Backcountry skiing is a great way to experience the silence and solitude of the winter season. While ski resorts offer restaurants, toilets, and a lift up the hill…they also can offer long lift lines and crowded slopes. For anyone looking to get away from the crowds, backcountry skiing is a great. However, you should know a few things before you go.

Consider taking a few avalanche classes. When you go into the backcountry, there is no ski patrol doing extensive snow control to make sure the area you are in will be safe from avalanches. It is important to know about the weather patterns and what effect they will have on the snow pack. The information you’ll learn in an avy class would include; how to dig snow pits, how to analyze them, and route finding skills. A great book on this topic is, The Avalanche Handbook.

A wilderness first aid class would also help prepare you for backcountry skiing. Again, there is no ski patrol around to whisk you off the mountain in a toboggan, so you will have to expect to fend for yourself. Even if you have a resource such as a local search and rescue team, it may be hours before they can get to you, so you need to be prepared. A wilderness first aid class is important and it would teach skills such as patient assessment, splinting, and bandaging. Other topics include; environmental injuries, shock, spinal cord injuries and more. This type of class would also cover wilderness first aid kits, which is an important item to keep in your backpack. The hands on experience of taking these classes are priceless.

For backcountry skiing, you’ll also need backcountry equipment. First off, you’ll need skis with some type of heel release binding system, so you can hike uphill. You will also need skins for those skis, which attach to the bottom of the ski, to assist with “skinning”. Skinning refers to the movement of going uphill with your skis attached to your feet, but they allow your heal to come up. An avalanche transceiver is also a necessity. There are several kinds on the market and regardless of which one you buy, you’ll need to practice with it. It can save the life of you or your friend if one of you is caught in an avalanche. You will also need a probe pole and an avalanche shovel. These items can be bought or rented, and are highly recommended to have for taking an avalanche class prior to going out in the backcountry.

There is much more to learn about backcountry skiing than can possibly be covered in this short article. This is just a general overview of classes to take and equipment needed to get started. For your first time backcountry skiing, hiring a ski guide is a great way to go. Some ski resorts offer guides for hire that will take you outside the ski area boundaries. Guide companies are also available many places around the world in mountainous regions.

Backcountry skiing offers a special experience. You are moving at a slower pace, you get to soak in the quietness of the mountains, and it can bring about a very peaceful feeling slightly different from many other forms of exercise.