North Cascades Mountain Guides is dedicated to bringing out the backcountry skier in everyone. Situated in the heart of nordic ski country, we offer programs customized for x-country skiers to take their skills to the backcountry. We also offer tours catered to Alpine Touring or Randonee skiers, and most of our guides are PSIA certified ski instructors.

We use a mix of traditional instruction, experimental education, and lots of fun to forge a memorable experience where you learn skills and techniques to become a safe and competent backcountry skier.
 

Backcountry Day Tours
Backcountry ski workshop

Ski Mountaineering
Avalanche Training courses

This day outing is for the capable alpine skier who is keen on exploring the wild snow of the North Cascades. Alpine touring equipment is gaining popularity and is the perfect "equipage" for such an adventure. It makes the transition from lift service to backcountry effortless by allowing a free heel for the ascent and a locked heel for the descent. This outfit is a must have for the fashionable ladies of Europe and is becoming quite the rage here at Washington Pass. Proper accessories such as shovels, probes and tranceivers will be worn and techniques for their use will be covered. Participants should be advanced skiers, capable of negotiating black diamond runs in a ski area. Rental telemark or alpine touring equipment is available. .



  Karen and Blue climbing up into
  " Another Roadside Attraction"

  A sunny day in the mountains!

• $135/day per 4 skiers
• $150/day per 3 skiers
• $200/day per 2 skiers
• $275/day for 1 skier
• Ski Equipment List

This 4 day course is designed for the backcountry skier looking to expand their skills into glaciated terrain with steeper and more technical objectives. While making turns in the Spring corn snow is great fun, the ease and speed that skis allow you to travel make them the perfect tool for climbing peaks and completing long alpine tours. A great precursor for an expedition like the Haute Route, this course is also a means to and end for people that want to take advantage of the incredible ski Mountaineering opportunities right here in the North Cascades. This special program is offered during the prime Spring touring season.

We will cover use of ropes, ice axes, crampons(boot and ski crampons) as well as glacial navigation, crevasse rescue, route planning, snow camping, hazard evaluation and more.

• $600/person with min. of 2
• Equipment List

When conditions are good, there is some excellent ice climbing to be explored around Mazama. We'll go out for the day and focus on the intricate nuances of climbing frozen water. The curriculum covers a variety of ice-axe and crampon climbing techniques, placement of ice protection and anchor systems. Short approaches to the ice climbs allow for a full day of instruction and swinging tools.

• $125/day per 4 climbers
• $180/day per 3 climbers
• $200/day per 2 climbers
• $250/day for 1 climber
• Equipment List

This course is designed for anyone looking to gain a deeper and more thorough understanding of avalanche forecasting, rescue and beacon usage. The course will be held over two full and informational days.

• Level 1 - More details and dates
• Level 2 - More details and dates

This program is designed for graduates of our Level 1 course who want to brush up on their avalanche rescue skills. The day will be spent in the field reviewing routefinding, safe travel techniques and running through beacon drills as well as full rescue sequences.

• Dates:Call to Schedule
• Cost: $90 with min of 2