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Welcome to Kootenay Backcountry Guides! 

Guided Ski Touring, Avalanche Courses and Backcountry Adventures in the West Kootenays

Kootenay Backcountry Guides is Nelson, BC's year-round backcountry and avalanche safety specialist. Our ACMG-certified guides lead guided ski touring and splitboarding trips, Avalanche Skills Training (AST) courses, and lodge-based ski touring across the West Kootenays all winter, then guide backpacking, hiking, and mountain bike tours through the same peaks and valleys all summer. Whether you're booking your first AST 1 course or planning a multi-day traverse, we'll help you get into the backcountry with confidence.

Welcome to Winter

Guiding you in the backcountry since 2017

Incoming Courses & Trips

A group of skiers learning WAFA skills

Mountain Rescue Course

Nov 20-22, Dec 18-20 2026

A comprehensive 40-hour Wilderness Advanced First Aid (WAFA) course and essential backcountry rescue techniques

The Peak Experience

FEBRUARY / MARCH 2027

3 days ski touring out of Wild Bear Lodge in the Selkirk Mountains, in partnership with White Grizzly Cat Skiing.

AST 2 - LODGE BASED

JAN 14-18, FEB 18-21 2027

Learn advanced avalanche skills by day, unwind in Mt. Brennan Lodge's hot tub by night

Guided group practicing avalanche rescue skills during an AST 1 course near Nelson, BC

AST 1

Starting nov 27-28 2026

The essential first course for anyone recreating in the backcountry.

two women ski touring in the kootenays

WOMXN SPECIFIC COURSES

WINTER 2026/27

AST 1, AST 2, and AST 2 Lodge-Based courses designed for womxn and non-binary participants

The Wapta Traverse

April 2027
A guided ski hut-to-hut in the Canadian Rockies. A must for any intermediate backcountry tourer.

    Our Associations

    Kootenay Backcountry Guide is proud to be the official provider of Avalanche Canada’s courses. Our guides are certified by the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides, the Canadian Avalanche Association, and the Canadian Ski Guide Association. 

    ACMG logo
    Avalanche Canada Logo
    Canadian Avalanche Association logo
    Canadian Ski Guide logo

    Join our backcountry community!

    Get last-minute seats, snowpack updates, community discounts, and first dibs on all our trips

    Land Acknowledgment

    Kootenay Backcountry Guides programs take place in the provinces of BC and Alberta. 
    We acknowledge these provinces exist on Indigenous peoples' traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory. We feel privileged and grateful to be allowed access to these territories. We invite those reading this to explore their relationship with the land and traditional land owners they exist on. To learn more about the various Nations in our community and across the province, visit BC Assembly of First Nations.