4 night: Feb 23-27, 2024: $1000 deposit due at sign-up; Remainder due on November 1st
$2,200-2,500 Sliding Scale for Course
 
Offered in partnership with Grounding Truth Holistic Guiding
 
Have you been looking for a way to deepen your understanding of snow and avalanches in a setting that will equip you to tackle more extended hut trips in the future? Do you love eating good food after skiing, sharing quality conversation and connection with other women, and enjoying an evening sauna as snow falls softly outside?
 
Then this Women’s Hut Based AIARE 2 in partnership with Grounding Truth has your name all over it!!
 
Who is this for? Any women identifying individuals with an AIARE 1 and at least one season of backcountry skiing (15+ days) experience. The ability to ride "in-control" inconsistent snow quality (such as powder, crust, slush, low coverage areas) in 35 degree terrain with sparse trees is a requirement for the course. 
 
The program will focus on decision making, snow and avalanche observations, weather, and zone specific forecasting. We will also highlight different approaches to navigating touring group dynamics, debriefing, building out a runlist, and exploring new terrain– both safely and efficiently.
 
Your guides, Julz Holder and Jodi Redfield, aside from being avalanche educators, also mentor women in backcountry skiing, ski guide, and instruct wilderness medicine programs for backcountry travelers. They look forward to offering you nuggets of wisdom from their collective 20+ years of experience in the industry, empowering you with opportunities to expand your skill set and confidence, and providing you with compassionate feedback while we explore the nuances and dynamic relationships that exist in the mountains. Mentorship is an integral part of both Julz and Jodi’s approach to teaching – and we’ve added 2 more days to the AIARE 2 timeframe to make space for more integration of the material.
 
To learn more about Julz and Jodi and their approach, please visit https://groundingtruth.com/whowillbemyguide
 
The setting of Fortune Peak Huts allows for an incredible mountain retreat-like experience, with a wide variety of terrain that will provide a good challenge and encourage creativity in tour-planning.
 
Accommodations include a barrel sauna and a weatherport style hut set up to provide a comfortable escape from the winter elements– can you say dreamy? Your guide team will keep the wood stove cranking out the heat and drying out your gear for tomorrow's adventures. Breakfast, lunch and dinner will be provided and we will all take turns pitching in on the cooking.
 
This experience is as much about fostering community and empowering women’s voices in outdoor spaces as it is about skiing powder and aesthetic lines. We look forward to sharing the magic of the mountains with you!
 
Itinerary
Day 1 Approach: 
We will meet at the 29 Pines Sno-Park about 30 min north of Cle Elum, WA. From there we will pack up our gear on the snowmobiles and begin moving up the valley. Our gear will go all the way to the hut and we will finish the commute to camp with a 4-mile/600’vert skin directly to camp. We will take a short walk out of camp to begin assessing conditions and get a fun, mellow lap or two before dinner, sauna, and intros.
 
Day 2 Tour: 
After a wholesome breakfast and packing lunches, we’ll have some lesson time and will discuss conditions before getting out into the field for an afternoon of touring. We’ll ease into the trip by gathering our observations in low angle terrain before venturing out into whatever terrain is appropriate for the team and conditions of the day! Our day will wrap up with some sauna and appetizers before dropping into dinner and debrief.
 
Day 3-4 Tours: 
Our next days will provide some class time in the hut, as well as fuller days of touring with more opportunities for participants to take on leadership roles with supervision and feedback from mentors. Options exist for a variety of ski options, including: 2,000’ couloirs to gladed tree skiing. As will become tradition, we’ll end the day with a sauna and appetizers, a quality debrief of the day, and a delicious shared meal.
 
Day 5 Tour and Exit: 
After breakfast and packing up our overnight gear, we’ll head out for one last half day tour to integrate all the learning. Around midday, we will begin our journeys onwards as we say goodbye to the hut and skate the road out to the snowmobile tow location as per day 1.
 
 
 
What is included:
4-night hut stay
3:1 max mentee to mentor ratio
High quality instruction, mentorship, and feedback.
Meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert) for the duration of the trip, excluding 1st breakfast and last day dinner, non-alcoholic beverages (All dietary restrictions will be provided for. The food will be high quality and nutritious!)
Gear portering in and out of camp
4-mile snowmobile shuttle, shortening the approach/exit
Evening saunas
 
What is not included:
Extra snacks
Personal Gear and kit (Equipment list available upon request. But will include personal backcountry ski/split and safety equipment.)
Alcoholic beverages
Bedding (bring a warm sleeping bag)