Snow Sports

First off, let's get this out of the way: California has amazing snow!

Because the usual media coverage about California goes, in decreasing order of prominence, Silicon Valley, Surfing, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, it is easy to miss the might that are the Sierra Nevada Mountains, or closer to us, the San Gabriel Mountains. Even though Southern California is indeed, quite south, the proximity to the Pacific Ocean, combined with the high altitudes of the local mountain ranges, creates many opportunities to go skiing and snowboarding at both world-class resorts and the side- and backcountry (also called touring or cross-country).

The Alpine Club facilitates going skiing and snowboarding in two ways. First, and depending on the Alpine Club's snow sports officer, there are 1-2 big, organized trips per season to resorts (or even the backcountry). The officer organizes the lodging, guides if necessary, and helps distribute people into cars. Usually, we're encouraging everyone to come us, regardless of skill level - the more the merrier - and because there are enough people, the group splits up into smaller groups that match speed and comfort. In the evening, we all eat together, play games, or watch movies.

The second way, that is usually much more spontaneous and therefore amenable to reacting to sudden dumps of meters of snow (it happens), is to self-organize by writing or responding to emails that come through our listserve. This usually results in smaller groups, but they're just as open to anyone in our community.

On top of those trips, the Alpine Club organizes or hosts various educational classes like AIARE's Avalanche Safety courses or Wilderness First Aid courses. For more on these, please see Education.