guides so successful, but somewhere along the way we lost sight of who we were. At one point, we flirted with the idea that we specialized in hard-core alpinism. I liked the idea of it, but it never really felt true. I didn’t into this gig to be cool, or even to summit mountains. I got into this gig because deep down inside there was a part of me that spent a restless night behind a gas station in Driggs, Idaho.
Over the years, summer mountaineering programs consumed an ever-increasing amount of financial, mental, and spiritual energy, while at the same time, competition and climate change were wreaking havoc on the viability and long-term sustainability of guiding the volcano. Baker Mountain Guides was redlining, trying to be something to everyone, both inside and outside of the organization. Something had to give.
And then, somewhere in China, a man ate an infected bat (or something) and the world changed. The Coronavirus Disease of 2019, soon to be known as COVID, jumped borders and was tearing through ski resorts, and everywhere else, by the following spring. March 20th, 2020 was the day the lifts stopped spinning. Over the next week, masses of skiers and snowboarders elbowed their way into gear shops worldwide, attempting to purchase backcountry touring equipment.
Avalanche education quickly became the foundation of our business, which felt right again. To be entirely transparent, avalanche education is lucrative, for several reasons, but it’s lucrative in a good way. Avalanche courses are more affordable than most of our guided programs, and the typical avalanche course student is younger and less affluent than our mountaineering clientele. There just happens to be a lot more of them. There’s an element of social equity to all of this as well, not least because we are teaching a lot of people how to do something that we love, safely, and for a reasonable price.
In 2023, we decided to do away with our summer programs entirely. This decision was a long time in coming. Over the years, mountain guiding in the North Cascades had become unsustainable, and we were clinging to a false identity of being hard-core alpinists. Letting go created the space to imagine something new and different. We are now able to pour all our time, energy, and resources into doing what we love the most and have always done best. We are backcountry skiers and riders teaching others how to ski and ride the backcountry. We are the Northwest Avalanche School.
Baker Mountain Guides will live on in the form of guided backcountry skiing and riding locally, as well as globally, but all our avalanche education programs will be transitioned to the Northwest Avalanche School. The Northwest Avalanche School will continue our relationship with the American Institute of Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE), and offer AIARE Level 1 courses, AIARE Level 2 courses, and AIARE Avalanche Rescue courses. Eventually we would like to host AIARE Pro Level 1 and 2 courses as well, for aspiring ski and avalanche professionals.
A more streamlined organization allows the Northwest Avalanche School to invest almost exclusively in the quality of our instructional staff. This begins with paying some of the best avalanche education wages in the industry, which allows us to hire experienced instructors. We are also able to train and mentor our instructors in the most effective forms of modern, rule-based and tool-based decision-making. Our brand of curriculum emphasizes awareness and pitfalls of the human factor in the decision-making process, as well as comprehensive tour planning and terrain assessment. We’ve developed local terrain assessment tools, such as run-list maps, as student resources that complement our pedagogy, and tie the curriculum together.
But most of all, we are passionate skiers and splitboarders sharing our passion for the sport that we love. Everyone at the Northwest Avalanche School brings their own unique flavor to the party, and we all have a story to tell. These are stories forged in snowy mountains, ski patrol jobs, outward bound gigs, van-life escapades, ski tours gone right, ski tours gone wrong, and the countless avalanche courses that have not only allowed us to share our stories but have become stories themselves. And we almost all have a story of someone whose story ended too soon. That’s why we do what we do.
A pair of skis are the ultimate transportation to freedom.
~ Warren Miller
The popularity of backcountry skiing and snowboarding has exploded in recent years. Crowded ski areas and costly passes are pushing people out of bounds. The backcountry provides a sense of adventure and freedom that cannot be achieved by riding a lift. However, backcountry touring involves much more than simply skiing and riding. Avalanche education is a common starting point, but it is not the complete package. We have found that new backcountry skiers and snowboarders often underestimate the challenges of backcountry touring. While most people don’t ultimately kill themselves, they often wind up sweaty, frustrated, and sometimes lost. Suffice it to say that more than one backcountry novice has spent an unplanned night in the mountains.
Which is why we, at Baker Mountain Guides, believe in the value of backcountry skiing and snowboarding education. The purpose of this post is to provide a summary of Baker Mountain Guides backcountry skiing and snowboarding curriculum so that you can make an informed decision regarding your backcountry education. Additionally, we’ll review the venues that we use for different elements of our curriculum, as well as regional weather and snowpack trends.
