Off-Trail Adventures
Leave the groomed trails behind and explore the untouched powder of the Continental Divide. Our backcountry tours take experienced riders into terrain that few ever see, with stunning views and challenging riding.
What to Expect
- Untracked powder snow
- Challenging terrain
- Remote mountain basins
- Expert guide leadership
- Small group sizes (max 4-6)
Experience Requirements
- Previous snowmobile experience required
- Intermediate to advanced riding skills
- Good physical fitness
- Ability to recover stuck machines
Equipment
- High-performance mountain sleds
- Avalanche beacons
- Probes and shovels
- Satellite communication
- Emergency equipment
Terrain Features
- Alpine meadows
- Tree riding
- Open bowls
- Mountain ridgelines
- Elevations to 12,500+ feet
Safety Protocols
- Daily avalanche assessment
- Avalanche awareness briefing
- Terrain management
- Experienced backcountry guides
What's Included
- High-performance snowmobile
- All safety equipment
- Cold weather gear
- Lunch and snacks
- Photos of your adventure
Related Tours
- Extreme Tours - high-speed advanced riding for experienced snowmobilers
- Photography Tours - capture the remote backcountry with ample photo stops
What backcountry actually means here
Our backcountry program leaves the groomed trail system entirely. You ride untracked powder, navigate around natural obstacles, climb steep terrain, and break trail through fresh snow. This is not a tour where you follow a guide on a clear path — it’s a guided exploration where you make real navigation decisions and use your machine’s full capability. Riders should be comfortable with sled work in deep snow: getting unstuck, sidehilling, picking lines through trees, and reading terrain for avalanche risk.
Avalanche awareness on this tour
All backcountry participants receive a beacon-shovel-probe pack at staging and a 30-minute pre-ride briefing on rescue protocol. Every guide carries advanced AIARE certification and current avalanche forecasts from the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. We do not run backcountry tours when the local danger rating exceeds Considerable, regardless of previous bookings. This conservative approach is non-negotiable and we issue full refunds when conditions require us to cancel.
Equipment we use for backcountry routes
Backcountry tours run on long-track machines (typically 154 to 165 inches) tuned for deep-snow flotation rather than groomed-trail handling. The longer tracks float better in soft snow but feel different from the shorter machines used on daily tours — turns require more committed weight transfer and the throttle response in deep powder is different from packed surfaces. Our pre-ride briefing covers these handling differences specifically so backcountry-tour participants aren’t surprised by the way the machine responds when they leave the trail.