5 night: Feb 19-23, 2024--$1,600-$2000 sliding scale: $200 deposit due at sign-up; Remainder due on November 1st
 
Offered in partnership with Grounding Truth Holistic Guiding
 
Have you been wondering how to keep growing your backcountry skiing knowledge and contributing to this growing community of rad, compassionate, and intentional women skiers? After an amazing 2023 Winter exploring the backcountry with you all, I dreamed up this retreat with the folks at Fortune Peak Huts, to bring us back together to continue building upon the skills we worked on last winter and offer an opportunity to share in the magic of community in a more intimate setting. If you were a part of the Grounding Truth Mentorship Program in Winter of 2023, this is a special opportunity crafted specifically with you in mind. 
 
Some new flavors that we are adding in for this program are:
Jodi Redfield will also be joining as a mentor for this program, helping bring the ratios down to 3:1. Giving you the most opportunity to share your voice and step into the lead.
We will focus on topics related to extended backcountry travel/stays, including: using observations to forecast for your specific zone, addressing nuances of a drier snowpack than the West side of the Cascades, working together to build out a runlist and AM form specific to this terrain and the information available, group management in terrain, and anything else that comes up related to preparing you to get more remote and have confidence during extended backcountry travels.
 
I can almost guarantee these spots won’t last, and I’d love to have you join! So put down a deposit ASAP to reserve your spot! Hope to see you here. :)
 
The setting of Fortune Peak Huts allows for an incredible mountain retreat-like experience, with a wide variety of terrain that will provide a good challenge and encourage creativity in tour-planning. Immediately above camp are the Esmeralda Peaks, Koppen Mountain, Teanaway Mountain, and Iron Peak. These mountains offer everything from protected storm skiing in the trees to 2,000'+ couloirs. Perched just east of the cascade crest at the confluence of cold eastern air and moisture-laden storms rolling in off the pacific, this part of the cascades is colder and sunnier than the mountains to the west. So the odds are pretty good for high quality turns!
 
Accommodations include a barrel sauna and a weatherport style hut set up to provide a comfortable escape from the winter elements– can you say dreamy? Your guide team will keep the wood stove cranking out the heat and drying out your gear for tomorrow's adventures. Breakfast, lunch and dinner will be provided and we will all take turns pitching in on the cooking.
 
This experience is as much about fostering community and empowering women’s voices in outdoor spaces as it is about skiing powder and aesthetic lines. We look forward to sharing the magic of the mountains with you!
 
Itinerary
Day 1 Approach: 
We will meet at the 29 Pines Sno-Park about 30 min north of Cle Elum, WA. From there we will pack up our gear on the snowmobiles and begin moving up the valley. Our gear will go all the way to the hut and we will finish the commute to camp with a 4-mile/600’vert skin directly to camp or by climbing an objective or two along the way and descending into camp.
 
Day 2 Tour: 
After a wholesome and hearty breakfast and packing lunches, we’ll discuss conditions before getting out into the field for a full day of touring. We’ll ease into the trip with a more mellow lap or two to get our legs under us before venturing out into whatever terrain is appropriate for the team and conditions of the day! We’ll end the day with some sauna and appetizers before dropping into dinner and our debrief of the day.
 
Day 3-4 Tours: 
Our next full tour days will provide more opportunities for participants to take on leadership roles with supervision and feedback from mentors. Options exist for a variety of ski options, including: 2,000’ couloirs to gladed tree skiing. As will become tradition, we’ll end the day with a sauna and appetizers, a quality debrief of the day, and a delicious shared meal.
 
Day 5 Tour and Exit: 
After breakfast and packing up our overnight gear, we’ll head out for one last half day tour. Around midday, we’ll come back to the hut for a final lunch and celebration before we exit the field, and begin our journeys onwards.
 
 
What is included:
4-night hut stay
3:1 max mentee to mentor ratio
High quality instruction, mentorship, and feedback.
Meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert) for the duration of the trip, excluding 1st breakfast and last day dinner, non-alcoholic beverages (All dietary restrictions will be provided for. The food will be high quality and nutritious!)
Gear portering in and out of camp
4-mile snowmobile shuttle, shortening the approach/exit
Evening saunas
 
What is not included:
Extra snacks
Personal Gear and kit (Equipment list available upon request. But will include personal backcountry ski/split and safety equipment.)
Alcoholic beverages
Bedding (bring a warm sleeping bag)