Backcountry Courses | Backcountry Venues | Weather and SnowpackThe learning curve is steep and the consequences grave, but fear not, fellow travelers. Our backcountry skiing courses and ski mountaineering courses are specifically designed with the recreational backcountry traveler in mind. No matter your goal, there’s a course for your specific needs. Our well-scaffolded curriculum paired with the rugged beauty and record snowfalls of Mount Baker, the Twin Sisters, and the North Cascades makes for an unforgettable learning experience.
All of our backcountry skiing courses and ski mountaineering courses are broken up into either Tech Courses or Pro Courses. Tech Courses are designed to provide specific technical knowledge in a short course format. Pro Courses, on the other hand, are for recreational backcountry skiers and snowboarders wanting to tour at the same level as ski and avalanche professionals. Pro Courses offer the chance for student-led objectives and mentorship while tech courses are led by instructors who demonstrate skills and allow time for practice. Below are our five available backcountry skiing courses and ski mountaineering courses.
Baker Mountain Guides backcountry tech courses are designed for those seeking a concise and affordable approach to learning technical backcountry skiing and riding skills. From introductory skinning techniques to rappelling into couloirs, our tech series has you covered.
Our three Tech Courses are: Intro to Backcountry Skiing Course | Steep Ski Mountaineering Course | Glaciated Ski Mountaineering Course
Required Skiing & Riding Ability: Intermediate
Duration: 1 Day
Cost: $200
Baker Mountain Guides Intro to Backcountry Skiing Course is designed for competent skiers and snowboarders wanting a crash course in backcountry travel. The backcountry is NOT an ideal place to learn how to ski or ride, so we require that participants have intermediate to advanced downhill sliding abilities. As ski guides, we understand that the goal of backcountry touring is to ski and ride great terrain in great snow, so we have built the Intro to Backcountry Skiing Course around making turns. Instructors will assist students in the use of any new equipment, introduce common travel and efficiency techniques, and provide a running dialog of their decision-making process. Avalanche awareness and rescue will be sprinkled throughout the curriculum.
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Required Skiing & Riding Ability: Advanced
Duration: 3 Days
Cost: $700
Baker Mountain Guides Steep Ski Mountaineering Course seeks to equip experienced backcountry skiers and snowboarders with high-angle ropework skills that can be employed to minimize the likelihood of falling when accessing steep terrain. Students will learn techniques such as ski lowers, ski rappels, and belayed skiing and riding. Although the Steep Ski Mountaineering Course includes steep skiing and riding objectives, the curriculum does not cover decision making in avalanche terrain. If you are wanting to develop your skills as a leader in steep, backcountry terrain, check out our Ski Mountaineering Pro Course
.Back to Tech Courses | Back to Top
Required Skiing & Riding Ability: Advanced
Duration: 4 Days
Cost: $1000
Skiing and riding glaciated terrain presents objective hazards in the form of crevasses. To mitigate crevasse hazard you must 1) know how to not fall in a crevasse and 2) know how to get yourself out if you do. Baker Mountain Guides Glaciated Ski Mountaineering Course is designed to equip students with both skill sets. Additionally, skiers and snowboarders utilize the rope differently than climbers and the curriculum is customized to address these differences. The course concludes with a ski descent of Mount Baker proper.
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Pro Courses are designed for recreational skiers and snowboarders wanting to develop their leadership skills and operate at a professional level. The only certifying body in the United States for professional Mountain Guides is the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA). If you’re looking to become a ski guide, our courses can definitely help you gain the knowledge to get better at your craft, but you won’t come away with a certification. If certification is not your goal, just the professional level of knowledge, our courses offer a similar curriculum as these industry professional-level courses but tailored specifically to you, the recreationist.
Advanced skiing and riding ability, as well as AIARE Level 1 avalanche training, are pre-requisites for our two Pro Courses:
Backcountry Skiing Pro Course | Ski Mountaineering Pro Course
Pre-requisites:
Duration: 4 Days
Cost: $800
If you’re just getting into backcountry skiing, the common progression is: take a level-one avalanche course and then you’re set loose to gain experience and “figure it out” while hopefully not dying in the process. To fill this void, we developed the Backcountry Skiing Pro Course. The idea behind the Backcountry Skiing Pro Course is to teach strong skiers and snowboarders how ski guides successfully plan and execute backcountry tours in unfamiliar terrain. Students learn how to research terrain options as well as weather, snowpack, and avalanche conditions so that they can perform professional-level hazard assessment. The field curriculum focuses on strategies for maximizing efficiency and margins of safety so that you can go big AND go home at the end of the day.
