Parents, 

I won’t pretend to be an expert at parenting. (My own kids can certainly confirm that fact!) But I think one of the best things my wife and I have done as parents is to keep video games out of our house and to grant our kids a lot of freedom to explore the wild lands around us. 

I maintain that spending time in nature gives young people the quiet self-confidence that they desperately need. Quite simply, that quiet self-confidence can't be supplied by video games or all the other “safe” comforts of modern suburban life. When people (of any age) complete a difficult trip, deal with discomfort, push their perceived limits, and make lifetime memories, they discover their own sense of strength, competence, and independence. And as Alaskan parents, we have the perfect “proving ground” for our kids to explore. 

Teens are desperately trying to prove to themselves, and to those around them, that they’re “adults.” In nature, kids overcome their fears on the ski slope, rock wall, or hiking trail. They discover that they’re more physically capable than they thought. They have to make serious decisions about their and their friends’s safety.

These experiences give teens a deep sense of competence and responsibility. All of a sudden, the upcoming math test, the teenage crush, and the friend drama are placed in their proper perspective. If your kid spent the last Saturday confronting his or her fear of skiing off a cliff, the scary math test doesn’t feel as scary anymore. 

In my opinion, backcountry skiing offers many benefits to our teens:

1. It’s a lifelong activity. People of all ages backcountry ski. 
2. It provides exercise and adventure during our long winters.
3. It’s a social activity. Backcountry skiing often isn’t safe unless you go with others. 
4. Cool people do it. I find that folks who backcountry ski are some of the happiest people I’ve met. After all, backcountry skiing requires a child’s heart. You have to be stoked to go spend the day frolicking in the snow. I think it may be the single best activity for meeting other fun, responsible, adventurous, outdoorsy people. 
5. You can (should!) do it with them! Even if you don't backcountry ski yet, if you’re proficient on downhill skis or a snowboard, it provides a perfect teen/parent bonding activity. Take an avalanche safety class together. Drool over skis and equipment together. Explore new slopes together. Because of the not-insignificant safety considerations when backcountry skiing, it provides an excellent opportunity not only to recreate with your teen, but for them to demonstrate their risk-tolerance, safety assessment, and decision-making skills. 

A note on safety

I won’t pretend backcountry skiing is without risk. Avalanches are a very real threat, but one that can be mitigated by following the advice below. (Also, please reference this post where I talk in-depth about safety considerations.)

1. In my opinion, anyone participating in backcountry skiing MUST take an Avalanche 1 course. (The Alaska Avalanche School offers a class each year just for teens.) There are also abundant low-angle slopes that teens can ski with an essential 0% chance of an avalanche. 
2. Backcountry skiers must go with other people proficient in winter backcountry travel. Decisions in the backcountry need to be made by consensus among other educated adventurers with similar levels of risk tolerance. 
3. Backcountry skiers MUST have the correct gear. For teens, an avalanche beacon, shovel, GPS device, probe, helmet, and airbag-style avy pack are essential items. 

As a parent, I think that the hardest part of letting our kids go backcountry skiing is feeling like they’re not safe. It’s a lot less anxiety-producing just to keep them at home. I’m not sure there’s any way around the fear we feel as parents when our kids are in potentially unsafe situations. That said, I think there are ways to deal with our own anxiety and fears:

1. Kids must unequivocally prove they have a proper sense of risk tolerance. They need to earn our trust (incrementally) until we feel confident they can make safe, independent decisions in the backcountry. 
2. It’s easy to inaccurately perceive danger as a parent. Avalanches are scary. But if your kid makes safe decisions in the backcountry, objectively, they’re far more likely to die on the road to the ski slope than on it. I think it’s easy to allow irrational fears to negatively affect our decision-making as parents.
3. We have to understand that our own anxieties are worth the experience, independence, confidence, and memories our kids will gain. To me, this has been the single biggest reason I allow my kids to adventure in the backcountry, despite the fact that I’m a bundle of nerves while they’re out there. 

 

A note on boys

I think time in nature is especially important for boys. Video games in particular pretend to give boys all the things they need. Games promise adventure and risk. They promise a memorable story. They offer the chance to work together with friends to accomplish something. 

The problem is that none of it is real. I see a significant difference between boys who are “gamers” and boys who are active and adventurous. I think we’ve allowed our boys to live a pathetic version of boyhood simply because it keeps them “safe” and well-supervised. In the meantime, I think they are losing out on critical experiences and personal growth during one of the most important developmental periods of their lives. 

It is my firm belief that boys must prove to themselves that they are men. I think that means doing really hard things. By confronting fear and facing real challenges, they learn so, so much about themselves. 

 

Okay, you’ve sold me on this idea. How do we get started?

Backcountry skiing is expensive to get into*. To get fully outfitted with the gear to safely backcountry ski, it’ll cost about $4,000. But the required gear and training last a long time. Especially if your kid is done growing, the gear you buy them will easily last a decade or more. You can also buy much of this gear used, or you can sell it if your kid outgrows it or loses interest. 

Growing up, my parents offered me a pretty good deal. For any expensive outdoor gear, they would offer to pay half the price. As a teen, whether it was tents, backpacks, skis, or rock shoes, it made buying that gear feasible on an adolescent budget. By my parents asking me to pay half the cost, it ensured that I was invested enough in the activity to drop my own hard-earned money. 

 

Rough Costs  (new):

• Skis - $850
• AT/Tech bindings - $500
• AT/Tech Ski boots - $800 
• Ski skins - $150-200
• Avalance beacon - $350
• Probe and shove - $100
• Helmet - $100
• Avy pack - $1700 
• Avalanche 1 Course - $450
• Garmin – $400

* You can do it cheaper, especially if your teen just wants to try it out. If you can find someone with a backcountry setup with frame bindings, you can adjust the bindings to your kid’s boots and they can try it out for the day (as long as they're in mellow terrain and have all the safety stuff too.). Also, “boot-packing” or snowshoeing up the slopes is possible. It’s way more of a workout, and not nearly as efficient, but that’s how I did all my backcountry skiing back in high school!