Why a guided trip is a great way to start backcountry skiing
By Riego Maarten
I’m standing by the window with a hot cup of coffee, watching the steam rise as I gaze at the Sierra foothills blanketed in snow. It’s that perfect time of year, when the crisp winter air reminds me how much I’ve missed the cold and the snow, and I’m eagerly anticipating the season ahead. As this season marks my 26th year of backcountry skiing, I still feel the excitement of the first snowflakes like I did when I was a kid on Christmas morning.
Always willing to learn something new, I continue to read articles on how to get started. Some of the suggestions are to take a class, get some gear, learn avalanche safety, learn to plan trips, learn safe routes, understand heuristics in a backcountry group setting; I am always checking to see if there is something I can learn. But this day I am reflecting on how different it was for me. By happenstance, I started with a guided multi-day trip on Mount Shasta. How convenient it was. Never having considered backcountry skiing or mountaineering before: it was an all-in-one deal!
In Tahoe there are a dozen potential outfitters and tours to choose from, such as Alpenglow Expeditions and International Alpine Guides and, most, if not all, Lake Tahoe ski resorts offer tours through a collaboration with outfitters: contact those nearest you and ask questions. More importantly if you have never been out, it is a formative way to get “first” experiences on skins, and switchback turns. In California, there are many peaks and routes, all along the Sierra, north and south, so don’t let location limit you. 
The crucial idea was choosing a guided, multi-day excursion. I highly recommend this as a cost-effective beginning exposure to backcountry skiing, especially if you have reservations or other beginner questions about how to get started. This is the option for you especially if you want to explore this activity without making a full commitment to continuing it as a hobby. This choice allows for introduction to all safety aspects, beacon use, skinning, backpacking, traversing, camping, and skiing with guides that can help with any aspect. Take a guided tour.
Backcountry skiing can be as easy or as challenging as you want on any given day. As part of a tour, you can discover what types of terrain and climates you like best. Taking a guided tour will allow you to experience 100% of what you want under safe guidance. If you like it, you can continue as I did: investing in your own gear and additional classes on safe travel lines, avalanche training, and heuristics.
My first adventure in the backcountry was filled with exciting and memorable experiences. I remember seeing snowcapped Mount Shasta from the valley floor, a good reason to drive into the North State. The peak, from a southern approach is a distant white cone on the horizon, shining like a landlocked lighthouse. As you get to Anderson, CA, the valley haze that softens the edges from a distance is gone. The scale of the mountain is stark, its relief and detail, crisp in the distance. My friends had bailed on me. I approached alone. I remember thinking, “what have I gotten into?”
Little did I know, the experience would turn into one of the most defining moments of my life. The memory of blue ice slowly turning to white snow, and a dark Maxfield Parrish sky lightening to a Norman Rockwell blue morning, stayed with me—fueling my passion for the sport for years to come.
More importantly my experience gave me a new lifelong hobby.
Main Image: A ski mountaineering trip on Mount Shasta is a great way to take your backcountry skiing to the next level.
