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Big Mountain Skiing
Big Mountain Skiing - unlock your backcountry potential with new skills and mentoring. The most advanced recreational course offered by our IFMGA mountain guides.
- Location
- Whistler, BC
- Duration
- 4 Days
- Difficulty
- Expert
- Guest Ratio
- 4 to 1
$1,550 per person
Book nowSkills to Get Up Big Mountains and Down Steep Faces
Big Mountain Skiing is Altus’s most advanced recreational course: four days in Whistler with an ACMG-certified guide, modelled directly on professional ski guide training. It’s built for avid ski tourers ready to step up into complex, and at times extreme, glaciated terrain - steep ski lines, technical rope work, and serious route-finding. This isn’t an entry point to any of Altus’s other courses; it’s the top of the ladder.
Participants are required to submit a resume to be accepted into this course. Both Skiers and Split-boarders are welcome.
What does this course cover?
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Part of the Advanced skill set.
Our Big Mountain Skiing course focuses on travelling in alpine terrain and skiing interesting lines safely. As an advanced-level course, we will also focus on student leads so the guide can offer direct feedback to participants and target learning to the student’s skill set.
- Advanced terrain recognition skills and applying snow pack characteristics to that terrain.
- Safe mountain travel technique
- Anchor Building
- Rappelling/Lowering
- Safe Cornice control
- Rope ascension
- Crevasse rescue
- Belaying for steep snow travel on mountain faces or ridges
- Cliff mitigation
- Sluff control
- Steep Skiing tactic
- Self-preservation tactics in extreme terrain
- Advanced snowpack characteristic recognition and quick stability assessment checks
- Whiteout navigation
Prerequisites
Is this course for me?
This course is for experienced ski tourers only, and acceptance isn’t automatic - a resume submission is required. You’ll need AST 2 certification (or equivalent), 50+ days of ski touring experience, confident double black diamond skiing ability, and the fitness for consecutive 1,500m touring days.
- Excellent Ski Ability
- 50 + Days of Ski Touring
- AST 2 or Equivalent
- Good Fitness (ability to ski tour back to back 1500m days)
Add Ons
- W/B Lift Ticket
- $45/Day
Includes
- 4 full days of instruction with an ACMG/IFMGA guide
- Group technical gear (ropes); harness and crevasse rescue kit available on request
Does Not Include
- Avalanche Rescue Equipment
- Whistler Blackcomb Backcountry Lift Ticket
- 3rd Party Travel/Trip Cancellation Insurance
- Lunch
Itinerary
Day 1
Goals review, equipment check, snowpack discussion, terrain recognition skiing, evening debrief
Day 2
Anchor building, rappelling, lowering, cornice control, rope ascension, belaying technique, companion rescue test
Day 3
Steep skiing tactics, sluff control, slope lowering practice
Day 4
Crevasse rescue and rope skills reinforcement, complex glacier travel and complex ski descent
2026 / 2027 Season
Frequently Asked Questions
Itinerary
This itinerary is an overview of what will be covered. Depending on weather conditions, the venue may change to get the best snow conditions and terrain for the current stability assessment.
Day 1:
Go over the week’s goals and objectives
Equipment review
Snowpack and stability discussion
Travel to the backcountry for the day of skiing and terrain recognition discussion
Evening debrief
Day 2:
Anchor Building
Rappelling
Lowering
Safe Cornice control
Rope ascension
Belaying for steep snow travel on mountain faces or ridges
Companion rescue test
Evening debrief
Day 3:
Steep skiing tactics
Sluff control
Lowering into a slope
Evening debrief
Day 4:
Crevasse rescue and rope skills reinforcement
Complex glacier travel
Complex ski descent
Evening debrief
Gear List
Avalanche Gear
Avalanche beacon
Probe
Shovel
Hardware
Backcountry skis or split-board (skis, skins, poles)
General mountaineering axe (steel)
Harness
30-litre backpack or large enough to carry personal and some group gear
Rope - We will provide but feel free to bring whatever rope you would be using personally, so you can practice with it.
Crevasse rescue kit
1 x 1.5m 7mm cord
2 x 5m 7mm cord
2 x double length sling
4 locking carabiners
2 non-locking carabiner
Belay device
Pulley (optional)
Ice screw (16cm min)
Ski strap
We have lots of extra gear, so don’t feel you need to bring all the crevasse gear.
Clothing
Waterproof/breathable jacket and pants
Lightweight, breathable jacket and pants (for uphill skinning/climbing)
Insulated jacket (synthetic insulated jacket is strongly recommended)
Lightweight gloves for climbing/skinning
Warm gloves
Warm hats
Balaclava or other types of neck warmer
Miscellaneous
Sunglasses
Goggles
Sunscreen
Sun hat
Ski strap
Small personal ski repair kit
Personal first aid, medication
Camera
Lunch/Water
Please arrive in the morning with food and drink for the day.
Booking Policy
Please take a moment to read and understand our policies before booking! Booking, payment, cancellation and weather policies, as well as FAQ, may be found here.
Who is the Big Mountain Skiing course for?
Experienced ski tourers ready for complex, at times extreme, glaciated terrain. It requires AST 2 certification (or equivalent), 50+ days of ski touring experience, confident double black diamond skiing, and fitness for consecutive 1,500m touring days. Acceptance requires a resume submission - it’s not a first-come booking.
Do I need to apply, or can I just book?
You need to apply. A resume submission is required for acceptance, since this is Altus’s most advanced recreational course and is modeled on professional ski guide training standards.
What's the difference between this course and Steeps and Peaks?
Big Mountain Skiing requires AST 2 (not AST 1), 50+ days of touring experience, and a resume submission - it’s a step above Steeps and Peaks in both prerequisites and terrain complexity. At 4 days versus 3, it also covers more technical rope work: anchor building, rappelling, lowering, and a tested companion rescue.
What will I learn?
Terrain recognition and snowpack assessment, anchor building, rappelling, lowering, rope ascension, cornice control, belaying, companion rescue, steep skiing tactics, sluff control, crevasse rescue, and complex glacier travel - skills drawn directly from professional ACMG ski guide training.
What's the guide-to-student ratio?
Four students per ACMG-certified guide - tighter than Altus’s other multi-day courses, given the terrain complexity.
How fit do I need to be?
You should be able to handle consecutive days of ski touring with roughly 1,500m of vertical gain each, on top of confident double black diamond skiing ability and 50+ days of prior touring experience.
