After you’ve booked your backcountry ski hut, book one of our local guides for your trip to get the most out of your time in the San Juan Mountains. Our guides will assist with route finding and help locate the best skiing during your stay. If you haven’t booked your hut yet, take a look at the OPUS Hut, Campfire Ranch Red Mountain Pass (formerly Thelma Hut), Alta Lakes Observatory, or the Mount Hayden Backcountry Lodge and make a reservation to lock in your dates.
The steep, high-alpine terrain around each hut can be hard to navigate for those new to the San Juans. A ski guide can help you seek out the best snow in the area and objectives that fit your goals and experience. A guide also provides the benefit of route finding to the hut, as the route (specifically OPUS Hut) may not always be clear—especially immediately after a storm, and crosses beneath several major avalanche paths.
To book one of our ski guides, please click below
Please also account for lodging and meals for your guide, as this is not included when hiring a guide.
If you have questions about traveling to a ski hut or would like help planning your route, please contact the Mountain Trip office at [email protected] or (970) 369-1153.
Included in the Trip Fee:
• Guidance of our highly experienced Mountain Trip guides.
• All necessary protective equipment where it is required.
• Assistance arranging post-trip activities in the area.
Not Included in the Trip Fee:
• Travel to and from southwest Colorado.
• Personal clothing and equipment per our equipment list. (Please, just ask us if you need anything!)
• Accommodations in Colorado.
• Travel and/or rescue insurance. (The CORSAR card is an inexpensive way to reimburse local rescue groups for costs incurred during a rescue in Colorado.)
• Costs incurred due to evacuation or unplanned departure from the area due to illness or other problems.
• Costs incurred as a result of delays beyond the control of Mountain Trip.
• Costs as a result of force majeure.
Mountain Trip recognizes how difficult and disappointing it can be for guests who must cancel trips. Guests must also recognize that, due to the nature of planning trips and contracting guides for specific dates, Mountain Trip also accrues significant expenses in organizing our excursions. We must therefore adhere to a strict refund policy for all guests.
We require 100% payment at the time of booking and at least 72 hours’ notice for cancellations and rescheduling of activities. If you would like to purchase travel insurance to protect a trip in case of last-minute cancellations, you can do so via Travel Guard HERE.
We are happy to work with you to reschedule to a new date, or if you need to cancel entirely, we will provide a full refund with a minimum of 72 hours’ notice. If you cancel inside of 72 hours ahead of a trip departure, or do not show up, you will not be refunded and will have to reschedule by paying full price.
Please review the cancellation policy for the hut you are booking, as they differ from that of Mountain Trip.
All requests for refunds must be made in writing and received in our Colorado office. No refunds will be provided for cancellations occurring within the last three days prior to the scheduled date of a trip.
Mountain Trip reserves the right to cancel a trip prior to the departure date for any reason. In such an event, all monies collected by Mountain Trip from trip participants shall be promptly refunded. This is the extent of our financial liability.
We, Mountain Trip and our guides, reserve the right to make all weather-related decisions in regards to the cancellation of trips.
The following is a list of guide-recommended gear for Backcountry Skiing with Mountain Trip. In general, you’ll want a selection of warm layers that work together. Clothing designed for a day of resort skiing is fine; however, dedicated touring clothing is better—specifically touring skis or a splitboard, and boots, which differ from a resort setup. Whatever gear you choose, please make sure it fits well so you fully enjoy your experience in the mountains.
All avalanche rescue equipment (avalanche transceiver, probe and shovel) is included with the cost of the trip. Mountain Trip has a fleet of top-of-the-line Black Diamond touring skis, skins and poles, as well as La Sportiva touring boots and Black Diamond airbag skiing packs available for rent.
In addition to what we provide and have available to rent, there is also a good selection of gear available in Telluride and Ouray. If you have any specific questions about what you might need, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the Mountain Trip office.
Rental alpine touring skis, boots, skins and poles are available for $100/day, and airbag packs for $30/day.