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Pre-requisites:
Duration: 6 Days
Cost: $1500
Ski mountaineering essentially requires cross-disciplinary proficiency in backcountry touring and technical climbing. Many people are strong and experienced backcountry skiers and snowboarders, and many people are strong and experienced climbers, but few people are both. Baker Mountain Guides Ski Mountaineering Pro Course is designed for experienced backcountry skiers and snowboarders who want to ski off of summits. The curriculum focuses almost entirely on ropework and movement skills for traveling through technical terrain, be it steep or glaciated. Winter camping techniques are covered as well since many ski mountaineering objectives require multiple days.
The Ski Mountaineering Pro Course challenges students to research terrain and conditions, evaluate hazards, and make decisions regarding what to ski/ride and why. Instructors provide mentorship throughout the process, with the goal of developing our students into both leaders and peers.
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Baker Mountain Guides backcountry ski courses and ski mountaineering courses are built around a number of exceptional venues that provide a diversity of terrain options. In fact, we’re confident that we offer the absolute best terrain for learning how to backcountry ski and snowboard. Nowhere else in the county will you find better access to traditional backcountry touring, steep ski mountaineering, and heavily glaciated, big mountains. Anything that you could possibly do on a pair of skis or snowboard, you can do with Baker Mountain Guides.
Mount Baker Backcountry | Twin Sisters Backcountry | Mount Baker Proper | Snowmobile Access
Drive time from Bellingham: 80 minutes one-way
Elevation: 4200 ft. – 6000 ft.
The Mount Baker Backcountry ◙ refers to terrain adjacent to the Mt. Baker Ski Area. The two main zones are the Shuksan Arm and Bagley Basin. The Shuksan Arm is accessed through the ski area via Chair 8 and does not require touring equipment. Consequently, it’s heavily used by ski area patrons. However, the backcountry in Bagley Basin can be easily accessed from the car and does not require a lift ticket. Bagley Basin and the extended backcountry offer phenomenal, non-glaciated backcountry terrain for intermediate to advanced skiers and snowboarders. The terrain is mostly near and above treeline and characterized by many smaller mountains with complex valley systems in between. Last but not least, the Mount Baker Backcountry holds the world snowfall record of 95 feet during the 1998-1999 season.
Baker Mountain Guides utilizes the Mount Baker Backcountry on all of our backcountry ski courses and ski mountaineering courses. The Mount Baker Backcountry is a great training ground for foundational skills in backcountry touring and technical ropework. And, of course, the skiing and riding are pretty good too.
Drive time from Bellingham: 50 minutes one-way
Elevation: 4100 ft. – 6800 ft.
The Twin Sisters Range ◙ is a subrange of the Cascades, located between Mount Baker proper and the Pacific Ocean. The terrain is mostly non-glaciated and is characterized by craggy peaks, couloirs, alpine faces, bowls, and glades. We like to think of the Twin Sisters as being like a miniature Grand Tetons. Objectives include excellent ski mountaineering on clear days and tree skiing on storm days. Access to the Twin Sisters is via privately owned and gated timber roads. Baker Mountain Guides agreement with the timber company grants us commercial access as well as the ability to operate snowmobiles on the roads.
Baker Mountain Guides uses the Twin Sisters for ski mountaineering curriculum on our Steep Ski Mountaineering Course as well as our Ski Mountaineering Pro Course. The Twin Sisters allow for easy access to steep terrain that is excellent for the instruction of technical ropework skills as well as steep skiing and riding movement techniques.
Drive time from Bellingham: 60 minutes one-way
Elevation: 3,600 ft. – 10781 ft.
Mount Baker ◙ is one of the most heavily glaciated mountains in the contiguous US, second only to Mount Rainier. Unlike Mount Rainier, public land management allows for guided ski and snowboard descents from the summit, which makes Mount Baker the best glaciated backcountry skiing and snowboarding classroom in the country. Mount Baker’s topography allows for ski and snowboard descents of all aspects. The upper mountain is characterized by 30° – 50° headwalls that are generally crevasse free. Mid-mountain terrain offers moderate glacial runouts through and around icefalls and crevasse fields. Forest Service roads are not maintained during the winter, so access requires the use of snowmobiles.
Baker Mountain Guides uses Mount Baker proper for ski mountaineering curriculum on our Glaciated Ski Mountaineering Course as well as our Ski Mountaineering Pro Course. Glaciated terrain allows for crevasse rescue instruction, the application of glaciated route-finding skills, and the reward of skiing and riding a big mountain.
At Baker Mountain Guides, we’re all about earning our turns. We believe that terrain worth skiing or riding should be terrain climbed. That being said, snowmobiles come in pretty handy for getting into venues that would otherwise be inaccessible. The Mount Baker Backcountry is accessed via WA State Highway 542, which is maintained all winter long by WashDOT. However, the Twin Sister and Mount Baker proper are accessed via unmaintained timber roads, which require a snowmobile shuttle.
Snowmobiles provide Baker Mountain Guides with a competitive advantage by dramatically decreasing the amount of time and effort required to get into terrain. Consequently, we can deliver ski mountaineering curriculum in fewer days than our competition. This saves you money on instructional fees and miles on your legs. And you get to ride on a snowmobile. How great is that?
Mount Baker and the surrounding region receive an immense amount of snow. During the winter of 1998-1999, the snow telemetry station located near the Mt. Baker Ski Area recorded world-record-setting snowfall of 1140 inches (95 feet). Snowfall in the Cascades is primarily driven by mountain orographics. Mount Baker proper is located at the head of the Straight of Juan de Fuca ◙ and is the closest Cascadian volcano to tidewater. The Pacific Ocean provides endless amounts of moisture, which is forced up and over the Cascades by the winter jet stream. As the warm air rises, it cools, moisture condenses, and snow falls over the mountains. Additionally, the topography of the Mount Baker region forces incoming storms to converge upon themselves. Blizzards literally crash into each other over the Mount Baker Backcountry.
Warm air can hold more moisture, and in general, Mount Baker has a warm temperature regime. Most of our snow falls between 28° and 32° F. Temperatures in the single digits and teens are considered to be exceptionally cold. Rain can occur at any point during the winter, but the Mount Baker Backcountry also receives plenty of low-density snow at temperatures in the mid to low 20’s.
Consequently, Mount Baker has what is known as a “Maritime Snow Climate.” Heavy snowfall, a warm temperature regime, and a deep snowpack facilitate rounding processes. Rounding creates small snow grains that pack together tightly and bond well to each other, which forms a relatively stable snowpack. With a stable, mid-winter snowpack, we are often able to ski and ride more aggressive terrain than would be possible in other parts of the country. If this is the first time that you have seen the terms “Orographics,” “Maritime Snowpack,” “Temperature Regime,” and “Rounding” then we would encourage you to consider adding avalanche training to your backcountry skiing and snowboarding education.
Feel free to reach out to us if you’re interested in these courses and find out why we’re so excited about them. Shred safe our friends.
Want to learn more about backcountry skiing or riding? Check out our Ultimate Guide to Backcountry Skiing.
Big changes are coming to avalanche education! After much anticipation, the long awaited professional – recreational split has arrived. The main outcome has been the creation of a professional track for advanced level avalanche courses. However, recreational backcountry skiers and snowboarders will find the new recreational curriculum to be more engaging and applicable as well. If you are considering taking an avalanche course, then read on!
Often, recreational backcountry enthusiasts and aspiring avalanche professionals have very different goals that require different skill sets.
Aspiring avalanche professionals are commonly interested in the science of avalanche formation and release, snowpack metamorphism, and meteorology. It’s important that avalanche professionals have very well developed observational techniques and recording methodologies that reflect industry standards. These skills sets serve the professional well when forecasting, tracking, and managing avalanche hazard in the context of an operation.
Recreational skiers and snowboarders can also benefit from a deeper understanding of the avalanche phenomenon and observational techniques. However, these skills are applied very differently in a recreational setting. Often, recreational students are much more interested in tracking the spatial variability of the avalanche problems, and mitigating the hazard via terrain management and small group decision making. Basically, folks want to go backcountry skiing & riding, just more safely.
The American Avalanche Association (AAA) is the organization in the United States that connects, engages with, and shares information amongst avalanche professionals from all segments of the industry and across all regions of the country. With input from industry and avalanche educators, the AAA created new standards that reflect the split in recreational and professional avalanche education. Organizations like the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE) use these standards to create curriculum and courses that can be distributed amongst a network of course providers and avalanche instructors.
The AAA has produced a useful flow chart that outlines the new framework for avalanche education in the United States. The goals of the new framework are to improve the quality of education for both professional and recreational students, maintain affordability for both user groups, and create common standards recognized by course providers, employers, and the public.
