Backcountry Freerider

Sample Itinerary

Saturday: 7:30 am meet at the Yamnuska Classroom 

• Course introduction and briefing 
• Check gear for the program and issue avalanche gear if needed 
• Avalanche rescue review and group practice 
• Trail breaking and track setting 
• Recognizing avalanche terrain and avoiding avalanches 
• Decision making for the descent of skiing or splitboarding  
• Overview of Sunday’s objective 

 Sunday: 7:30 am, field day, meet at our classroom. 

• Review trip plan and current conditions 
• Track setting – refinement including kick turns 
• Planning and building corners in difficult or steep areas 
• Wrap up the course, return to Canmore 

Plus Day: 

If you want to hunt for powder or just take your skiing/splitboarding to the next level join us for an additional day where our guide will find you the best snow and terrain on any given day.  (Must be 18 years of age or older unless accompanied by a parent or guardian.) 

Meeting Time and Place

The course begins Saturday morning at 7:30 am at the Yamnuska classroom. The Yamnuska classroom is located at #100 – 50 Lincoln Park, Canmore. See this map for location.

Guides and Group Size

Our instructors are certified professional ski guides or mountain guides who are licensed to teach and guide in the backcountry. There will be a maximum of 8 participants per guide and a maximum of 16 participants on the course. There will be a minimum of 4 participants in this program. 

Transportation

To help keep prices affordable, participants are responsible for their own transportation, as well as providing transportation for their guide during the program. If renting a vehicle, we recommend requesting one equipped for winter driving conditions, including winter tires.

Park Passes

Please note that program venues may be within National Parks and/or Kananaskis Country. For programs where transportation is not provided by Yamnuska/Canadian Rockies Hiking by Yamnuska, guests will be required to purchase their own pass.

National Park passes are available both online at https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/voyage-travel/admission and in-person at National park gates and some information centres.

Kananaskis Country conservation passes are available online at https://www.alberta.ca/kananaskis-conservation-pass.aspx

Accommodation and Meals

Accommodation in Canmore is not included. A variety of accommodation options exist in both Canmore and Banff. We recommend that you book your own pre and post-trip accommodations well in advance as all levels of accommodations in the Bow Valley fill quickly. 

Food is not supplied. Each day bring plenty to drink and lunch plus energy snacks. We particularly suggest bringing a Thermos and hot drink. 

Equipment and Clothing

You will need to bring your own clothing, alpine touring skis, boots, poles, climbing skins, and daypack. If you have your own personal Avalanche Safety equipment, it is great to bring this along as well as some beacons have different features which we can explain during the Avalanche review session.

The equipment and clothing you bring will have a big impact on the quality of your experience. Please be sure to bring all the items listed.  If you are unsure about anything please don’t hesitate to call and ask us!

Skis

Alpine Touring skis are essentially downhill skis with a special touring binding that allows the heel to lift whilst going uphill or across the flats and then ‘locks down’ to become a regular downhill safety binding. We recommend this system to anyone with a background in downhill skiing.

Splitboards can be used in this program.

Both types of gear can be rented in Canmore or Calgary prior to the course.

Equipment List

You need to bring:

• Skis/Splitboard We recommend a short (160 – 185cm) wide ski designed for powder.  Please see the note under rental information if you are renting ski equipment.
• Climbing skins ‘Stick-on type’
• Ski Poles
• Ski boots
• Ski Helmet (optional)
• Daypack (large enough for spare clothes, lunch & equipment)
• Sunglasses and ski goggles
• Thermos flask and water bottle.
• Sunblock and Lip Cream
• Pocket knife
• Headlamp with fresh batteries
• Small Blister and 1st-Aid Kit
• Camera
• Small repair kit for bindings, skis or splitboard (this may include straps, nuts, bolts, small leatherman)

Additional gear info:

• Skis/splitboard:  There are two viable backcountry systems, Alpine Touring and Splitboard.
• Alpine Touring:  Essentially downhill skis with a special touring binding which allows the heel to lift when going uphill and then locks down to become an alpine binding for the downhill.
• Splitboard: If you are a rider and proficient on a snowboard, the backcountry touring version is called a splitboard. This is a snowboard that can be split to make two ski-type platforms for touring on the uphill ascent. The bindings have two positions and can be switched depending on whether you are climbing or descending. Split boards also use climbing skins for the ascent. For the downhill, the board is reassembled or joined to be in snowboard (ride) mode. If you are new to this system, you will need to practice the transitions of switching the board from touring to riding and back again. Your enjoyment will be vastly greater if you are efficient and practiced with this transition. For splitboarders, regular snowboard boots will work. A splitboard specific boot will give you more comfort when in touring mode and offer extra support to make sidehilling and traversing terrain easier to manage.
• Boots:  Backcountry boots are different from regular alpine ski boots. In the backcountry, boots need to have an uphill mode that allows a free range of motion in the upper part of the boot. You should not use your regular ski boots for touring and walking uphill.
• Climbing skins:  The glue on the base of the skin should be in good condition and the skins need to be properly fitted. Try the skins on your skis/splitboard to make sure they are the right length and width before you arrive.
• Ski poles:  Backcountry poles need powder baskets on the tips.
• Avalanche Transceiver:  A three antennae transceiver is required.
• Probe:  A minimum of 240 cm in length.
• Shovel:  A metal blade shovel is required.
• Hand Sanitizer

Clothing List

We suggest bringing light clothing of varying thicknesses that can be ‘layered’ to achieve comfort and versatility. The most important consideration for clothing is the ability to regulate temperature as you change from periods of activity to periods of rest and from the ascent to the descent.