| Gear | Description | Guide's Pick |
|---|---|---|
| Ski Socks | You will want ski socks that fit your foot well and are warm. For multi-day trips or ski expeditions, we recommend multiple pairs of socks so you can dry a pair overnight. |
| Gear | Description | Guide's Pick |
|---|---|---|
| Base Layer Top | (1 or 2 sets) of Wool or Capilene light weight base layers. Long sleeve or short sleeve base layers work well. | |
| Light Fleece Hoody | Light/mid weight fleece (or wool) top with a hood. You will wear this over your light weight base layer. | |
| Soft Shell Wind Jacket | Many high alpine peaks are cold and dry. We are huge fans of very lightweight softshell wind jackets for high, dry, cold peaks. Weighing just a few ounces, these can be carried in your pocket or in the lid of your pack for rapid deployment. This layer is used in addition to your more waterproof hard shell jacket. | |
| Vest (optional) | A lightweight down or synthetic filled vest can be a nice addition and add some warmth with little weight. **This is an optional layer** | |
| Ski Shell | We recommend a gore-tex ski shell that is water resistant but light weight at the same time. | |
| Puffy Jacket Skiing | A warm puffy jacket to throw on at the top of the skin track, during breaks, in the early am or on cold days. |
| Gear | Description | Guide's Pick |
|---|---|---|
| Base Layer Bottoms | (1 or 2 sets) of Wool or Capilene light weight base layers. | |
| Ski Pant | A goretex or softshell ski pant with ventilation is recommended. |
| Gear | Description | Guide's Pick |
|---|---|---|
| Buff Neck Gaiter | Buff is a brand of light weight neck gaiters that have grown to become a staple of every guide's kit. These are amazingly versatile, and can be worn as a hat, a neck gaiter or pulled over your face for protection from the wind or sun. They come in many thicknesses nowadays, but we prefer the original weight for its versatility. | |
| Sun Hat | Baseball type or wide brimmed sun hats are required for protection against the intense sunshine found on many peaks. You can combine a baseball hat with a BUFF for good sun protection or go for a wide brimmed version to protect your face, ears and neck. | |
| Hand Warmers | Bring 4 -6+ sets of these disposable insurance policies, depending on where you are climbing. Make certain that your hand warmers are relatively new, as they do go bad over time. | |
| Sunglasses | Sunglasses are essential in the mountains. Choose a pair that are comfortable and provide 100% UVA and UVB protection. | |
| Midweight Ski Gloves | Light to mid-weight glove for warmer ski touring | |
| Warm Ski Glove or Mittens | A warm pair of ski gloves or mittens. | |
| Ski Goggles | Ski Goggles |
| Gear | Description | Guide's Pick |
|---|---|---|
| Backcountry Ski Poles | Adjustable ski poles are fantastic as they allow you to change length for skinning vs. skiing. Any poles with powder baskets will work. **These are included with our touring rental gear package | |
| Touring Boots | If you have your own boots some helpful features include; walk mode and pin binding compatibility. Whatever boot you decide to use, make sure it is compatible with your touring bindings. **Mountain Trip has a fleet of La Sportiva touring boots available to rent | |
| Climbing Skins | Climbing skins pre-cut for your touring skis. **Skins are included with the touring gear rental package | |
| Backcountry Skis | A lightweight ski setup with touring specific bindings is a great way to maximize the fun in the backcountry. **Mountain Trip has a fleet of Black Diamond touring skis with pin bindings for you to rent for Colorado backcountry ski trips. | |
| Ski Helmet | We recommend skiing with a ski helmet. Any downhill ski helmet will work. |
| Gear | Description | Guide's Pick |
|---|---|---|
| Avalanche Transceiver/Beacon | When traveling in avalanche terrain, whether it is backcountry skiing in the Alaska Range, or Colorado, we will wear avalanche transceivers (beacons). We will have an opportunity to practice at the start of the trip. Beacons are included for Colorado backcountry ski trips and available for rent on other climbs and expeditions. | |
| Avalanche Probe | An avalanche probe specifically for backcountry skiing. These are provided for all ski programs, but you are welcome to bring your own. | |
| Avalanche Shovel | You want a shovel that has a removable handle so that you can stow it in your backpack while touring. Metal bladed shovels only. | |
| Backcountry Ski Backpack | A backpack specific for backcountry skiing is recommended, these packs will have a separate pocket specifically for avalanche rescue gear. We also recommend skiing with an avalanche airbag, Mountain Trip has a fleet of Black Diamond airbag backpacks for rent on Colorado backcountry ski trips. |
| Gear | Description | Guide's Pick |
|---|---|---|
| Two (2) One-Liter Water Bottles | You will need two, 1-liter plastic water bottles. Please bring wide-mouth bottles, such as those from Nalgene, as these are much easier to fill than bottles with small openings. | |
| Lip Balm | Bring a tube of quality lip balm with sun protection (SPF). | |
| Sunscreen | The sun can be intense in Colorado, so please apply high SPF sunscreen prior to your trip and bring a small tube along to reapply during the day. | |
| Snacks and Lunch Food | Pack enough food for snacking while on the skin track, in-between rock pitches or on the trail in the summer. We recommend a combination of energy bars, dried fruit and nuts and/or a sandwich. Bring something that you like to eat! |
