Ski Mountaineering this Winter

Posted by jasonkotenko on Jul 15, 2007
Page Views: 749

Date: Anytime
Location: Idaho, United States
City or Place: Idaho Falls
Skill Level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
Categories: Mountaineering, Skiing
Partner Status: Want Partners

So I desperately want to get into ski mountaineering (backcountry skiing, winter hiking/camping with skiing involved, whatever you want to call it) this winter. I was a strong skier back when I did it a lot, but haven't in a while. My climbing experience is only up to class 3/4, but should be significantly more by the winter. I don't have any real winter camping or avalanche preparedness experience, but will be taking classes on that last point.

I'm a transplant from the East, and I work full time in Idaho Falls, with every other Friday off.

What I really want to do is snowshoe/crampon hiking in the mountains this winter, ascending some pretty big mountains and skiing down them, maybe even doing some longer distance expeditions over ranges, etc. I'm open to going any direction from where I live, for a pretty long distance. That opens the central Idaho ranges, western Wyoming, southwestern Montana, and northern Utah.

I'm looking for people who either 1) have experience doing this and are not all elitist about the fact that I haven't, or 2) people who haven't and want to learn it and go through that process with someone else.

I'm pretty safety conscious, so there will be significant planning and research for trips. However, I have a large tolerance for risk, so these will eventually become pretty extreme trips.

One last thing, I am pretty into photography, so if you come out with me, chances are we'll come back with pretty wicked photos of our expeditions.