North American Ski Training Center – Tahoe, CA

Tag: Backcountry skiing

  • Truckee Tahoe Avalanche Classes Fill Fast

    The AIARE level 1 is an extremely popular course with schools all over now offering it. NASTC is the 2nd oldest avalanche school in Truckee. This course is a comprehensive, entry-level avalanche class designed for those with basic ski/snowboard touring experience. You should be an intermediate skier/rider at least, but there are no other prerequisites to take this course. Everyone should take this before heading out into the backcountry.

    All of our avalanche courses are based on the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE) program curriculum. AIARE is the country’s foremost authority on avalanche education. Based at the beautiful Cedar House Sport Hotel, our professional instructors and guides lead you through the classroom portion of the curriculum and then head to the field, where we spend a significant amount of time with hands-on learning, instruction, scenarios, and step by step decision-making. You come away with a huge amount of information and learning. The class is 3 @ 8-hour days, with half of day one in the field, 2/3 of day two, and all of day three.

  • Portillo: A Day In Your Life

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    Here’s how your morning goes when you ski Portillo, Chile with us: wake up (to powder), go downstairs for stretching and huge breakfast with the best dang coffee ever and warmed milk, walk back upstairs to get your ski clothes on, downstairs to boot up (friendly boot room attendant has brilliant memory for faces so he can match 400 guests to their boots by day 2 usually), walk 10 paces outside, click into your bindings (did I mention your skis were right next to your boots at the ski check), slide over to one of the detachable quads, stand in NO LINE, just hang out talking with other adventurous skiers or national ski team members, and whoosh! — you’re lifted into the crisp air and high above the Andean cliffs and peaks.

    You shred. You laugh. You learn. You make new friends. You try new things. And that’s all before lunch…which is 4-courses long. And you get to take your boots off. It just doesn’t get any better.

    Here’s how your afternoon goes: after your 4-course/choose anything you want lunch (slippers on feet), you grab a coffee and boot back up for a full afternoon of epic lines, great snow, exploring new terrain, and skiing with fun people while you chase your expert instructor around the mountain. Lifts close at 4:30 due to the late sunlight. At 5pm you have a glorified afternoon snack called “Las Onces.” This is a Chilean tradition and includes breads, cheeses, crackers, fruit, cookies, cakes, and tea or coffee. So yummy! Next up you hit the hot tub, sauna, massage, gym, or nap zone perhaps. NASTC offers tech talks on a variety of topics including ski technique, fitness, and of course your video from the day! Then you might head to the living room to play a game of chess, down to the basketball court or indoor climbing wall, or lounge in the bar before dinner. We eat “early”…at 8:30pm! (The second seating is at 10pm)! Dinner is….divine! Another 4 courses, fine wines, unlimited deserts…you won’t want to leave – ever. After that its coffee and bed, or there’s always the bar and disco for those with endless amounts of energy!

    You in? Book now, our annual week sells out. We’ve been taking skiers to Portillo for nearly a quarter-century (since 1995), grab your spot now!
    Thanks for reading!

  • Avalanche Level 2

    Avalanche Level 2

    AIARE Level 2 AVALANCHE TRAINING

    December 5-7, 2021 & March  6-8, 2022

    Price: $645, to book please email [email protected] or text 530-386-2102

    Add the 1-day RESCUE COURSE on December 4, 2021 or March 5, 2022: reduced price of $850 total (4 consecutive days)

    Location: Truckee, CA

    The AIARE Level 2 course is a 3-day program that provides avid backcountry skiers and riders the opportunity to advance their avalanche knowledge and decision making skills. Led by the top instructors in the field, this is an advanced avalanche safety course for the general public. This is not for snow safety professionals, that’s the new AIARE PRO 1 and 2 path. The focus in the Rec 2 is on analyzing snow stability and avalanche hazard. The Rec 2 builds from the introductory avalanche hazard management model introduced in the Rec 1 and adds to it the evaluation factors critical to stability evaluation.

    Learning Outcomes:

    1. Advance understanding of avalanche terrain, particularly from the perspective of stability analysis.

    2. Discuss how the snowpack develops and metamorphoses over time; and discuss the factors that contribute to spatial variability.

    3. Learn standard observation guidelines and recording formats for factors that influence or indicate snow stability. SWAG MODULE.

    4. Advance understanding of avalanche release and triggering mechanisms.

    5. Introduce a snow stability analysis and forecasting framework. The students will dig a snow pit and study the snow pit profile.

    6. Improve companion rescue skills including multiple and deep burials.

    Required reading:
    Snowpack, Weather, & Avalanches: An Observational guideline

    Suggested reading before the course:
    Snow Sense by Jill Fredston and Doug Fesler
    Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain by Bruce Tremper
    Avalanche Aware by John Moynier
    The Avalanche Handbook

    Equipment Suggestions: Alpine touring gear, telemark gear, splitboard, or snowshoes, backpack, avalanche beacon, shovel and probe – see the equipment/packing list below for a complete list of necessary equipment.

