That's it for the 2024 Backcountry Program Season!
Thanks for another great season with the JHSC Backcountry Program. It has been wonderful to see the team grow both in numbers, and their skill sets in the mountains over the years. By the end of the season all athletes began to develop solid understanding about route finding, decision making, and avalanche conditions in the mountains. Athletes who have had a number of season under their belts did a great job of including, supporting, and bringing the newer athletes up to speed.
All of this was apparent in a number of ways throughout the season: athletes regularly engaging in worthwhile discussion during touring days about where to find the best snow, how to avoid the current hazards, what the avalanche / weather forecast said vs what we are actually seeing in the field, and how to tailor the day to ensure everyone in the group was having a good experience. Newer athletes placed in more experienced groups worked hard to give it their all and keep up, and older athletes were always there to support and help out the new kids.
Some athletes in our program have reached the point where they backcountry ski on their own during days off. I have had multiple instances where friends and colleagues have ran into JHSC Backcountry athletes in the field and let me know how safe, friendly, and "dialed" they seemed.
We are impressed with the maturity of our team and the respect they show towards the mountains. Introducing kids to a sport where we are regularly traveling in an uncontrolled mountain environment is not something that we take lightly. Thank you all for your willingness to learn, follow directions, take feedback, and follow the proper steps to do this sport in a safe manner.
Although our program is finished for the season, we are far from the end of the backcountry skiing season. Please reach out to coaches if you find yourself going skiing with friends or families this spring. We would love to review your tour plan, answer questions, and hear about what you are doing!
Looking forward to next year:
We hope that everyone chooses to participate in the program again next year. We will miss Tosh and Ava (seniors) and hope they stop by and say hello! We also understand that some athletes may become too busy with other sports as they get older, and cant make the program happen. We hope that these athletes continue to backcountry ski, and reach out to our coaches about questions related to backcountry skiing.
Program Registration: Sign ups will be in mid August. JHSC will send an automatic email to all families. Please be on the lookout and sign up asap to ensure you have a spot. Please invite friends too!
Scholarships are available - please inquire!
Hut Trip: We will do another hut trip to Montana. This trip will likely be the first weekend in February (Jan 31- Feb 3). Please pencil this into your schedule. Dates will be confirmed during August sign ups. Reach out to me if you need the dates earlier.
Dry Land: We plan to do dryland similar to last year. Between September - November well do weekly hikes and workouts after school, and potentially some full day excursions. This will be available on a drop in basis.
We also may try and schedule a couple days during the summer where we meet up as a team for some hiking or biking. I will communicate this via email if it happens.
Spring Break '25 and other trips:
A couple of seasons ago we had a great trip to the Alps for spring break. The last two years our team was too young age wise to make something happen. We are getting to the point again where I think it could work. A trip like this is best scheduled a ways in advance. Please reach out now if you think you might be interested in this for next year. Typically we need 3 - 5 athletes to make a bigger trip happen.
We feel that a lot can be gained by traveling to new mountain ranges. We have come close to doing trips over the summer too. The Cascades (Oregon, Washington) are skiable through June, and South America can be good in August.
Scholarships are available for trips like this!
