A virtual backcountry education series for women, femmes, non-binary, and other gender expansive folks
Winter is here 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.
March 31st, 5:30 pm PST
Backcountry Decision-Making and the Psychology Behind It
Avalanche education often focuses on snow science, but some of the most critical decisions in the backcountry come down to human factors, the subtle ways our psychology shapes what we see and how we act. This session offers an overview of those influences, some personal reflections from the field, and a group exercise to bring the concepts to life.
This session will be facilitated by Alexis Kane, a TREW Ambassador who has been an AIARE instructor for 4 seasons now, teaching courses with Backcountry Adventure Guides at Snoqualmie Pass.
Alexis has completed her AMGA ski guide course and is continuing down the AMGA path. Alexis is also a volunteer avalanche awareness instructor for The Bryce and Ronnie Athlete Snow Safety (BRASS) Foundation and volunteers with the King County Search and Rescue Ski Patrol team.
Get The Goods & Watch the Replays
Missed our Backcountry Beta Zooms? We got you.
TREW Ambassador Shannon Mahre
Getting Your Skill Set Ready for the Backcountry
Learn more about the skills and scenarios you can practice inbounds so that you are ready for the backcountry, both mentally and physically. From working through emergency planning to practicing skiing/riding in powder, Shannon will be covering essential skills to make sure you're prepared for what a day in the backcountry can throw at 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