So where does one begin? As always, we encourage anyone who is interested in the backcountry to attend an avalanche awareness clinic. However, the AIARE Level 1 avalanche course is more appropriate for skiers and snowboarders who are planning on regular backcountry travel. The avalanche awareness clinic is not a pre-requisite for the AIARE Level 1.
The good news is that the AIARE Level 1 avalanche course remains unchanged. Everyone will still begin with the AIARE Level 1 regardless of whether they are recreational students or aspiring professionals. Students who choose to continue their avalanche education beyond the AIARE Level 1 will need to decide whether they are recreational backcountry travelers, or wanting to pursue a career as a ski or avalanche professional.
Recreational skiers and snowboarders who are interested in advanced avalanche education should consider the new AIARE Level 2 avalanche course. The AIARE Level 2 is now 3 days instead of 4. Avalanche Rescue has been removed from the curriculum and is now a stand-alone course. The AIARE Avalanche Rescue course is a pre-requisite for the new AIARE Level 2, so in effect, completion of the level 2 still requires 4 days of training.
The new AIARE Avalanche Rescue Course can be taken independently of the AIARE Level 2, however, Baker Mountain Guides and many other providers will offer the Avalanche Rescue Course immediately preceding the Level 2. At Baker Mountain Guides, we offer a discount on Avalanche Rescue if you take both courses together. The new AIARE Avalanche Rescue Course will allow for a full day of advanced companion rescue training and include many opportunities to practice multiple burial search techniques.
Additionally, the recreational level 2 curriculum focuses less on standardized observations and recording methods. This frees up more time for touring, informal observations, and group decision making. The goal is to improve student’s evaluation of critical avalanche hazard assessment factors.
The recreational curriculum ends with completion of the AIARE Level 2.
Professional level courses will be run directly through AIARE and other AAA approved providers. Students will begin their professional avalanche education with the Professional Avalanche Training 1 course. The AIARE Level 1 and the AIARE Avalanche Rescue Courses are pre-requisites for the Pro 1.
The Pro 1 is designed for entry-level avalanche professional, or those seeking employment in the avalanche industry. The Pro 1 is similar to the old AIARE Level 2, but allows more time for students to develop their standardized observational skills, recording methods, and operational decision making. The Pro 1 is 5 days in length and includes an examination at the end of the course to ensure student competency.
The Professional Avalanche Training 2 course replaces the old AIARE Level 3. Pre-requisites for the Pro 2 include the AIARE level 1, AIARE Avalanche Rescue course, and Pro 1.
From the AAA: Professional Avalanche Training 2 (Pro 2) is designed for developing avalanche professionals with several seasons of applied professional experience. This course focuses on skills and proficiencies that enable the student to step into a leadership role within an operational avalanche program. The student will be taught proficiencies to develop operational risk management decision-making skills, including forecasting, risk mitigation strategies, and professional communication.
For more information on professional level courses, please visit the AIARE Pro Course Schedule. Students must register for these courses directly through AIARE.
Baker Mountain Guides offers our students the AIARE Level 1 Avalanche Course, AIARE Avalanche Rescue Course, and AIARE Level 2 Avalanche Course.
Baker Mountain Guides has customized the AIARE curriculum to provide practical field skills for the Pacific Northwest. Our instructors are passionate backcountry skiers and snowboarders who believe that avalanche education has the power to save lives. These values are reflected in the quality of our AIARE Avalanche Courses.
Thanks for taking the time to learn about changes to avalanche education in the US. Allow us to help you continue your education this winter with one of our comprehensive and respected courses. For more information about our offerings, please get in touch.
Sources: American Avalanche Association – Pro Training FAQS
Baker Mountain Guides is proud to present the re-birth of our brand. The last twelve months has been a period of intense self-reflection and growth, with the goal of re-defining who we are, what we do, and how we can better serve our clientele. We welcome you to experience the new Baker Mountain Guides, and to join us on your own journey of self-discovery.
What is a brand? Brands are more than just logos, colors, and slogans. Brands are perceptions that live in the mind. At Baker Mountain Guides, we wanted to change some of those perceptions to better reflect our unique approach to guiding.
We began by asking some difficult questions regarding who Baker Mountain Guides is as an organization. This was an introspective and sometimes esoteric process that required us to be very honest with ourselves. To help answer some of these questions, we sought feedback from our existing clientele. The responses we received gave us deep insight into the types of people that are drawn to Baker Mountain Guides, and what they value most about the experiences that we offer.
