1. Home
2. Skiing & Boarding
3. Guiding & Instruction

Backcountry Skiing & Snowboarding - Utah Mountain Adventures

Guiding & Instruction

Backcountry Skiing & Snowboarding

Custom, or private guiding means you have a guide dedicated to you, and / or your group, rather than being in a class or clinic that is open to other guests. UMA can tailor Custom Guiding to your specific goals, needs and time frame.

UMA's outstanding guides and instructors are available daily to lead tours and help guests progress in any and all aspects of backcountry ski and snowboard touring and mountaineering.

Personalized coaching accelerates learning and helps elevate you to the limit of your ability. Progress with a UMA guide, learn how to travel uphill efficiently, how to pick the best routes, understand islands of safety, route finding, etc. All scheduled courses and tours can be taught on a custom, private basis, any day that works for you and / or your group.

Backcountry Skiing & Snowboarding

Friendly, professional UMA guides will share their knowledge and skills while leading you to bowls, glades, chutes and peaks covered in Utah's famous soft snow. Quick access to spectacular terrain from beginner to expert level make the Wasatch Mountains ideal for learning and practicing the art of backcountry skiing and snowboarding.

Ski & Snowboard Mountaineering Skills

Learn new techniques or advance your skills to the next level, including the use of ice axe and crampons, steep snow and mixed climbing, belaying, rappelling, the placement of rock, ice and snow protection and anchor building. Then hone downhill steep skiing skills in variable snow in preparation for peak or couloir skiing in the Wasatch and beyond.

Wasatch Ski Mountaineering Descents

Many Wasatch summits and couloirs provide world-class ski and snowboard mountaineering and exciting descents. UMA guides know when the conditions are right, and how to get in and out of steep and technical terrain while minimizing effort and risk.

Overnight, Multi-Day Ski Tours

UMA offers custom, overnight backcountry trips for two or more days. Mountaineering, winter camping, route-finding, avalanche safety, steep skiing and other skills can be included, depending on your goals. Camp in the Wasatch backcountry and enjoy the serenity at night and first tracks in the morning.

Ski Mountaineering Race Training

Instruction and strategy to improve participants' performance in Ski-Mountaineering competitions. Oriented toward backcountry skiers new to racing or seeking to enhance existing skills.

Film Work

Guides provide the safety, consulting, flexibility and creativity to enable crews to achieve production goals in the beautiful, accessible Wasatch Mountains..

Backcountry Skiing

Photo by Lee Cohen

Testimonials

Thank you. You guys are great. Andy Polloczek is unmatched, a great instructor.

- John Pack

Thanks for a fantastic day. Todd Passey is a world class guide. He found great lines and snow. Most importantly he kept me safe. Todd was so impressive at navigating the elements and knowing all of the variables. Thanks for an experience I will not forget.

- Scott Simon

I wanted to let you know what a fantastic time Janet and I had with Todd Glew. His guiding, route choices and knowledge of the area were excellent and, not least of all, he was great company and we really enjoyed hanging out with him. And as for my last day with Todd skiing the Y Couloir . . . that will forever be one of the most memorable days skiing of my life. Wow!!

- Tim Peckett

Just wanted to say we had a FANTASTIC time today on our first backcountry tour. Eric was a wonderful, knowledgable and high-competent guide who truly made our day the best it could ever be. Thank you!

- Coleen Colahan

Quino is a wonderful guide - did a great job taking us up Cardiff pass, couple runs on the slopes north of the pass, and then back to Alta. Quino was great - easy going, set the right pace so that we could all keep up, picked a good route for us. Just perfect - many thanks for having him guide us.

- Harm Scherpbier

Just wanted to drop a quick note thanking you guys for setting me up with such a great guide yesterday! Colby was great and I had an amazing time in the snow. His expertise, professionalism and knowledge of the area was unprecedented.

- Paul Kronser

You have a great bunch of guys here with these individuals and I am sure the others in your organization are just as pleasant. From the office staff I spoke with to all the guides in the field.

- James Albritton

Backcountry Skiing & Snowboarding - Utah Mountain Adventures

Leave the crowds behind, and expand your skiing and snowboarding horizons! Traveling out-ofbounds, using climbing skins and alpine touring (AT) or telemark binding, or a split-board is becoming tremendously popular.

AT skis and splitboards are available for rent from UMA and local shops.

Touring is the perfect sport for those who hike or climb in summer and love to ski or snowboard in winter. Skinning facilitates approach and egress from peaks in winter and spring that would take far longer without. Solitude, cardio-vascular exercise, and adventurous runs are all part of the "off-piste" experience.

The Wasatch Range offers easy lift and trailhead access to deep, light snow in wide-open bowls, protected glades, and steep chutes.

Lift access is available from Alta, Brighton, The Canyons and Snowbird.

Trailhead access is available in Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons and Millcreek, etc.

A knowledgeable UMA guide will lead you into the finest snow and terrain. Our guides keep abreast of the avalanche, snow and weather conditions to choose the best tours. They take into consideration both your fitness level and downhill ability to select the appropriate routes for you.

UMA guides pace you and teach you how to travel uphill efficiently, working on rest-step and kick-turning techniques and progress only as fast as you feel comfortable. They give you plenty of time to rest, enjoy the view and take photos. UMA guides demonstrate how to transition between the uphill and downhill modes and teach as much about avalanche hazard evaluation, route finding and other skills as you want to learn.

Skiers and snowboarders of all ability levels improve techniques, discover new terrain, and build leadership skills.

For more information on backcountry skiing & snowboarding classes in the Salt Lake City, Utah area, please view our Backcountry Skiing & Splitboarding Courses.

We also offer private Guided Backcountry Touring & Instruction in the Wasatch Range in and around the Salt Lake area.