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Intro to backcountry in the Northeast

SnowSeeker

Angel Diva
Hello divas, Does anyone have experience with the Ski Mt Washington backcountry festival? https://www.skimtwashington.com/registration/
Specifically, there is a women’s intro to backcountry one day class. I have looked in VT for intro classes and can’t find any. Magic had one but they haven’t responded to my email query about whether it will take place in 2019. The Mt Washington one is intriguing because it’s women-specific. Thanks
 

Pequenita

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I heard about the festival last year, and it seemed interesting - Kit DesLauriers was the featured TNF athlete, and she's a pretty great draw. The thing with festivals is that people are all over the place with their abilities and experience, even though the class description says one thing. You'll want to find out who is guiding - is it guide from a company who is showing up in that capacity (you'll get more structured instruction) or is it an enthusiast who backcountry skis a lot (instruction won't be as structured, focus tends towards community building). The "Intro to" classes sound like instruction to me, while the "Beginner/Intermediate Backcountry" classes sound like the latter. It sounds like a good opportunity to learn in a beautiful location full of backcountry access.

@TeleChica - do you know anything about the festival or class?

ETA: if I am reading the prices right, that is really, really good.
 
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SallyCat

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
There is a Facebook group called "Backcountry Touring in the Northeast" that can probably help with your questions.
 

SnowSeeker

Angel Diva
I heard about the festival last year, and it seemed interesting - Kit DesLauriers was the featured TNF athlete, and she's a pretty great draw. The thing with festivals is that people are all over the place with their abilities and experience, even though the class description says one thing. You'll want to find out who is guiding - is it guide from a company who is showing up in that capacity (you'll get more structured instruction) or is it an enthusiast who backcountry skis a lot (instruction won't be as structured, focus tends towards community building). The "Intro to" classes sound like instruction to me, while the "Beginner/Intermediate Backcountry" classes sound like the latter. It sounds like a good opportunity to learn in a beautiful location full of backcountry access.

@TeleChica - do you know anything about the festival or class?

ETA: if I am reading the prices right, that is really, really good.
Excellent points, thanks
 

SnowSeeker

Angel Diva
There is a Facebook group called "Backcountry Touring in the Northeast" that can probably help with your questions.
Thanks. I just joined. Hopefully there are some women in there! I’m finding it difficult to get other women interested in this (or skiing nearby regularly in any form). I don’t want the boys to have all the fun.
 

elemmac

Angel Diva
I've heard about this the past couple of years, but haven't heard from anyone that has gone. The dates haven't worked out for me the past couple years, so I haven't looked into it much further.

Would be interested to see what reviews you find. Might be interested this year...
 

TeleChica

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Hi @SnowSeeker! I have not attended the festival, but I am sure it is well-worth going.

Another place to gain new skills is the Appalachian Mountain Club. I'm a member of the Boston chapter ski committee, and we run a backcountry workshop, which is at Pinkham Notch this year. (I used to teach at the workshop.) Other chapters also run different backcountry workshops (specifically New Hampshire). (The club is organized into regional chapters, but all the trips are listed together on the main website Ourdoors.org.) The NH chapter in particular has a lot of BC trips. More info here: https://activities.outdoors.org/search/?act=18 You do not need to be a member to attend.

I WAS a member of the BCTNE Facebook group, but quit after getting into it with some members over revealing stashes. I was probably too strident, but I did find it to be a bit of a sausage fest. YMMV. Definitely don't take my experience as any dis on the group--they may have changed since I quit--the guy who runs the site was very cool. I'd just had enough.

Hope this helps!
 

SnowSeeker

Angel Diva
Hi @SnowSeeker! I have not attended the festival, but I am sure it is well-worth going.

Another place to gain new skills is the Appalachian Mountain Club. I'm a member of the Boston chapter ski committee, and we run a backcountry workshop, which is at Pinkham Notch this year. (I used to teach at the workshop.) Other chapters also run different backcountry workshops (specifically New Hampshire). (The club is organized into regional chapters, but all the trips are listed together on the main website Ourdoors.org.) The NH chapter in particular has a lot of BC trips. More info here: https://activities.outdoors.org/search/?act=18 You do not need to be a member to attend.

I WAS a member of the BCTNE Facebook group, but quit after getting into it with some members over revealing stashes. I was probably too strident, but I did find it to be a bit of a sausage fest. YMMV. Definitely don't take my experience as any dis on the group--they may have changed since I quit--the guy who runs the site was very cool. I'd just had enough.

Hope this helps!
thanks - super helpful information!
 

elemmac

Angel Diva
Awesome!! Hope we get in!

Me too! Thanks for sharing it, I am part of the SheJumps group, but probably wouldn't have seen it until it was too late.
I was just saying this weekend that I want to start skinning more...perfect timing.
 

MissySki

Angel Diva
Me too! Thanks for sharing it, I am part of the SheJumps group, but probably wouldn't have seen it until it was too late.
I was just saying this weekend that I want to start skinning more...perfect timing.

No problem, it just happened to pop up on my feed pretty quickly after it was posted, we'll see if it was soon enough by social media standards..

I've never skinned, and this seems like the perfect less intimidating way to get an introduction with likeminded ladies.
 

lisamamot

Angel Diva
No problem, it just happened to pop up on my feed pretty quickly after it was posted, we'll see if it was soon enough by social media standards..

I've never skinned, and this seems like the perfect less intimidating way to get an introduction with likeminded ladies.
I just signed up too!!! Fingers crossed.
 

MissySki

Angel Diva
I just signed up too!!! Fingers crossed.

I just realized I had a trascription error on one of the email addresses.. oy! I forwarded my original on, and it went to one of the two originally, but hope that doesn't screw up my place in line.
 

elemmac

Angel Diva
I just realized I had a trascription error on one of the email addresses.. oy! I forwarded my original on, and it went to one of the two originally, but hope that doesn't screw up my place in line.

I believe they had a typo on the Facebook post...unless the email address really is @sheumps, and not @shejumps.
 

MissySki

Angel Diva
I believe they had a typo on the Facebook post...unless the email address really is @sheumps, and not @shejumps.

Crisis averted.. I originally emailed the @shejumps one for Jaimee, but then on a different page she also had a gmail one listed. So when I went back to my outbox I thought I had made up the @shejumps address from thin air. Glad I didn't actually somehow mess that up so badly! Lol
 

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