Women's Backcountry Ski Camp Iceland

Trip Description

This women’s backcountry ski camp is designed for passionate skiers and riders with a desire to learn more about the backcountry. By building fundamental skills, you will walk away from this camp with a broader skillset, a certification in Avalanche Safety, the chance to build confidence and experience in the backcountry, creating memories with other like-minded females and exploring the mountains of Iceland.

Allow yourself some time to truly disconnect from your busy reality for a week of backcountry skiing while learning new skills and sharing these experiences with new mountain friends in a fun and encouraging atmosphere.

Our Iceland Backcountry Camp is open to any females over the age of eighteen, with an eager interest in learning new mountain skills to become more confident and skilled in decision making in the mountains. And most importantly have a passion for skiing or riding and wanting to share it with other likeminded ladies.

Please note that you will need to be an experienced downhill skier or snowboarder to join this camp, and feel comfortable in variable snow conditions. However, no backcountry experience is needed.

Details

LOCATION: Troll Peninsula, Northern Iceland

DURATION: 7 days/ 6 nights

DATES: Enquire about dates for custom camp for you and your group of minimum 4 people

GUEST/ GUIDE RATIO: 1:4, max 8 participants

DIFFICULTY: Intermediate to expert skiers, but new to backcountry skiing

PRICE: €2200/ person

The Experience

This camp is focused on avalanche safety and how to travel safely in the backcountry. It covers everything from effective techniques for avalanche rescue, terrain management, snow stability and how to plan for travel in avalanche terrain, efficient backcountry travel and much much more. You will receive a Certification in Avalanche Safety (AST 1) upon completion of this camp through the Avalanche Association of Canada.

There will be opportunities to relax too, and enjoy some of the local cultures and finish our ski days with a soak in one of the local thermal baths.

Small groups and hands-on instruction will give you plenty of opportunity to feel more comfortable and confident in the backcountry.

This is a course with a lot of information being covered, however, we will apply course content when suited in the best possible classroom -out on the slopes, with shorter morning and evening classroom sessions.

This camp is designed to give skiers and riders the chance to Build Confidence and Experience in the backcountry. We create a comfortable and fun learning atmosphere to help everyone make better-informed decisions in avalanche terrain. And its also a fantastic opportunity to explore the mountains of Iceland, skiing right above the ocean with dramatic ridge lines, ski summits, couloirs, and fjords.

Itinerary

Each day will depend on weather and conditions but to give you an idea what we will get up to, on day 1 we will pick you up at the airport in Akureyri and settle into the lodge, getting ready for the week with some introductory classroom sessions and if time allows we will go for a ski to stretch our legs after the travels.

The following days will look like something like this:

Wake up, morning classroom session and plan for the day, eat a yummy and healthy breakfast, head out skiing for the day, visit some of the local thermal baths for a soak after skiing, apres and debrief of the day, eat dinner while bonding and spending the evening learning more about avalanche safety and sharing stories before a well deserved sleep, wake up, and repeat. On our last day, we will take you back to the airport in Akureyri and say our farewells after a blissful week in the mountains.

Accommodation

The camp will be hosted by lovely Myriam at Skied Guesthouse on the Troll Peninsula in Northern Iceland. This is a cozy guesthouse and the perfect space to spend the week with the mountains right outside the doorstep.

Guides

The workshop will be run by Swedish/ Canadian ACMG Ski Guide Emelie Stenberg. Emelie has been guiding for 12 years and she has developed a love for the mountains in Iceland where she keeps returning year after year from her home in Revelstoke, Canada. She loves teaching and sharing her passion for skiing with everyone, wherever in the world it may be.

Conditions

Expect anything from stormy winter weather to sunny spring conditions. This time of year it varies highly and changes from day to day.

What To Bring

We will provide a detailed equipment list of exactly what to bring on the trip upon registering. But to give you an idea you will need to bring your own backcountry ski equipment as well as avalanche safety equipment. We will have a limited amount of rental equipment available if you are missing anything essential.

What’s Included

Six nights in a backcountry lodge with dormstyle shared rooms

All meals from dinner on day 1 to breakfast on day 7
Gourmet healthy meals
Pick up and drop off at the airport in Akureyri at the beginning and end of the trip
Transportation in 4×4 vehicles for the duration of the trip
Two female Ski Guides certified by the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides
Small groups, ratio 4:1 with max group size of 8.
7 days of guided ski tours
Evening classroom sessions and educational field sessions
CAA AST level 1 Certification
The experience of a lifetime!