Come join us for a day of uphill touring and downhill skiing at Black Mountain in Jackson, NH (https://www.blackmt.com). If you are curious about backcountry skiing and riding, this is the trip for you! We will practice using the gear, transitioning between uphill and downhill modes, and get several laps of fun skiing and riding along the way.

Weather forecasts are variable - we may get some early morning snow, but potential for light rain! Resort snow conditions could potentially be icy depending on groomer operations, so you should be comfortable with variable snow conditions.

Due to limited snow in the backcountry, we will be going to a front-country resort. You will need to purchase a ~$20 uphill day pass to participate on this trip. This is in addition to the $30 Winter School ski trip fee.

Please note that we will learn how to use backcountry ski gear, and learn uphill techniques, but we will NOT teach how to downhill ski on this trip.

Prerequisites

No backcountry experience is required for this trip. To get the most out of this trip, you should already know how to ski or snowboard and have resort skiing experience. If you are comfortable skiing or riding blues at a resort (USA blues, Europe reds), this is the trip for you! We will not be teaching participants to ski or snowboard on this trip.

Some hiking experience and/or good cardio + stoke for walking uphill is necessary for this trip. Be prepared to walk uphill for an hour with a backpack and heavy boots and skis on your feet for each ski run we take.

Gear

MITOC has a great rental fleet of Splitboards and AT (alpine touring) boots and skis. We’ll use skis with pin bindings and frame bindings and teach you how to adjust them to your boot size. We’ll also teach best practices for applying, removing, and storing skins.

Trip Cost

There is a flat fee of $30 for all Winter School Ski Trips. In addition, all participants must purchase a ~$25 uphill day pass at the resort. If you are not driving, be prepared to reimburse your driver for gas and wear & tear.

Pre-Trip Meeting

There will be a mandatory pre-trip meeting at 5:30pm on Thursday night in the hallway outside the MITOC office. We will go over the details of the day, fit boots, and adjust ski bindings.