    This course is 100% off piste and any classroom debriefs will be via Zoom or in a covid-safe setting/distance/ratio

    Sample Daily Schedule:

    9:00am – Meet at the NASTC classroom for indoor session of avalanche safety course

    12:00pm – Lunch break

    1:00pm – Head outside for the on-hill practical portion

    4:00pm – End of training day

    PACKING LIST:
    Climbing skins
    Randonnee (AT) or Telemark boots, or snowboard boots
    Probe with cm ruling
    Adjustable ski poles (if no probe ski poles)
    Alpine Touring set-up or Telemark skis orsplit board
    Avalanche beacon
    Pack (2500-3000 cubic inches)
    Snow shovel
    Complete snow study kit incl 2 m folding rule, grain card and loupe, 2 C thermometers, 2 m length of knotted cord/rope, compass, slope meter, writing tools.
    GPS recommended not mandatory
    Snow density kit
    Altimeter watch
    Printed copy of the SWAG (Snow, Weather, and Avalanches: Observational Guidelines for Avalanche Programs in the United States). Published by the American Avalanche Association.
    Water bottle
    Small first aid kit (moleskin, bandaids, aspirin, personal meds.)
    Lunches
    Note book & pen for note-taking and pencil for filling in observations in logbook
    Ski/Snowboard clothing
    Light touring gloves (heavy liners etc.)
    Warm gloves (waterproof)
    Warm hat, baseball cap, headband, face mask, and neck warmer
    Goggles and sunglasses (2 pair goggles if you have them)

    Though it is acceptable to plot your snow profile data by hand, we strongly recommend using SnowPilot (snowpilot.org) or Avanet (avatech.com) snow profile plotting software. SnowPilot is free; Avanet requires a paid subscription.

    If you have any old or current field books in which you’ve recorded avalanche, snowpack, or weather data please bring them to our first meeting.

     

  • Iceland Viking Ski Expedition APRIL 202

    Iceland Viking Ski Expedition APRIL 202

    Iceland SKI Expedition on the Orkin
    April 2028

    The Iceland ski expedition in the West Fjords aboard the beautiful Orkin is a life changing experience. More than just bagging new peaks and first time ski descents, it is a journey of appreciation of beautiful landscapes surrounded by the fjords, amazing wildlife and rare marine mammals. The experience goes beyond skiing pristine fields of snow, it is also about uncovering Icelandic history, culture and tasty local meals. You will ski down slopes looking over the Greenland Sea. You’ll be just 5 nautical miles from the Arctic Circle at times! This trip is a true wilderness experience aboard a floating base camp in the form of a well equipped and expertly managed 62 ft restored fishing boat.

    The captain and first mate/cook of the boat are well seasoned sailors, adventurers and skiers with local with knowledge of the area and the seas of Iceland and Greenland. The Orkin is a custom, guided, private ski touring experience.

    Itinerary:
    Day 1 -Depart U.S
    Day 2-Arrive in Reykjavik & transfer to connecting flight to Isafjord, stay one night in Hotel Isafjord

    Day 4 -Embark on the Orkin and set sail for your Viking skiing adventure

    Day 9 – Get off Orkin in Isafjord.  Stay at Hotel Isafjord for the night and take a connecting flight to Reyjavik 

    Day 10 – Fly Isafjord to Reyjavik and home

    Price includes: 5 days and nights aboard the Orkin, guiding, meals, 2 nights at Hotel Isafjord. Note: sleeping arrangements aboard Orkin are there are four double cabins. There is a bathroom with a shower, a washing machine, and a drier.
    Its intimate, clean, and comfortable. And the meals….they’re DELICIOUS!

     

  • Private Ski Guiding

    Private Ski Guiding

    Private Ski Guiding (from $95-$495 full or half/private or group/customized/all levels):

    Design your own day! Our private ski guiding day allows you to design exactly the day you want or your group wants! Want to ski new lines all day? Or gain lots more education about backcountry skiing safety. The backcountry skiing is great this year! Your day can be based at the resort, and we’ll tour into the sidecountry, returning to the chairlifts after skiing long, untracked lines. Or your day can be 100% in the backcountry and we’ll tour up peaks like Castle, Donner, Anderson, or Judah Peaks on Donner Summit. This is a great way to get powder turns in well after the mountain is “skied out,” and to find new terrain if you feel you’ve skied everything at your home resort.

    During a side country or backcountry adventure with NASTC you can improve your turns also while out there. Your NASTC guide is not only a certified guide, but a ski instructor/coach who can give you pointers on your skiing technique as well if you like!

