Get ready for winter with this FREE series of backcountry education workshops!

Learn the basics for safe backcountry travel by attending one or all of these free avalanche education workshops presented by Tahoe Mountain Sports and Ortovox. The workshops will be held at Alibi Ale Works – Truckee Public House. 

These workshops are for YOU if you like to backcountry ski, splitboard, snowmobile, snowshoe, or just explore snow-covered mountains. There will be 3 workshops held between October and December covering different aspects of avalanche education. Each event is a stand-alone event, meaning you can attend one, or all, but they do not build on each other.

1. The Basics -  Know Before You Go w/Sierra Avalanche Center
2. The Beta -  Join Regional Guidebook/Map Authors for the Inside Scoop
3. The Rescue - Learn About Rescue Tools, Techniques & Deploy Your Airbag!

Join us to get educated, learn about new gear and technologies, and connect with a community of like-minded backcountry travelers.

The Basics - Know Before You Go w/Sierra Avalanche Center

Wednesday, October 25th

Join us at our first of three events and learn the basics of backcountry traveling.

This is a great intro to the season as we learn how to plan for a successful day in the mountains from our resident experts of Sierra Avalanche Center. You will learn the basics of how to become a backcountry skier/rider, as well as gear basics, education basics, continuing education, how to be a good partner.

This event will be outdoors at Alibi Truckee, so bring layers just in case!  Doors open at 6 pm. Give yourself plenty of time to find a parking spot and grab beer and snacks before the formal presentation begins at 6:30 pm.

Bring cash for the huge raffle benefiting the Sierra Avalanche Center, Tahoe’s local avalanche forecasting center which provides a wealth of information to backcountry skiers, riders, and sledders. Their mission is to inform and educate the public about backcountry avalanche conditions in the greater Tahoe area. There will be tons of swag from our event sponsors: Black Diamond, Flylow Gear, Blizzard Skis, Tahoe Mountain School, Blackbird Mountain Guides, Outdoor Research, Rab, Spark R & D, and Mountainflow Ecowax.

The Beta -  Join Regional Guidebook/Map Authors for the Inside Scoop

Wednesday, November 29th

In our second event of the series, we will start off hearing from regional guidebook and map authors in a panel style discussion. 

Following this panel discussion, representatives from Tahoe Backcountry Alliance will take the stage. They will talk all about etiquette for getting to a trailhead, how to park, what to do when there, skin track etiquette and advocacy for making the experience better for all

Doors open at 6 pm. Give yourself plenty of time to find a parking spot and grab beer and snacks before the formal presentation begins at 6:30 pm.

Don’t forget to bring cash for the huge raffle benefiting Tahoe Backcountry Alliance, the voice for the human-powered winter backcountry community in the Lake Tahoe area, advocating for and informing our community about critical issues affecting winter backcountry recreation in Tahoe. Prizes include swag from our event sponsors: Ortovox, Black Diamond, Flylow Gear, Blizzard Skis, Tahoe Mountain School, Blackbird Mountain Guides, Outdoor Research, Rab, Stio and Smith.

The Rescue - Learn About Rescue Tools, Techniques & Deploy Your Airbag!

Wednesday, December 13th

What do you do when things go wrong?

Join us for a final event in the Avalanche Education Series to learn the ins and outs of avalanche rescue. The night will begin with a discussion on the essential avalanche safety tools – a beacon, shovel, and probe. We’ll cover how beacons work, best practices when using a shovel and probe, and the role of an airbag in your safety quiver. 

Then, we'll talk about using tools like a Garmin inReach, mapping, integration with Caltopo and other tools, and when to hit the “Oh S***” button and then what happens next. Following this, professionals from Tahoe Mountain School and Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue will lead us through how a rescue unfolds.

Doors open at 6 pm. Give yourself plenty of time to find a parking spot and grab beer and snacks before the formal presentation begins at 6:30 pm.

Bring cash for the huge raffle benefiting the Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue. They do great work in the Truckee/North Lake Tahoe area conducting conduct fast, safe rescues and educating the public on winter safety. Raffle prizes include swag from Ortovox, Black Diamond, Flylow Gear, Blizzard Skis, Tahoe Mountain School, Blackbird Mountain Guides, Outdoor Research, Rab, Dynafit, Julbo, and Garmin.

Avalanche Series Sponsors

Special thanks to our presenting sponsor ORTOVOX for making this series possible! For 30 years ORTOVOX has been the most successful producer of avalanche equipment, backpacks, and merino outerwear for alpine sports throughout the year. Come check out their products at Tahoe Mountain Sports.

Thanks to all of our sponsors including Alibi Ale Works – Truckee Public House, Flylow Gear, Black Diamond, Blizzard Skis, Black Bird Mountain Guides, Tahoe Mountain School, Outdoor Research, Fischer, Dynafit, Spark R & D, Mounaintflow Ecowax, Rab, Julbo, Smith, Stio, and Garmin.

Please support our nonprofit partners: Tahoe Backcountry Alliance, Tahoe Nordic Search & Rescue, and Sierra Avalanche Center.

Ready to take it to the next level? Read about Why you should take an Avalanche Level One Certification (AAIRE Avy 1 Class).