This research allowed us to craft a brand strategy, or a focused definition for who the Baker Mountain Guides brand is, what it believes, and how it engages with the world. This phase of the process involved articulating our purpose, vision, mission, archetype and other fundamental aspects of our organization. Sometimes answering simple questions, such as “what exactly do we sell” proved challenging. Along the way, we discovered that our big idea is to help our clientele explore their world. Our big idea involves more than just physical exploration, and is meant to be interpreted differently by everybody. Ultimately, “Explore Your World” became our slogan.
The final phases of our re-brand involved creating and expressing our new identity. This part of the process included traditional elements of a brand such as our logo, colors, and typography. Our identity is founded in all of the elements of our brand strategy, and represents the personality of Baker Mountain Guides. Our new logo is rugged, yet approachable, and pays homage to the original logo with which we began our business. Finally, our website embodies all of the elements of the new brand in a modern online experience.
One of the major outcomes of the branding process was the creation of our brand compass. Baker Mountain Guides Brand Compass is a collection of unique attributes that keep us focused and pointed in the right direction. It includes our purpose, vision, and mission statement.
PURPOSE
To make adventure possible
Baker Mountain Guides purpose is the reason we exist beyond making a profit. It’s the answer to our most profound question: why? Our purpose is two-fold. First, we wish to facilitate mountain adventures for individuals who are unable to create such experiences for themselves. Second, we wish to connect people to place, and inspire thoughtful environmental stewardship. Without place, mountain adventure would not be possible.
VISION
A world where inspiring mountain adventure can be safely experienced by everyone
Baker Mountain Guides vision statement describes the desired end-state toward which our brand is headed. It’s the ideal world we hope to bring about, and it’s meant to be audacious. Obviously, not every person will be able to safely experience an inspiring mountain adventure, but we believe the world would be a better place if they could.
MISSION
To create meaningful life experiences for those we serve through guided mountain adventures and courses centered on safety and environmental stewardship
Baker Mountain Guides mission statement is our brand’s roadmap. It charts the route to our vision by describing what we’re going to do, how we’re going to do it, whom we’re doing it for, and the values that motivate our actions. Our mission statement builds upon our purpose and vision by specifically speaking to the need for “meaningful life experiences.”
Thanks for taking the time to partake in the story of our re-brand. Please visit our About page to learn more about Baker Mountain Guides. We encourage anyone who is considering our services to review our core values as well as our dedicated guide staff.
We would also like to give a big thanks to Ignyte Branding Agency out of San Diego, California for all the excellent work they performed in guiding us through the branding process. Even guides need guides every now and then.
One of the most commonly overlooked aspects of decision making in avalanche terrain is pre-trip preparation. Most backcountry skiers and snowboarders do a pretty good job of looking over the avalanche report in the AM, and are generally familiar with the hazard rating for the day. However, the point is to apply the hazard rating to terrain, and avoid areas that can produce an avalanche.
AIARE – The American Institute of Avalanche Research and Education – has a great pre-trip checklist available in their ubiquitous “Blue Book.” The pre-trip checklist helps users assess the hazard rating, avalanche problems, snowpack structure, weak layers, and weather factors that could contribute to, or change the avalanche hazard. Most of this information is available in the daily avalanche bulletin, local weather reports, and weather station data. However, the next step is to anticipate where hazard may exist in the terrain you are planning on touring. This is the most important part.
Most professional ski guides and avalanche instructors use what is known as run lists to assess terrain before going into the field. To be honest, it’s not overly complex, but it does require some amount of formal avalanche training. The fact is that recreational skiers and snowboarders can only benefit from taking a few minutes before their tour to think critically about hazard and terrain.
Run lists create a structured process for assessing terrain. They often include maps, photos, satellite imagery, and other resources with common runs drawn in and labeled. Maps help us determine distances, elevation changes, and slope angles. Imagery allows us to build familiarity with terrain, and identify areas of concern in much greater detail. Labels, or names, allow us to communicate our terrain choices clearly. The goal is to sit down before a day of backcountry skiing or snowboarding, assess the avalanche hazard, and rate each potential run as either open or closed. Once in the field, further observations can be used to close open runs. However, a run that is closed at any point cannot be re-opened. Those are the rules.
