2026 SheJumps Alpine Development School | BC | Presented by Arc'teryx

This course is for advanced backcountry skiers and splitboarders who are ready to level up their decision-making, navigation, and terrain management in a supportive, encouraging environment. The mountains are our classroom, and this immersive experience is all about learning by doing. After a quick morning meeting with your guide team, you'll spend eight or more hours in the alpine each day, moving through terrain and learning as you go.

With expert ACMG female guides offering real-time instruction, mentorship, and support, you’ll gain the skills and confidence to start planning and executing your own backcountry travel days.

• Create thoughtful route plans using current weather, avalanche forecasts, and snowpack conditions.
• Confidently use digital navigation tools in both familiar and unfamiliar terrain.
• Set efficient, safe skin tracks across a variety of slope angles and snow conditions.
• Navigate complex terrain to reduce avalanche exposure while traveling uphill and downhill.
• Contribute to a supportive and inclusive team environment and strengthen group dynamics.

Whether you’re looking to lead with more confidence, take on new terrain, or feel more grounded in your own decision-making, this course is here to help you grow—with grace, grit, and plenty of time in the mountains.

Alpine Development School strives to provide a space for women to grow both their technical skills and confidence in order to be self-sufficient in the mountains and is led by ACMG-certified ski guides, in collaboration with SheJumps, a US public charity (68-0662227) dedicated to increasing the participation of women and girls in outdoor activities.

This course is for skiers and splitboarders who already have a solid backcountry foundation and are ready to level up. You should have at least two seasons (and 20+ human-powered days) under your belt, along with a Level 1 avalanche course (AST 1, AIARE 1, or equivalent). This shared baseline helps ensure everyone can fully participate, learn, and make the most of our time together.

Spring conditions in the Selkirks can throw just about everything at us—pow, corn, crust—all depending on aspect and timing. Most of our skiing will be in alpine terrain, but we always finish with a descent through tight trees to get back to the lodge. Advanced downhill skills will go a long way toward making your learning smoother and your experience way more fun.

You should also be confident with your gear—especially boots, skins, and bindings—and efficient with transitions. Knowing your setup inside and out makes a big difference when you’re moving through terrain all day.

And speaking of big days, you'll want to show up with strong fitness. VMT lodge sits at 5,640 ft (1,720 m), and from there, we’ll be skiing 3,000–5,000 feet a day, with the possible push up to 6,000 feet. That’s a lot of time on your feet in the mountains. To get the most out of this course, it’s important to arrive with the stamina—and stoke—to handle big back-to-back days outside.

This is an advanced course designed for experienced backcountry travelers. To get the most out of it—and to support the group dynamic—participants must meet the following requirements:

• Ski/Ride Ability: Advanced skier or rider. You can confidently ski/ride all black diamond terrain inbounds and are ready to bring that ability into the backcountry.
• Backcountry Experience: At least two seasons and 20+ days of human-powered touring experience on skis or a splitboard.
• Fitness: High level of fitness. You should be comfortable hiking and skiing 3,000–5,000 vertical feet per day with a 15–20 lb pack, on consecutive days.
• Avalanche Education: Completed AIARE 1, AST 1, AAI Level 1, or equivalent avalanche course.
• Snow Conditions: Able to ride confidently in variable snow types, including heavy powder, wind-affected snow, crust, sticky spring conditions, and everything in between—on slopes up to 40 degrees.
• Technical Skills: Can make controlled turns in moderate terrain, including trees, and are open to more technical features like chutes, steeper slopes, and tighter trees.
• Equipment Familiarity: You’re fully dialed with your gear and can transition quickly and efficiently between uphill and downhill travel.

This course is a big step forward—come prepared, and you’ll walk away stronger, more capable, and more confident in the mountains. And have a lot of fun along the way!

LOOKING FOR A DIFFERENT CHALLENGE? If your focus is more on ski mountaineering specific skills, check out our course. If you are looking to experience deep winter skiing conditions in a learning environment, check out our course.

The TOTAL cost of the course is $3,700 USD. A $500 USD non-refundable deposit is required to hold your space. This price includes snowcat transportation to and from the lodge, all meals and snacks, guiding, course instruction, and lodging. You will receive instructions on final payment (less your $500 USD non-refundable deposit) upon acceptance of your application. (If you are paying in CAD, please pay your deposit in USD, and then contact us to pay your balance in CAD.) Half of the payment ($1600 USD) will be due on October 15, 2025, and the remaining tuition amount ($1600) is due January 15, 2026. Payment plans are available. If you sign up for the course after the midpoint payment date of October 15, 2025 and are accepted, you will be invoiced for 50% of the course fee, due within 10 days of acceptance.

The price of the course reflects equitable wages for the guides, access to online Alpine Development School training, and a guided educational experience in the mountains. This price includes snowcat transportation to and from the lodge, all meals and snacks, guiding, and lodging. Gratuity for the guides/lodge caretakers is not included. It's customary to tip the guides at the end of the trip, and we recommend 10-15% of the trip price. All tips are shared by guides, and lodge staff. Please note that you are under no obligation to tip, but it's highly recommended.

Upon submitting your $500 deposit, you will be asked a series of questions pertaining to your skiing/splitboarding abilities and experience in the backcountry. SheJumps staff screen all applicants prior to acceptance into the course to ensure the course maintains a similar skill level between participants. However, please keep in mind when signing up for this course that we do our best to screen, but on large group trips, ability levels will likely still vary.

