Ski & Snowboard Mountaineering
Guided Backcountry Skiing
This aspect of mountaineering allows the mountain lover to use their skill to not only climb to the top of a mountain but to safely and expertly descend. The deep snow pack of the winter and spring keep many visitors away from the mountains. For the educated snow rider, winter opens a new door to the mountains where the thrill and satisfaction of getting to the top of the peaks is only equaled by the exhilaration of making turns back down.
The winter environment brings its own set of hazards. A primary concern for the backcountry skier is avalanche hazard. Learning the how, where, and when hazard develops as well as avalanche rescue, are key skills that must be developed by all backcountry travelers. Also important is choosing the right equipment, orienteering, and all the intricacies of both uphill and downhill travel that allow for full enjoyment of skiing off-piste.
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Suntoucher Mountain Guides offers instruction and guiding in backcountry skiing, mountaineering and avalanche awareness. Professional instruction is critical for all levels of experience from the backcountry beginner making their first tracks in ungroomed snow to the advanced skier ready to take their skiing to the world’s great mountain ranges.
Avalanche training March 1-3, 2007, Santa Fe, NM
New Mexico Mountains
The mountains of New Mexico offer
amazing backcountry terrain. The mountain summits are high and the
powder is dry. The late winter and early spring snow pack of northern New
Mexico rivals and often exceeds that of most of Colorado. The Sangre
de Cristo Mountains are host to many 12,000 and 13,000 foot peaks with steep
faces and wide open alpine bowls. Some of this impressive terrain can even
be accessed from Santa Fe Ski Basin utilizing the lifts to “bump”
you into the alpine wonderland. Come explore the New Mexico backcountry.
January through April dates 1-3 days
San Juans of Colorado
The San Juans of Colorado are
some of the most impressive peaks in the Rockies. Unlike most Colorado Mountains
the San Juans are steep and jagged with significant vertical relief. The
snow here is some of the best in the Rockies. In the winter great powder
can be found from the high alpine bowls down into the trees making for excellent
skiing in a variety of terrain. In the springtime the snow consolidates
offering splendid touring conditions in the mornings and excellent corn
as the days heat up, making for awesome descents from the high sunny peaks.
January through May dates 3-5 days
Alaska
Giant Alaskan summits soar above
the vast backcountry wilderness igniting the imagination. The Chugach Mountains
house vast glaciers and dozens of incredible alpine peaks where the snow
is forgiving, allowing for steep and spectacular ski descents that would
be to steep or avalanche prone to hold good conditions in the Rockies. Thomson
Pass near the legendary Valdez offers easy access to this amazing ski mountaineering
destination.
April and May dates
Alps
The Haute Route is the most famous ski traverse in the world. It follows near the crest of the Alps from Chamonix and the Mont Blanc Massif to Switzerland following an alpine hut system. The Haute Route ends with a dramatic descent past the north face of the Matterhorn into the famous village of Zermatt. The excellent hut system in the Alps allows one to go light and enjoy the amazing ski terrain with small packs.
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The Haute Route is ski mountaineering
terrain at its finest, some of the ascents require steep climbing using
ice axe and crampons and short sections of the descents might require rappels
to gain access to the long and impressive glacial descents that makes the
Haute Route such a classic tour. Our week long ski tour allows for many
variations including summits and a variety of long ski descents into other
famous Swiss alpine villages like Verbier and Saas Fee.
April and May dates
2009 Haute Route and Ortler Ski tours
Verbier Haute Route March 24 - April 1 2009
Ortler Ski Touring April 4 - 11 2009
There are a large number of options to any tour in the Alps, we will keep our itinerary flexible to adapt to conditions and the groups desires. A common and enjoyable possible itinerary and the one we are currently planning is as follows:
Day 1 (4th)~ Leave Sulden, ride the gondola and chair lifts up 3100m to the top of the ski area; we begin the tour with a lovely descent (with only a little side stepping) over the Passo del Madriccio and into the Marteller Valley, we'll stop for lunch, coffee, and general enjoyment at the hut there (Zufallhutte) before skinning up to the Marteller hut where we'll spend the night.
Day 2 5(5th) ~ Leave Marteller hut and climb one of two ways; depending on the groups ambitions We can either ski more or less directly up the Cevedale Glacier and cross the ridge at its low point or we can ski up towards the top of Monte Cevedale, descend the Cedec glacier a short way, then skin up to the pass between Cevedale and the nearby Pasquale, descending to the Brabca Hut from there. The Branca is a pleasure (especially if you have experienced many other huts in the alps) with great food, strong coffee, a good wine selection plus hot showers!
Day 3 & 4 (6 & 7th)~ The Branca hut is situated nicely to access a couple of beautiful ski mountaineering peaks (this means ski with smaller lighter pack for the day!) we can chose to ski either the Pizzo Tresero and the Punta Matteo and then of course Dya 4 we'll ski what we didn't ski Day 3, oh my decisions!
Day 5 & 6 (8 & 9)~Leave Branca hut (sigh), and tour up to the Pizzini hut and ski some of the fine slopes behind the hut or possibly take a more adventurous route over the Pasquale-Cevedale col and descend the steep Cedec Glacier. We will spend the night at the Pizzini hut. Climb the Gran Zebru or ski the glacier below its huge South face, may options exists and we may likely decide when there based on what conditions look best, then spend a second night at the Pizzini hut.
Day 7 (10th) ~ Leave Pizzini hut and climb up Mt Cevedale. Ski down passing the Cassati hut (cappuccino!) on the way back to the Sulden ski area. Drop all the way down the ski area and back to town. For those of you who have done the Haute Route, no shuttle back from Zermatt to Chamonix, back to your own clothes, showers, food and bed and THEN more skiing! (if you haven't had enough on the trip)
Price per skier $2750
email for more info on the Ortler: