Backcountry Skiing on Teton Pass

A certified ski guide will take all of the guesswork out of your time in the backcountry. From tour planning to route selection, terrain management, avalanche safety, and gear knowledge, your guide’s expertise and backcountry experience will ensure you have an unforgettable ski touring adventure. It doesn’t matter your skill level, whether you’ve never backcountry skied or you’re seasoned on the slopes, skiing with a guide has its advantages. Your techniques will sharpen, you’ll learn how to navigate terrain safely, make smart decisions, and most of all, you’ll remain safe in unfamiliar terrain.

Backcountry skiing isn’t just for pros looking for the ultimate thrill ride, it’s also beginner friendly, meaning anyone with blue level resort experience can have fun in the backcountry. If you’ve never backcountry skied before, heading out with a guide is your best bet. They’ll take care of the planning, introduce you to the basics, like skinning uphill, and teach you how to manage the terrain. They also have the experience and avalanche training to keep you safe.

Ski mountaineering on the other hand is saved for the more experienced skiers. To participate in this tour, you need to have previous backcountry skiing experience and be comfortable with steep, ungroomed, and treed terrain.

In order to enjoy this backcountry adventure, you need to have a moderate level of fitness. You will be on your feet for a full day. While there is terrain for all skill levels on Teton Pass, you will need to manage controlled descents in variable conditions. All participants should feel comfortable on blue level resort runs and be able to carry a loaded daypack while skinning up variable degrees of terrain.

To participate in ski mountaineering, you need to have previous backcountry skiing experience and be comfortable with steep, ungroomed, and treed terrain. Ski mountaineering experience is not necessary, but you should have great stamina in order to handle long climbs with altitude gains. You will be skiing, touring, and summiting on glaciated terrain for up to 12 hours a day. 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.

What you get in this adventure:

• An experienced, certified ski guide with extensive knowledge of the area
• A full-day of backcountry ski touring or ski mountaineering

What’s not included:

• Technical backcountry ski touring equipment
• Transportation
• Accommodation
• Trip insurance

For technical backcountry ski touring gear, you will need to bring:

• Alpine touring skis, telemark skis or splitboard with skins (can be rented)
• Touring boots and poles (can be rented)
• Avalanche safety equipment (can be rented):
  • Digital, 3-antenna avalanche transceiver or beacon
  • Lightweight snow shovel
  • Avalanche probe
  • Harness for glacier travel

For personal items, we recommend bringing:

• Wind and waterproof shell jacket with hood (Gore-tex recommended)
• Ski pants (Gore-tex recommended)
• Helmet
• Headlight
• Synthetic or wool base layers, underwear and socks
• Down jacket or vest
• Gloves and hat
• One triple-action locking carabiner or two conventional locking carabiners
• Repair kit and Leatherman for your equipment (can be shared between several people)
• Water bottle and 1L of water
• Food you can eat on-the-go
• Sunglasses or ski goggles
• First-aid kit
• Sunscreen
• Daypack large enough to carry all items listed (around a 30-40L bag)
• 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 locally from your guide or rental shops in Jackson Hole
• Alpine touring or telemark skis, touring boots and poles can be rented locally from your guide or rental shops in Jackson Hole
• Splitboards can be rented locally from your guide or rental shops in Jackson Hole

Ski rental locations are in Jackson Hole 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.

• Everybody over the age of 18 is welcome to book this backcountry skiing adventure.
• Minors may be permitted to join private tours on a case-by-case basis. If you plan to ski with anyone under the age of 18, please contact us prior to booking to make arrangements.

For this adventure, the max client to guide ratio is 4:1. For advanced ski touring, the client to guide ratio is 2:1.

The cost per person decreases as the group grows, so it’s the perfect opportunity to backcountry ski with friends and family.

Ski touring on Teton Pass can be arranged for larger groups. Contact us to make arrangements.

Teton Pass is located roughly 20 minutes from Jackson, WY. The Jackson Hole Airport is the closest, but Idaho Falls (a 2 – 2.5 hour drive) and Salt Lake City Airport (4 – 5 hour drive) are also air travel options. It is helpful to arrive a couple of days prior to your trip/class in order to acclimatize. Otherwise, you should arrive the day before and stop by our office for an equipment check.

Once you and your guide agree on the details of your itinerary, your guide will suggest the best place to meet. The day usually starts early at the guide’s office and from there you will go through a quick gear check as well as a quick avalanche beacon refresher. From there the group will head out to Teton Pass, where we will quickly get into touring mode and start stretching the legs for the uphill ascent.

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, guides and the communities they’re travelling to. For more information on COVID-19 measures on Teton Pass, please refer to the Wyoming Department of Health 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!