INTRODUCTION

An intensive five day course covering the fundamentals of ski mountaineering. This course is designed for experienced off-piste skiers and splitboarders who are looking to progress as a mountaineer and gain the skills necessary to explore steeper, more complex, and more remote terrain. Some of the lessons in this course will overlap with those taught in my Winter Alpine Skills Clinic, but this curriculum will focus on what is arguably the most exciting aspect of mountain travel, the downhill part! Ski mountaineering requires a wide skill set, utilizing techniques endemic to rock climbing, ice climbing, alpine skiing, and avalanche and weather forecasting. While you don’t have to be an expert in every mountain discipline (except maybe downhill skiing!), you have to be fairly proficient in all of them to move about safely in the backcountry. Avalanche danger is a problem that is particularly acute for the ski mountaineer. In this course we will discuss both mitigation and rescue techniques, but also how to avoid avalanche terrain altogether. Of course while no amount of instruction or experience can eliminate all the objective hazards that exist in the alpine, this course will go a long way towards helping you identify those hazards and employ methods to mitigate them, so you can focus on the fun stuff. A fairly high level of fitness and previous off-piste experience is required. Some technical skills preferred, but not required. Below is a detailed course syllabus, outlining many of the topics we will discuss, and the various systems we will practice.

GEAR CONSIDERATIONS

In ski mountaineering weight efficiency is key. Below are the basics. For a more detailed kit list, including one tailored to glacier travel, go here.

Lightweight harness
Lightweight rope
Helmet
Slings 
Locking carabiners
Ice axe
Ski crampons
Boot crampons
Backcountry and/or big mountain skis that can go the distance and handle variable conditions

AVALANCHE SAFETY AND RESCUE TECHNIQUES

Heuristics
Intuitive Brain vs. Logical Brain
Systems, Checklists, Procedures
Terrain Dangers
Snowpack Considerations
Types of Avalanches
Reading Avalanche Advisories
Golden Travel Rules (including avoiding avalanche terrain altogether when deep persistent slab issues are present)
Safety Gear Checklist
Survival and Rescue Techniques
Strategies for Companion Rescue
Rescue Techniques (grid vs. zig zag vs. line method)
Ski (or Slope) Cuts

BACKCOUNTRY TRAVEL: NAVIGATION

Navigation Tools
Navigation Techniques
Mountain Weather Basics

BACKCOUNTRY TRAVEL: MOVEMENT SKILLS

Skinning: Motion
Skinning: Turns
Track Setting
Transitions: Skinning to Skiing; Skiing to Skinning; Skinning to Booting; Snow to Glaciated Terrain; From Unroped to Roped Travel in Glaciated Terrain
Stomping out a Platform (Transitioning to Skiing from a Rappel or Booting Up)

STEEP SKIING AND RIDING TECHNIQUES

Modern Steep Skiing (vs. the Jump Turn)
Balanced/Centered Stance Over Skis/Snowboard
Shoulders Facing Downhill
Upper/Lower Body Separation
Doug Coombs’ “Folding Pole Plant”
The Pedal Hop Turn

KNOTS (For Ski Mountaineers)

Munter Hitch
Clove Hitch  
Figure 8 (and Figure 8 on a bight
Butterfly Knot
Flat Overhand
Stopper Knot

ROPE SYSTEMS

Rope Handling
Various Coiling Methods (Alpine Coils)
The Kiwi Coil
Roped Travel
Prerigging for Glacier Travel
Crevasse Rescue
Self Rescue
Advanced Techniques: Short-Roping (with and without terrain features), Short Pitching, Belayed Climbing

ALPINE ANCHORS

Snow Anchors: T-Anchor; H-Anchor; X- Anchor; I-Anchor; Other
Braced Seated Belay
Hip Belay
Direct Belay vs. Harness Belay
Terrain Belays
Tree Anchors
Rock Anchors (including use of Cams, Nuts, and Pitons)
Ice Anchors (including V-Thread or Abalakov Thread)
Using a V-Thread Tool
Snow/Ice Bollards

RAPPELLING AND DOWNCLIMBING

Rappelling
Mulit-Pitch Rappelling
Tag Lines
Rope Considerations
Rappelling without a belay device
Rappelling with Skis On

OTHER TECHNIQUES

Using the Probe In Crevassed Terrain
Belaying on a Munter Hitch
Skiing on Belay
Rappelling with Skis On
Lowering/Rappelling without a Harness
Uphill Travel with Boots and Crampons
Ski (or Slope) Cuts

Images from 2024 Ski Mountaineering Clinic (Chamonix):