     

    Rent your AT skis/skins/boots at Granite Chief, Tahoe Mountain Sports, The Backcountry, or Sports Hub in Truckee. We recommend you call ahead & make a reso.

    Beacon, shovel and probe rental from us for $25/full or half day/person
    (or each item for $10/full or half day/person)

    You’ll meet your guide either at the NASTC office (10710 Donner Pass Rd), or at the designated trailhead.

    Prices range based on group size. Five person maximum per guide.

    FULL DAY (9am-3pm)                    HALF DAY (9am-1pm)

    1 person-$495                                      $295
    2 pp- $295 per person                        $195 pp
    3 pp- $235 pp                                        $155 pp
    4 pp- $199 pp                                        $135 pp
    5pp- $175 pp                                         $115 pp

    Email for details and bookings: [email protected] or 530-386-2102




  • SNOWCAT ADVENTURES AT HOMEWOOD

    SNOWCAT ADVENTURES AT HOMEWOOD

    NEW this year! The most exciting thing to hit Tahoe: Snowat skiing at Homewood! This is an on-going, book-when-you’re-ready NASTC offering. Bring your group, or call us and we’ll add you to one! Homewood Snowcat Adventures will debut this winter on 750+ acres of backcountry terrain on the flanks of Ellis Peak! Our guides are ready to take you out to enjoy it and improve with guided instruction! Once transported to the peak, groups of up to 10 skiers and riders will enjoy access to a wide variety of terrain options – from perfectly-spaced tree runs to steeps, powder bowls and intermediate-level glades – all leading guests back to the in-bounds terrain at the resort. Participants will enjoy laps of up to 1,828 vertical feet from the top of Ellis Peak – where panoramic views of Lake Tahoe and the Desolation Wilderness await – to the bottom of the Old Homewood Express chairlift.

    Dates and Pricing: call the NASTC office 530-582-4772 or [email protected]

  • All Conditions/All Terrain – Squaw Valley, CA

    All Conditions/All Terrain – Squaw Valley, CA

    Dates:  TBA
    Skier levels: 6-9
    Price: $650 
    Includes:  instruction, lift tickets, personalized video reviews, tech talks and a group dinner.

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    This course is a step by step progression designed to help you move past your intermediate or advanced plateau and skiing the entire mountain well whatever the conditions.  Getting 3 consecutive days of instruction and feedback from the National and Regional Demonstration Team members will elevate your skiing to a new level.  Focus on addressing some of the fundamental flaws in your technique, learn new tactics and feel your performance increase as you rip around Squaw for 3 full days of skiing and coaching with the NASTC team.  
     
    Squaw Valley is one of the largest ski areas in the Lake Tahoe area.  It has an abundance of terrain, with 6 peaks and over 100 runs all accessible by their network of 33 lifts including a funitel and tram.  Squaw is a really fun mountain to explore, there are lots of fun “hidden” runs that only a local can show you how to get to.  Squaw Valley almost has the same number of bars and eateries in their beautiful deluxe village at the base of the mountain.  It’s always a good time at Squaw Valley, USA! 

    ITINERARY:  
    Sunday, February 22:
    Meet at The Pocket by the fireplace in the Olympic House (next to Dave’s Deli).  After a short introduction we will head up the slopes.  After a couple of warm up runs you will be divided into groups so that you have an effective learning enviroment.  You will ski with your group and trainer for the remainder of the day.  Afternoon video review & apres ski.

    Monday, February 23:
    Meet at The Pocket.  Boot-up and head out to the ski lifts. Ski with your trainer and group, the afternoon will be focused on consolidating what you learned and personal feedback and coaching.  We will review video footage of your skiing at lunch.  Depart Squaw Valley for home.
               
    SAMPLE TRAINING DAY

    8:45am – Meet up with your trainer and warm up
    9:00am-12:00pm – Skill development via drills and technique work
    12:00pm-1:00pm – Lunch with group on hill
    1:00pm-3:00pm – On the snow: video, free-skiing varying conditions and terrain, personal feedback
    4:00pm-5:30pm – Indoor clinic: video viewing/technical session 
    6:30pm – Dinner with group 
     

     

    Our schedule will vary day to day depending upon snow conditions, weather and desires of your group, and your group’s general progression and improvement.  Throughout the week there will be video/video analysis, an indoor technical session, group dinners, and personal skiing evaluations.
     
    We will meet you at 8:30am  at The Pocket in the Olympic House Lodge next to Dave’s Deli.  Please arrive ready to ski.   We will begin promptly with a brief indoor orientation, pass out lift tickets, and head out to the Funitel to ski by 9:00am. 
     
    Directions:

    Take Interstate 80 to Hwy 89 South, Squaw is 10 miles south on Hwy 89 from Truckee.  Take a right at the light, entrance to Squaw Valley and follow Squaw Valley Road to the resort.
     