As a backcountry ski and avalanche education operation, Baker Mountain Guides is responsible for many decisions made by many of our guides on a daily basis. Run lists work by limiting emotion in the decision-making process. Any decision that we make in the field will have an emotional component, and emotions can get us into trouble. For run lists to be effective, all potential runs must be rated, and ratings must be respected. By rating all runs in a particular zone, we create many options to choose from, which allows us to craft exceptional experiences for our clientele with a high degree of confidence. Conversely, by closing runs before and during a tour, we can assure that we will not make spontaneous, emotional decisions. We may be guides, but we are also human.
These are tools and techniques that can be easily employed by recreational skiers and snowboarders with level 1 avalanche training. However, to relate the avalanche hazard to terrain, you need to have a run list to work with. Baker Mountain Guides has spent years developing a run list for the Mount Baker Backcountry, and this summer, we worked with Fall Line Publishing to produce the Mount Baker Backcountry Ski Map. The Mount Baker Backcountry Ski Map is waterproof, tearproof, and small enough to be easily carried in the field. It covers both Bagley Lakes Basin and the Shuksan Arm, which are two exceptional and accessible backcountry venues near the Mount Baker Ski Area. Best of all, it contains both maps and photos of many common runs, which have been numbered and named. Finally, it offers users the ability to rate each run as either open or closed. The Mount Baker Backcountry Ski Map is provided to students who participate in a Baker Mountain Guides avalanche course.
Again, we cannot overstate the importance of avalanche education and mentorship. Run lists are no guarantee of safety. Decisions regarding which runs to open or close are the sole responsibility of the user. Formal avalanche training is necessary to effectively assess avalanche hazard and relate the hazard to terrain. Very few decisions in the backcountry are black and white, and good judgment before and during a backcountry tour is mandatory for a successful day. Run lists are just another very small part of a very large puzzle.
Our 2016 Spring Mountain Guide training is in the bag! After a long and productive week, it seems appropriate to reflect, and offer up some thoughts on the experience.
As it turns out, Google Analytics is good for something. One of the most visited pages on bakermountainguides.com is our About Page – and rightfully so. Our clients want to know who they are going to be climbing or skiing with. When you choose a guide service, you aren’t so much hiring a guide service as you are hiring a specific guide. Ideally that guide has been vetted, and reflects the culture and standards of the organization he or she works for.
In the United States, the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) provides 3rd party training and certification for mountain guides. The process is rigorous, and full certification (IFMGA) requires tens of thousands of dollars as well as a multi-year commitment. However, in the US, certification is not a requirement for employment. Often the best guides have a combination of AMGA training/certification as well as hands-on experience and mentorship.
At Baker Mountain Guides we specifically hire guides who have a proven commitment to AMGA training and certification. All the guides that we employ regularly are either pursuing or currently hold a certification through the AMGA. Additionally, we offer Continuing Professional Development Credits to assist guides with AMGA tuition.
However, it’s also important for guides to understand who we are as an organization, and what our expectations are. Our in-house guide training provides us with the opportunity to orient guides to our operation, refresh and assess critical skills, and provide valuable feedback to help our guides develop in their profession. This year’s training involved 5 days of field time in both rock and alpine environments with Lee Lazzara – our senior IFMGA guide and guide trainer.
Lee works with several well-respected organizations, and guides in Europe during the summer months. He also runs a guide training for several Northwest Guide Services. He designed a Baker Mountain Guides training program to cater to our specific needs. Again, the purpose wasn’t to teach our guides how to guide – that is better left to the AMGA – but to teach them how we would like them to guide in the terrain that we most commonly operate in: Mount Baker.
Our guide training fell into the context of client care and risk management. Objectives included short roping on both rock and snow, which is a professionally oriented technique not common among recreational groups. Much attention was paid to alpine transitions as well, which is essentially the art of moving between different rope systems and guiding techniques based on terrain and hazards. The program finished with both crevasse and rock rescue refreshers.
As always, Mount Baker was an excellent training environment. Ironically, we chose not to summit Baker, but opted for the East Ridge of Colfax instead. The East Ridge of Colfax is a more challenging objective that forces guides to think outside the box. The Coleman Deming route on Mount Baker would have been a better preview of a common route that we guide, but we are less concerned with our guides knowing a specific route, and more concerned that they have the skills to manage hazard and guide effectively in any terrain that they encounter.
We finished up on Baker with a Crevasse Rescue refresher where we reviewed professional level techniques. Any guide in any glaciated terrain should be very comfortable performing crevasse rescue. Terrain assessment, hazard ID/mitigation, and client care are areas where all guides can improve, however anything less than full fluency in crevasse rescue is unacceptable.
