Towering imposingly in Salt Lake City’s backyard, Wasatch Range continues to attract thrillseekers worldwide with its alluring cliffs and powdery peaks. While the Range offers a myriad of different recreation opportunities, it’s especially generous to the skiers! The unique combination of heavy, dry, and powdery snow inspired local ski resorts to crown Wasatch’s snowfall as “the greatest snow on earth.” While this may be a bold statement to make, it’s an undisputed fact that the Wasatch Range offers some of the best skiing in North America—after all, it was home to the 2002 winter Olympics. However, when skiing on dangerous slopes, one can never be too careful. Avalanches are a very real possibility here, and the abundance of perilous cliffs and excellent snow make the mountain a great setting for your avalanche education course. Head to Wasatch for your AIARE Level 1 Avalanche Course, and master the basics of avalanche safety in the coolest learning environment you could imagine.
Adventure Highlights
Proximity to Salt Lake City makes the trip simpler and more practical
Excellent snowfall conditions guarantee a world-class experience
Enjoy Wasatch Range’s 400 mountains and 11,000-foot peaks
Duration
2 days
Season
December
Group size
Up to 6 people
Difficulty
In order to get the most of this adventure, you need to have a moderate level of fitness. You will be on your feet for a full day. You will need to manage controlled descents in variable conditions. All participants should feel comfortable on challenging blue or black level resort runs and be able to carry a loaded daypack while skinning up variable degrees of terrain.
Prerequisites:
You don’t need to be an advanced skier or boarder, but you do need to be able to ascend moderate slopes using skins. All participants should be comfortable traveling in snow while carrying touring gear. There are no other prerequisites.
Verse yourself in the basics of avalanche safety quickly and efficiently with the AIARE Level 1 Course in Wasatch. The course features a hybrid approach, meaning that the first portion of it will be held online, while days 2 and 3 will take place in the field. Learn how to properly read the snow and weather reports, spot and identify hazards and even lead a tour under the watchful eye of a professional guide!
Adventure Architect
Let’s build something unique. Design your own adventure from the ground up and let us handle the rest.
Seasoned pros, local legends, and passionate adventurers—your trip is in the best hands.
5.00
Jackson Hole Mountain Guides
Jackson Hole Mountain Guides have been taking skiers into the Teton backcountry since 1968 and set the industry standard within the professional guiding industry. Accredited by the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA), they run everything from ski mountaineering courses to introductory touring days.
What others say about this adventure
5.00(2reviews)
B
Ben W.
Knowledgeable instructors and in a setting that inspires. I learned a lot during my course and look forward to putting my new knowledge to use by exploring snow in the Tetons and beyond.
C
Clinton C.
Very professional! Excellent instructors with a wealth of knowledge and most importantly, they know how to facilitate the growth of one’s mountain sense.
Knowledgeable instructors and in a setting that inspires. I learned a lot during my course and look forward to putting my new knowledge to use by exploring snow in the Tetons and beyond.
C
Clinton C.
Very professional! Excellent instructors with a wealth of knowledge and most importantly, they know how to facilitate the growth of one’s mountain sense.
Things to know
57hours is committed to providing safe outdoor adventure experiences. We require all guides using our platform to have a COVID-19 safety plan and to make the details of that plan accessible to travelers. In most cases, group sizes will be reduced, guides will avoid overcrowded locations, and other safety measures will be met depending on the location and activity.
We also expect clients to respect local regulations and take measures to protect themselves, their guides, and the communities they’re traveling to. For more information on COVID-19 measures in Wasatch, Ohio, please refer to the State of Ohio’s official Covid-19 updates website.
Please contact us if you have any questions or require further information. We are happy to provide you with the most up-to-date information!
What you get in this adventure:
An experienced, certified guide with extensive knowledge of the area
A virtual check-in and introduction into the course
A full 2 days in the field
What’s not included:
Technical backcountry ski touring equipment
Accommodation
Food and snacks
In order to get the most of this adventure, you need to have a moderate level of fitness. You will be on your feet for a full day. You will need to manage controlled descents in variable conditions. All participants should feel comfortable on challenging blue or black level resort runs and be able to carry a loaded daypack while skinning up variable degrees of terrain.
Prerequisites:
You don’t need to be an advanced skier or boarder, but you do need to be able to ascend moderate slopes using skins. All participants should be comfortable traveling in snow while carrying touring gear. There are no other prerequisites.
For technical backcountry ski touring gear, you will need to bring:
Alpine touring, telemark, or snowboarding boots (can be rented)
Skis or splitboard with compatible binding for boots (can be rented)
Avalanche safety equipment (can be rented)
Climbing skins (can be rented)
Ski poles (can be rented)
Basic avalanche safety gear (can be rented)
Digital, 3-antenna avalanche transceiver or beacon
Lightweight snow shovel
Avalanche probe
For personal items, we recommend bringing:
Long sleeve synthetic — medium to expedition weight long underwear
Softshell or fleece jacket
Shell jacket with a hood
Puffy jacket with a hood
Synthetic or wool long underwear bottoms
Shell pants — full side zips and built-in gaiters
Socks — synthetic or wool, sized for your boots and blister protection
Liners — optional, but recommended
Gloves – 3 pairs: 1 light, 1 medium, 1 heavy pair
Medium weight ski hat
Baseball hat or visor for sun
Buff or a neck gaiter
Backpack (30-40 liter ski pack)
Water bottle or hydration bladder (2L capacity)
Food you can eat-on-the-go
Sunglasses
Ski goggles
Sunscreen
Headlamp and extra batteries
Laptop computer
Camera — optional
All mandatory gear can be rented if you don’t have your own. You can rent:
Avalanche safety pack, including backpack, beacon, shovel, and probe can be rented from Jackson Hole Mountain Guides
Ski rental locations are in Wasatch and should be picked up the night prior to your outing. If you need to rent gear, let us know and we can help make arrangements.
Group size:
For this group course, the usual guest-to-guide ratio is 6:1.
Cost is per person and it doesn’t decrease as the group grows.
AIARE Level 1 courses in Wasatch can be arranged for larger or private groups. Contact us to make arrangements.
Min. age requirements:
You must be at least 18 years old to participate.
The simplest way to reach Wasatch is by taking a flight to Salt Lake City International Airport. Once there, we recommend renting a car or taking a shuttle.
Once you and your guide agree on the details of your itinerary, your guide will suggest the best place to meet, whether that’s at the guide shop or a predetermined location. From there, you’ll head to your tour. The guide will choose the appropriate terrain dependent on conditions and the ski ability of the group.
Cancel within 48 hours of booking your trip for free, no questions asked. If you need to change your plans up to 31 days ahead of your scheduled adventure, we offer a full refund on most trips. Within 31 days we offer free date changes or the option to convert your booking to credit to use on any 57hours adventure at a later date.
Have more questions?
Our team is here to answer your questions and plan with you.
Book a fully private 57hours adventure for your group. We customize dates, group sizes, terrain, guides and accommodations — so your adventure fits your people and your goals.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Knowledgeable instructors and in a setting that inspires. I learned a lot during my course and look forward to putting my new knowledge to use by exploring snow in the Tetons and beyond.