    The following list may help you pack:
    Alpine skis, boots, poles
    Helmet
    Several pairs ski socks
    Top and bottom long underwear
    Midlayers
    Fleece layer, top 
    Ski pants
    Ski jacket
    Spring and winter gloves
    Warm hat, baseball cap, headband, face mask, and neck warmer
    Goggles and sunglasses
    Evening clothes: pants, shirts, sweaters, sweats, (afternoon tech talks & dinners out)
    Comfortable shoes
    Toiletries, including sunscreen & chapstick, aspirin, body lotion
    Workout clothes (optional)
     
    Lodging Recommendations:
     
    The Squaw Valley Lodge for lodging in the village at Squaw.  www.squawvalleylodge.com 1-800-549-6742.  The Squaw Valley lodge offers condominium style lodging in a ski in/out setting.  In addition to cozy and comfortable rooms, The SVL has a Fitness Center & Spa that includes a sauna and steam room.  Be sure to mention that you are with NASTC when you call to make your reservations. 
     
    Transportation: If you need to fly in, the closest airport is the Reno-Tahoe International airport.  If you are renting a car, we suggest reserving a 4-wheel drive.  If you do not wish to rent a vehicle, we suggest North Tahoe Executive Shuttle, 866.583.7685 or North Lake Tahoe Express at www.northlaketahoeexpress.com or 866-216-5222. Contact NASTC for carpooling opportunities.
     
    V1DIGITAL COACHING SYSTEMS:
    NASTC’s MOST IMPORTANT TAKE HOME TEACHING TOOL: V1
    Here is the way to get the most out of your NASTC course: you will literally take your ski course “home” with you.  After all that your trainer tells you on the snow, you need to take something home to keep it all fresh on your mind. NASTC’s technology partner for this cutting edge teaching tool is V1 Digital Coaching Systems.  This program will allow you to see your video on a secure website, a virtual “locker.”  You will be able to look at your video at your leisure with skiing analysis and tips from your trainer.  The trainer does voice over critiques and offers drills to improve your skills. You can log on anytime you want to remind yourself what you are working on.  You can use this system for multiple courses to see your progress and continue to receive expert coaching and tips in-between your NASTC courses.  You can even send us video your friend or spouse shoots, we will review it, coach you on it and send it back to your locker for you to view and learn from.  Sign up for this take-home bonus feature prior to your course by contacting the NASTC office.
     
    Chris Fellow’s new book, Total Skiing is now available.  This book is the ultimate ski training resource.  It will help reinforce your on snow experience together with learning materials that you can view at your leisure.  Visit our website or call the NASTC office to order 530.582.4772.
     


    Squaw Clinic




    **PLEASE NOTE OUR CANCELLATION POLICY**: If you have to cancel for any reason (including medical), we require written notice in our office 14 days in advance of the first day of the course.  With 14 days or more notice we can refund your payment minus 10% for administrative costs.  Once we are within 14 days of the first day of the trip, we unfortunately cannot refund any portion of your payment even in the event of sudden illness or injury to you or your family.  We recommend that you buy trip cancellation insurance (available through your travel or insurance agency) in case you get sick or injured (please stay healthy!!) before or during the trip, and baggage insurance (check your Homeowner’s policy or consult your travel or insurance agency) for your ski gear and clothes.

  • One of the Best Days of the Year!

    The skiing out there is unreal!! Probably one of the best spring skiing days ever! Hands down.  The mountains are buffed out and smooth and the snow is just right.  Get out there and make some turns you will feel like rockstar.  You can go just about anywhere as the coverage is great and the conditions are so forgiving.  If you are backcountry buff, there is a gold mine out there – have fun!

  • Banzai Tour & NASTC Alpine Meadows Course

    Daron Rahlves’ Banzai Tour (sponsored by Sugar Bowl Resort) and the NASTC All Conditions/All Terrain course are both taking place at Alpine Meadows on January 23rd!  What a sweet “two for one” deal, an opportunity to get great coaching from the top instructors in the country, ski a great mountain and witness a one-of-a-kind event that incorporates the disciplines of big mountain skiing, downhill racing and skier-cross – guess that makes a “three for one” deal.   Alpine Meadows is the first stop of the Banzai Tour – which is a 4 person race through gates in off-piste terrain for a $10,000 prize purse.  The overall winner of the tour has the opportunity to win $50,000.  The legendary terrain of the Alpine Meadows’ Beaver Bowl presents a unique venue for Banzai competitors as it offers a lengthy run with lots of natural features to build a course through and make it exciting. Join us at the All Conditions/All Terrain at Alpine Meadows for three days of fun, excitement and great skiing and become inspired to push the limits of your skiing further by watching great skiers like Daron Rahlves navigate through challenging terrain pushing the boundaries of their own skiing. more>>

  • Tip for Skiing Heavy Snow: Clock Drill