PROVIDING A LEVEL OF SKIING WORTH EXPERIENCING
Dean Cummings' Alta Big Mountain Camps
Little Cottonwood Canyon Wasatch Range, Utah
WELCOME to Dean Cumming’s Big Mountain Camp. Myself and my experienced guide team look forward to spending the next few days in the mountains with you. These camps involve the vertical gain approach, in which we believe the more vertical you ski the better you become. From January 2nd – February 2nd we are offering flexible schedules and prices giving you the opportunity to either join a single day or multi-day camp that fits into your schedule and budget.
Dean will share his knowledge, experience and ability while guiding you as a team into the best terrain and powder available. Combining lift, backcountry, and heli access in Utah’s Wasatch Range, these camps are sure to get you ready to move on to the bigger mountains of Alaska.
These camps will focus on the safety and knowledge you will need to bring your skiing to the next level. It is our goal to provide you with confidence, skills, education, and friendships that you can take into your future backcountry travels and all-mountain skiing endeavors.
We will begin with a team meeting the evening before our first day of skiing and review safety, equipment and the basics. You will have the opportunity to communicate areas of your skiing you would like to work on and your expectations at this time. The morning before we take to the slopes, our Guide Team and I will instruct you on summit protocol, route selection, snow pack assessment, digging snow pits, evaluating snow stability, and proper slope cutting techniques. This information will be used to form a game plan for the descent. After each descent we will evaluate and discuss the run as a group to help you improve and get the most out of your skiing. Everything will be done in a group setting, emphasizing the teamwork that big mountain travel demands.
Education and fun are the main objectives of these camps. You can expect to learn as much or as little as you wish including: backcountry ethics, big
mountain descent techniques, group dynamics, mountain terminology,
avalanche transceiver use, snow stability forecasting, slope cutting, route
selection, slough management skills, weather interpretation, ski and
snowboard anchor systems, rappelling and rope skills, and mechanized
access protocol.
The Guide Team and I will integrate all of these skills into a hands-on,
educational day of skiing and snowboarding.
To keep costs down, we have not included lodging and food. Salt Lake has
very reasonably priced lodging for skiers with transportation from the airport
and one of the best public transportation systems in our country for getting
around the valley. Check out UTA Utah Transit Authority, or Alta Shuttle
online for schedules of getting from hotels to the resorts. I can also assist in
directing you to lodging up the canyon if you would like.
Once again, thank you for your interest in Dean Cummings’ H20 Guides. We
are very excited to show you an experience you will never forget. Whether
you're looking to ski the deepest untracked powder when the rest of the
resort is tracked out or gain specific all mountain, side country and
backcountry skills, there is a camp that is right for you. If you have any
questions, please feel free to ask myself or any of the H2O staff at 907-835-
8418 or Dean@H2oGuides.com. We want to make this camp one of the best
ski experiences of your life.