Our Baker days were sandwiched between two sessions on the cliffs at Mount Erie in Anacortes, where we covered short roping on rock, alpine transitions, and rock rescue. The rock rescue drill that we practice prepares guides to evacuate an injured climber from a vertical environment. This situation is rare, however, working through the challenges of rock rescue prepares guides for problem solving in any technical rope system. Again, the purpose is not to teach a specific drill, but to prepare guides for any terrain or situation they may find themselves in.
The result is a team that is well indoctrinated not only to Baker Mountain Guides terrain, but to our culture as well. Training is an important aspect of professionalism in our industry, and all our guides are qualified to operate in the terrain in which they are guiding. Hopefully this post provides some insight into the inner workings of our industry, as well as our approach to pedagogy. These are concepts that we carry over into our guided trips and instructional courses as well. We invite you experience the Baker Mountain Guides difference, and climb with a member of our fantastic crew!
To begin, it seems as though softshell clothing is both un-appreciated and under-utilized in the Pacific Northwest. Sure, we’ve got some foul weather that blows through occasionally, but there are plenty of times when softshell clothing not only works, but is actually MORE appropriate for the conditions and the type of activity. You absolutely need a good hardshell when necessary, however, as a mountain guide in the Pacific Northwest, I would have to say that I wear softshells the majority of the time.
Of all the softshell jackets that I currently own, or have ever owned, the Black Diamond Alpine Start Hoody is my absolute favorite. The Alpine Start epitomizes stripped down, no frills, minimalism. Its simplicity makes it useful across a broad spectrum of activities and weather conditions. At 8.8 oz., it’s a zero-guilt addition to the pack. I can’t really justify carrying anything else.
Let’s start with the material. Black Diamond has chosen to build the Alpine Start Hoody out of Scholler, which is one of my absolute favorite textiles. Scholler breathes nicely, stretches with your body movement, and is much more durable than other materials. Feel free to jam that arm deep into the offwidth. Scholler will come out in one piece. The Scholler is further treated with a NanoSphere coating. NanoSphere provides a surface structure that bonds poorly with dirt, water, and oil. All coatings will wear off over time, but because of the “Nano” application process, NanoSphere holds up significantly better.
The material used in the Alpine Start Hoody is only 80g/m2, which is about as light as Scholler gets. Some may scoff at how thin the jacket is, but softshells were designed to breathe well, and protect from light precip and wind. If you’re after insulation, or looking for extra warmth, buy a fleece and layer it underneath.
When you’re moving through the mountains, your body is generating an incredible amount of heat. You must let this heat out to maintain performance and comfort levels. The weather may be pleasant, but often requires a minimal amount of protection from things like wind, blowing snow, or light precip. Conditions like these describe about 80% of my field days, and are perfect for the Alpine Start Hoody.
When operating on a glacier, we’re always concerned about crevasses as well. You must wear a long sleeve top in the event of a crevasse fall. Summer snow crystals are extremely abrasive, and can do some serious damage to your forearms should you have to self-arrest in a T-shirt. It’s a good argument for light gloves as well (like the BD Trekkers). In the past, I’ve worn a thin wool top, but lately I’ve been pairing the synthetic BD Watchtower with the Alpine Start Hoody. Snow is reflective, and it can get hot on a glacier. The Alpine Start works great as a sun shirt, and the loose fit is cooler and more comfortable than a single layer of wool. It doesn’t make you smell like a wet sheep either.
Basically, the Alpine Start Hoody is perfect if it’s too warm to wear a jacket, but necessary because of the weather, or the terrain that you’re moving through. Again, this situation describes most of my days in the mountains.
With regards to features, there really isn’t much to say, which is kind of the point. There’s one chest pocket which I do really like. A jacket without a single pocket would drive me crazy. The cuffs are elastic, which do ride up a little bit, but the trade-off would be heavier, Velcro closures. The hood fits helmets very nicely, and cinches down with a couple of hidden pull cords inside the collar. Otherwise the Alpine Start is bare bones. If you’re looking for features, you have more shopping to do.
Long story short, the Alpine Start Hoody rocks. I have a running joke with my guides where I continually turn to them and say “Have I told you how awesome my jacket is?” It drives them nuts, but they all have an Alpine Start Hoody now.
For more information or to purchase, check out the Alpine Start Hoody at Black Diamond Equipment