A virtual backcountry education series for women, femmes, non-binary, and other gender expansive folks
Winter is coming and it’s time to get your mind, heart, and soul back into backcountry mode.
That's why we've teamed up with TREW Gear for our fifth season of Backcountry Beta, a virtual event series designed to help us refresh our backcountry knowledge, learn new safety skills, open our eyes to different perspectives, and build our confidence in the mountains.
❄️ First 2026 event on Jan. 15th ❄️
Taking Your First Steps… Into the Backcountry Q&A
In our first event of the season, we are switching it up a little with a Q&A format.
With two seasoned and very knowledgeable backcountry skiers—Coalition Ambassadors Jillian Raymond and Fern Hardin—we are going to dive into the ever-relevant topic of “what are the first steps?”
Thinking about getting into backcountry can feel overwhelming. Where do I start? What do I need? What can I expect? Our hope with this first event of the season is to quiet some of that overwhelm and give you a place to start.
Get The Goods: Season 4
Missed last season's events? We got you.
Chloe Donlan from the Northwest Avalanche Center (NWAC)
Intro To Avalanche Awareness
Whether you ski, snowshoe, snowboard, or snowmobile, recognition of avalanche danger is an essential and potentially life saving skill. This 90 minute introductory class provides a basic approach to managing risk. You'll learn how to access avalanche and mountain weather forecasts and recognize basic signs of avalanche danger.
Erin Hennesy from Vntr Birds
Route Finding and CalTopo Demo
In this session, our guest speaker Erin Hennesy from Vntr Birds explored one of the most important topics in backcountry safety: terrain selection.
TREW Ambassador Erika Phelps
Confidently Leading a Backcountry Tour
Don't let imposter syndrome hold you back in the backcountry. In this Backcountry Beta workshop, facilitated by Erika Florian, an AIARE Level 1, Level 2, and Rescue-certified backcountry skier, you'll learn how to confidently lead a backcountry tour, whether it’s skinning up your local mountain or pursuing a big peak.
In this one-hour workshop, Erika lays out the educational path to go from being a member of a group in the backcountry, to a leader - and the avalanche safety, first aid, and navigational skills that will get you there in digestible steps. She breaks different levels of ski tours into tiers of preparation to build from leading a simple tour to a big day in higher consequence terrain