Whether you鈥檝e been backcountry skiing for decades or this will be the first winter you strap skins to your skis, there are a number of reasons to consider hiring a guide. A good one will find you better snow than you may be able to聽on your own, and they鈥檒l help you make smart decisions related to route finding, avalanche danger, and general聽safety. Plus, they鈥檙e generally awesome people to hang around with. These guides are some of our favorites.
Margaret Wheeler
The Sawtooths, Idaho
Wheeler grew up ski racing on the East Coast and lived in Chamonix, France, after college. While earning her master鈥檚 degree in engineering in Washington State, she took聽her first American Mountain Guides Association聽ski-guide course, which聽set her on a path. Five years later, in 2006, she also completed courses for聽rock聽and alpine guiding, making her just the second woman in North America to earn her guiding certification through the International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations (IFMGA). Wheeler, who is based聽in Ketchum, Idaho, guides in Europe and closer to home with聽 on day and overnight trips (from $175) around Sun Valley and the Sawtooths.
Zahan Billimoria
The Tetons, Wyoming
When Teton Gravity Research film crews and athletes want to shoot in far-flung mountain locales, Billimoria is the one they call. Born in Switzerland, Billimoria now lives and guides out of Jackson, Wyoming, where he鈥檚 tackled multiple first descents through the Tetons and skied the Grand Teton more than a dozen times.聽He鈥檚 an IFMGA-certified lead guide for聽 and the owner of , a guiding outfit that leads trips throughout the Tetons and beyond (price upon request)聽as well as a training program for mountain athletes. If you can鈥檛 make it to the Tetons this season, you can also do聽one of his聽 from home (from $95).
Peter Doucette
The White Mountains, New Hampshire
When Doucette isn鈥檛 training Special Ops teams in the U.S. military, he鈥檚 running聽, an international guiding operation based in the White Mountains. The聽IFMGA-certified guide hosts backcountry ski trips from the European Alps to the Canadian Rockies, but this winter聽he鈥檒l be leading outings on the snow-covered peaks around his home in Jackson, New Hampshire鈥攊ncluding 6,288-foot Mount Washington (price upon request).
Tino Villanueva
The Cascades, Washington
A native of the Pacific Northwest and an IFMGA-certified guide, 聽is a former Crystal Mountain ski patroller and an avalanche forecaster for big-mountain freeskiing competitions. He now works as a lead guide for Seattle-based聽;聽as a lead heli-ski guide and an avalanche forecaster for 聽in Cordova, Alaska;聽and as a聽guide for聽private custom trips (price upon request). In normal times,聽when he鈥檚 not聽ski-touring around his home in the Cascades, Villanueva is聽bagging first ascents throughout the Himalayas and .
Sheldon Kerr
The San Juans, Colorado
Having grown聽up skiing in Vermont and Colorado, 聽dabbled with the idea of becoming a professional skier and previously competed in the U.S. Freeskiing Championships at Crested Butte, but she eventually found that guiding was more her style. Kerr聽soon became one of the first dozen or so women in the U.S. to earn the聽full IFMGA certification.聽After stints working for Colorado鈥檚 Silverton Mountain and Wyoming鈥檚 , Kerr is now based in Ridgway, Colorado, where she guides custom trips throughout the Southwest for聽聽(from $500 for a day trip).
Howie Schwartz
The Sierra,聽California
There鈥檚 nobody who knows California鈥檚 eastern Sierra Nevada quite like Schwartz, owner and lead guide of聽聽(from $250 for a day trip). A veteran聽in his field, he鈥檚 been guiding since 1993 and was one of the first 20 American guides to achieve IFMGA status, back in 2001. He helped create the聽curriculum for the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education鈥檚 Avalanche Level 1 courses that people still take today. Schwartz calls Bishop, California, home, so if you鈥檙e looking for a backcountry outing anywhere near Mammoth Lakes, he鈥檚 your guy.
Mike Soucy
The Front Range, Colorado
Soucy has been called a 鈥渢rue mountain professional鈥 by those in the guiding world. Not only is he an聽IFMGA-certified guide, he鈥檚 also a pro-level avalanche-course instructor聽and an instructor for guides in training. Soucy聽has been guiding for聽, based in Boulder,聽for over 15 years (price upon request). He leads human-powered ski outings in Canada, Alaska, the European Alps, and all over the聽Front Range, where he knows plenty of secret stashes to escape the crowds. 鈥淚 take pride in teaching first-timers how to backcountry ski, all the way to leading people on their bucket-list trips off high peaks,鈥 Soucy聽says.