Women's Splitboard & Ski Mountaineering: 4 Day
Guided Exposure is thrilled to continue offering one of the first women-led splitboard and ski mountaineering courses led by AMGA guides. This 4-day course takes place on the glaciers of Mount Baker or nearby North Cascades terrain. Over 3 nights and 4 days practice the systems that make bigger objectives more realistic: glacier travel, crevasse rescue, crampon and ice axe movement, terrain choices, descent planning, and group communication
- Women-Led Instruction: Learn from skilled women guides with extensive splitboard and mountaineering experience.
- Comprehensive Training: Gain hands-on experience with glacier travel, crevasse rescue, mountain movement, camp systems, and route planning.
- Skill Development: Receive direct feedback to improve splitboarding, touring efficiency, and mountain decision-making.
- Summit Achievement: Apply your skills toward a Mount Baker/Kulshan summit objective when weather and conditions align..
- Prices: Based on a minimum of 2 participants.
- Private Courses: Available for custom dates.
-
Glacier Travel: Develop and practice techniques for safe and efficient glacier travel by navigating around and avoiding crevasses, understanding tension and compression zones, and accumulation and ablation zones.
-
Crevasse Rescue: Learn and practice crevasse rescue to ensure safety in glaciated terrain by practicing and performing 3:1, 5:1, and 6:1 mechanical advantage systems for skiers and snowboarders
-
Snow Anchors: Understand how to construct and use snow anchors for various mountaineering applications. In addition to classic ski-based snow anchors, our split specific anchors have been developed onsite in house and are not found anywhere else.
-
Knots & Hitches: Gain proficiency in essential knots and hitches used in mountaineering such as the figure eight, prusik hitch, clove & munter hitch, alpine butterfly, and overhand knot
-
Rope Use: Learn to use ropes while riding on belay and rappeling effectively while descending steep slopes.
-
Self-Arrest: Develop the ability to self-arrest on steep snow and ice while snowboarding or cramponing.
-
Winter Camping: Acquire the skills for setting up and living comfortably in a winter camp by staying warm and dry, well hydrated, and well fed. Including snow walls, making water, base camp style set up
-
Secure Riding Movement: Gain confidence with your riding technique to handle variable snow conditions under the supervision of the countrys best ski and splitboard guides
This course is best suited for individuals with a strong intermediate or higher level of skiing and skinning ability, comfortable skiing or riding with a backpack, and a moderate or above level of fitness. Participants should be prepared to:
- Ascend 4,700 Vertical Feet: Climb 4,700 vertical feet over 4 miles in a day.
- Cover 7,200 Vertical Feet: Ascend a total of 7,200 vertical feet over 12 miles round trip throughout a 4 day course.
- Ski or Ride with a Backpack: Be comfortable carrying a backpack while skiing or riding.
- Maintain Fitness for 4 Days: Have the stamina and fitness for 4 consecutive days of mountain activity.
- Ski and Ride Variable Snow: Just be capable of navigate spring corn, crust, powder, schmoo, slop, quyere, cement, proto-corn on intermediate slopes
- Day 1: Meet and greet in Glacier WA, gear check at our World HQ, and travel to camp on the Coleman, Squak, or Easton glaciers.
- Day 2: Practice glacier travel, route finding, movement skills, and a warm-up ride.
- Day 3: Build mountain systems, navigation, group travel, and summit-style riding skills.
- Day 4: Put the skills together during a summit climb and descent before returning to the trailhead.
This course is for strong intermediate and advanced women skiers and splitboarders who already have touring experience and want to build mountaineering skills for glaciated Cascade terrain.
Students work on glacier travel, route planning, ice axe and crampon movement, camp systems, group decision-making, mountain movement, and efficient ski or splitboard descents in variable snow.
Yes. You should be comfortable skinning, skiing or riding with a pack, managing transitions, and traveling in backcountry terrain. This course adds mountaineering skills to an existing touring foundation.
The course is typically based on Mount Baker/Kulshan on the Coleman-Deming, Easton, or Squak Glacier, or nearby on Mount Shuksan. Final venues depend on snowpack, weather, access, and group goals.
Bring a ski or splitboard touring setup, helmet, harness, crampons, ice axe, glacier travel gear, overnight equipment, layers, food, and water capacity. A final gear list is confirmed before the course.
Gear list
Gear list
Gear required varies trip to trip. Your guide helps you decide what to bring or leave during the gear check. Need to rent crampons, ice axe, harness, or helmet? Let us know when you book.
Cancellation
It is your responsibility to be familiar with our Payment, Cancellation, and Rescheduling Policies. When you book a trip with Guided Exposure, you are agreeing to our policies outlined here:
