Backcountry Avalanche Course
Join us in the Canterbury backcountry of Mt Hutt and the Craigieburns for 4 days of learning and adventure. Our Mountain Safety Council-accredited course will enable you to gain the skills and confidence needed to venture safely off the beaten path and into the backcountry.
You will learn how to choose a safe and efficient route through alpine terrain, make sensible decisions, and gather the information necessary to evaluate snow and avalanche conditions.
The course will immerse you in an intensive backcountry experience under the tutelage of some of New Zealand’s leading mountain and ski guides.
This program is suited to fit people who have previously done a shorter course, have some experience, or want to update and refresh on the latest techniques.
Experience and learnings
What You Will Learn
After this course, you will be a knowledgeable member of a ski touring or climbing party, able to participate in information gathering, group discussion and decision-making. You will be able to identify avalanche terrain and use this knowledge to plan your own trips into the backcountry.
We use the Mountain Safety Council Avalanche Skills Course 2 syllabus, topics include:
Information gathering, creating an avalanche forecast
Terrain analysis and route finding
Snowpack analysis, techniques to test for stability (or otherwise!)
Companion avalanche rescue
Decision making and communication within your group
General mountain safety skills; equipment, movement, and trip planning
Experience Required
Backcountry Avalanche Courses are for those who have experience in backcountry travel, at least 4 days of ski touring or split-boarding.
You must :
Be confident skiing/riding off-piste in all conditions (strong-intermediate or better).
Be able to ski with a small backpack
Be able to be out for 6-8 hours.
Have the fitness to skin or hike 500 metres vertical
A basic understanding of weather and practice with an avalanche beacon will allow you to gain the most from this program. We will send you some optional pre-course reading and online material to help you prepare.
We encourage snowboarders to use split-board gear, whenever possible, for faster transitions and easier uphill travel.
Winter 2025 Price: $1,800 per person.
pricing and inclusions
Winter 2025 Schedule
The course starts at 09:00 AM on day one and finishes at 5:00 PM on the final day.
Check-in at Methven Heliski's office.
Please read our booking Terms and Conditions.
| Course | Dates |
|---|---|
| BAC 1 | 18-21 July |
| BAC 2 | 25-28 July |
What’s Included
4 days of instruction
MSC Backcountry Avalanche Resource Pack
Alpine Guides Technical Manual
Mountain Safety Council ASC2 Certification
Not Included
Accommodtion in Methven
Food
Transport to and from the skifield. Please use your own transport. But, talk to your guide if this is a problem.
Single-ride lift passes at the ski area for each day of touring
Maximum and Minimum Bookings
All courses have a maximum of 4 participants. We require at least 2 participants to run this course.
Private Courses
Subject to guide availability, private courses may be arranged from July to September. Ideal for a small group of friends. We can tailor the program to meet your specific objectives.
Course Syllabus and venue
Course Syllabus
The day-to-day program will vary according to snow conditions and prevailing weather. By maintaining a flexible approach, the guides will make the best use of each day - working around the weather and snow conditions to provide the best teaching environment.
We reserve the right to modify each course to suit weather, conditions, and group dynamics. We aim to spend at least 3 of the 4 days in the mountains. Stormy weather will be used to cover the theory of avalanche problems and trip planning.
Day 1: Meet at Methven Heliski Office at 09:00. Meet and greet, review the course outline, and make a plan based on snow conditions and weather. Check equipment, pack your bags for the day, head up to the ski area.
Day 2: Field day in the Mt Hutt backcountry, working through the MSC syllabus.
Day 3: Extended fieldwork in the backcountry, afternoon theory session including avalanche rescue techniques.
Day 4: A morning on the snow, practice of avalanche rescue techniques. After lunch, we’ll go through, any last theory and debrief.
MSC Certification
The Backcountry Course includes the syllabus for the NZ Mountain Safety Council Recreational Avalanche Course. On completion, we will provide you with a basic MSC certificate of completion.
Our course is aimed at the recreational backcountry traveller. Although not a formal qualification, it can be used to demonstrate a level of training and as a prerequisite to other courses.
Venue?
Based from Methevn and our Heli ski base, the course will spend time in different regions ski touring, based on the weather.
There are great touring options from Methven including Mt Hutt/North Peak and in the Cragieburn range, giving a variety of different snow conditions and terrain to spend time in.