• Long underwear top and bottoms (lightweight synthetic or wool)
• Warm pants (nylon blend, insulated, or fleece)
• Warm shirt (not cotton)
• Medium weight fleece sweater
• Fleece Jacket
• Light insulated jacket or vest
• Waterproof jacket with hood (Gore-Tex or nylon)
• Waterproof pants (Gore-Tex or nylon, with side zippers)
• Socks (wool outer & polypro liner), several sets
• Wool or fleece hat
• Waterproof ski mountaineering gloves or mitts
• Sunhat

• Alpha SV Jacket (Men’s & Women’s)
• Rush Jacket (Men’s & Women’s)
• Rush Bib Pant (Men’s & Women’s)
• Atom Hoody (Men’s & Women’s)
• Atom SL Hoody (Men’s & Women’s)
• Cerium Down Hoody (Men’s & Women’s)
• Nuclei Hoody (Men’s & Women’s)

Optional Equipment

Yamnuska supplies these items but feel free to bring them anyway:

• Avalanche transceiver – digital transceiver with a triple antennae
• Collapsible Avalanche Probe
• Avalanche Shovel
• Snow Study Kit

Rental Information

Skis, Boots, Skins, and Poles can be rented from:

• Canmore: Gear Up – (403 678-1636)
• Lake Louise: Wilson Mountain Sports  – (1-866-929-3636)

We recommend reserving your gear in advance.

*Please note that your ‘DIN’ or ‘Release Value’ settings on your ski bindings are critical to your safety while skiing.  Our expectation is that everyone arrives on programs with their ski binding’s release value correctly set. We have noted that some ski rental shops will not set release values on touring bindings. We advise you to rent from a shop that will set release values on your ski touring bindings unless you are proficient and comfortable setting your own DIN/release value. Failure to have Release Values correctly set could result in a serious injury.

Please book as early as practical to avoid disappointment. We require full payment on booking.

We ask that you familiarize yourself with our detailed booking instructions and conditions.

Risk is an inherent part of all mountain activities. We strive to manage and reduce it however, it is impossible to totally eliminate. Learn more about our safety and risk management approach here.  Please note that you will be required to sign our waiver before commencing the program. Please view our sample waiver copy.

The Simpson Group offers a wide range of travel insurance options including Trip Cancellation/Interruption, Travel Medical, and Personal Effect Loss for both Canadian and International Travelers. Other providers offer similar services and we encourage you to select an appropriate level of coverage. We highly recommend purchasing this insurance to cover and protect you against unforeseen events. The two basic types of insurance that most travellers need to consider are Medical and Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance.

Insurance Risk 
One of the ways to mitigate risk is by purchasing appropriate insurance. Simpson Group Insurance Services who are travel & health risk specialists, work with technical and high-risk insurance solutions both in medical and non-medical spheres.  We highly recommend that you review your insurance needs to cover and protect you against unforeseen events. It is wise to ensure that your health plan will cover you in case of illness or accident during your trip. Simpson Group have a team standing by to answer any of your questions.

Emergency Medical Evacuation
While there is typically no charge for search & rescue in the National and Provincial Parks for active pass holders, costs such as air & ground ambulance after the rescue are not covered by your park pass. The chance of a large bill associated with this risk is a real possibility.

For Canadians
A common myth is that healthcare across provinces is fully covered. There are many things which do not carry interprovincial agreements. Ambulance services, medical evacuation, and some services which one province charges more than another you’d be responsible to pay the difference.

For Internationals
A common myth is that healthcare in Canada is free. Although it is less expensive than US healthcare, charges for non-residents can still be very high. Proper medical health insurance is essential if you were to get injured. Most coverages exclude rock climbing, mountaineering, ice climbing, backcountry skiing and the like. Simpson Group can make sure all those risks are well covered.

Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance
We recognize that our guests’ schedules may change for many reasons, business, family, flight delays, injuries, and other unplanned events.  For these eventualities, Trip Cancellation/Interruption insurance is a great way to protect your investment. We can assure you that circumstances do arise that prevent guests from participating in trips or courses and trip cancellation & interruption insurance is a relatively easy way to manage your level of risk of unforeseen events.

For all your travel insurance requirements we recommend Simpson Group Insurance Services.  For more information and to purchase a plan, visit Simpson Group’s website.