Upon acceptance into the course, we will then provide you with logistical information to help you plan your trip.

All participants are required to sign a SheJumps waiver and VMT waiver. The SheJumps waiver must be completed digitally prior to the course, and the VMT waiver must be completed in-person. Paper copies of the VMT waiver will be provided to all course participants on-site.

Once you are accepted into the course, your deposit is non-refundable. If you cancel your reservation more than three months from the start of your trip, we will refund your payment, less the non-refundable deposit. If we receive your cancellation request within 31 to 90 days of your start date, we will retain 50% of your payment and refund the balance. If you cancel within 30 days of your start date, or fail to appear, you are responsible for and will be charged/billed the full amount of your trip.

**We strongly recommend purchasing trip insurance for this event.** We always hope that everything goes smoothly, but it's best to be prepared for the unexpected, as illness, injuries, and family obligations can happen.

Jasmin Caton, ACMG Ski Guide. VMT Lodge Owner, Operator, and Lead Guide:

Jasmin Caton (@jasmincaton) is a lover of mountains. Whether skiing blissful powder, climbing exhilarating ridges and faces, hiking through flowery meadows or plunging in cold lakes, in the mountains is where Jasmin feels the most happy and free. She is an ACMG Ski and Rock guide, mother of twins and the owner of Valhalla Mountain Touring. Known in the industry as a #BOSSLADY, Caton is an expert instructor as well as an inspiration to the next generation of female guides, backcountry adventurers, and entrepreneurs.

Hannah Kendall, ACMG Ski Guide:

Hannah Kendall (@hannahkendall) grew up skiing in the Rockies, but has called Revelstoke home for the last decade. She spends her winters ski guiding at various operations in the Columbia mountains, both ski touring and heliskiing. Hannah shows up to guide and teach in the backcountry with a calm confidence that can only come from a deep well of legendary experiences. She’s here to shred hard, laugh loud, and snack often—with equal parts grace and style. When she isn’t working, Hannah enjoys running and climbing whilst exploring the mountains.

Q: How strong of a skier/boarder do I need to be to take this course?

A: You need to be able to ski or snowboard in a variety of backcountry snow conditions. For example, that doesn’t mean you need to be shredding flawless turns in breakable crust, but you would need to be able to navigate through trees and negotiate breakable crust and firm conditions relatively efficiently and in control. Participants should be able to ski or ride black diamonds in the resort with confidence and have the grit to get down anything in the backcountry, even if it doesn’t make it in the centerfold of Powder Magazine.

Q: How fit do I need to be?

A: You need to be able to comfortably hike and ski 3000-5000 vertical feet with a 15-20lb backpack multiple days in a row with the possibility of pushing up to 6000 feet in a day. ADS is an immersive backcountry learning experience designed for those ready to spend full days in the field. Aside from a brief morning guide meeting and weather permitting, you’ll be in the backcountry for eight or more hours each day, often on consecutive days. As a result, being fit enough to stay in the “classroom” all day will greatly benefit your learning on this course.

Q: Is an avalanche course a prerequisite?

A: Yes. You must have completed AIARE/AAI/AST level 1 course or equivalent. While we’ll briefly review the basics of avalanche rescue, this is not a beginner course. Our focus will be on terrain management, decision-making, and risk assessment—so prior avalanche education is essential to fully engage with the material and keep the group moving safely together.

Q: Will we ski/ride every day?

A: Weather and avalanche conditions are outside of our control and will dictate where we can go, and there is a chance that we may not be able to ski some days or venture too far from the lodge. That said, this is a fully immersive backcountry course where the alpine environment becomes our classroom at every opportunity. Luckily, there is ample terrain to choose from to fit whatever nature has to throw at us. The terrain itself will shape our lessons, with expert guides providing on-the-go instruction, mentorship, and support throughout the day.

Q: What gear do I need?

A: Please reference the VMT's packing list for gear needed PLUS ski crampons.

Q: What is the lodge like?

Able to host 15 guests comfortably, Valhalla Mountain Touring’s beautiful lodge has private and shared bedrooms, a fully equipped kitchen, indoor flush toilets, hot showers, a large wood-fired sauna, deeply comfortable living spaces and a gear drying room. From breakfast to dinner, all of your meals at VMT are provided from sustainable and local sources by the most creative and talented team in the Selkirks.

Facility information: There are gender neutral restrooms available. This is not an ADA accessible trip.

We want to support all participants in enjoying this event to the fullest. Please let us know if you have any accommodation requests ahead of the event and we will provide accommodations as we are able to.

Questions? Contact Heidi at aHNraWxkdW0gfCBzaGVqdW1wcyAhIG9yZw==.

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All participants must sign the prior to participating in this event.

All participants must sign the r prior to participating in this event.

Spanish version of our waiver: Todos los participantes deben firmar la antes de participar en este evento.

To prioritize the health of our community, please do not attend a SheJumps event if you are experiencing any cold-like symptoms.

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SheJumps increases the participation of women and girls in outdoor activities to foster confidence, leadership, and connection to nature and community through free and low-cost outdoor education.

SheJumps is an inclusive organization. We welcome all women and girls—transgender and cisgender, as well as non-binary people.

SheJumps strives to fight against racism and acknowledges that our events and programs take place on traditional, unceded Indigenous lands.

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