Online registration is closed for 2018.
Educational clinics give the participants the chance to sharpen their alpine skills and share experiences with mountain guides and athletes.
Please pay attention to the clinics length and duration. Some clinics are one day, some are two days with overnight stay and the Bolt & Belays is a three day clinic. Make sure you don't book clinics with overlapping dates!
Join us at the Center for the Arts, for the most anticipated evening of the Arc'teryx Backcountry Academy.
After spending the majority of his life in warm climates, Andrew now spends his time staring at clouds while standing in the snow. He’s also figured out that winter van life is highly overrated but provides some of the best ski-in ski-out access available. Based out of a small border town in Northern Montana, Andrew enjoys shooting a number of adventure sports out of his backdoor. But his real passion is in his culinary quest to find the best poutine along the Powder Highway
Ben Gavelda is a freelance writer and photographer based in Victor, Idaho. Gavelda has held numerous key editorial roles in snowboarding and mountain biking media, and carries over a decade of documentary experience in these worlds. His work has been published in countless commercial and editorial projects around the globe. Snowboarding and mountain biking are his main pursuits, yet he’s keen to capture almost any story or adventure. He currently serves as a Project Manager for Jackson Hole Contracting.
Originating from Israel’s Jerusalem hills, I am asked almost daily, how I ended up pursuing the lifestyle of an adventure photographer.
Since I was a youngster, I have been fascinated by nature and possibilities that the vast landscapes of the world present. Having held a camera in hand from a young age, my will to explore those possibilities increased and I found myself dedicated to pursuing the biggest dream and challenge of my life.
Justin Mayers is an action sports photographer and cinematographer born and raised in Jackson Hole, WY. Adventure runs through his veins being brought up in one of the most iconic mountain ranges in North America. As an athlete himself, he comes with a unique perspective that shows in his work. Through his camera he has traveled the world and worked alongside some of the world’s top athletes and brands. Coming full circle Justin calls Jackson his home once again where he started a media company sharing inspiring stories with the world.
Working as an editor at Skiing Magazine, a managing editor at Teton Gravity Research, and a freelance photographer, Leslie became a fixture in skiing media before co-founding Never Not Collective, an all ladies production team, as the group’s token young gun in 2017. She’s traveled to Chile, Japan, France, and all over the American West to document badass skiers, climbers, and adventurers in their natural habitats. As an obsessed skier and climber herself, Leslie plays and trains in her home mountain range of the Tetons.
Photographer and writer Mary McIntyre travels the world using bikes, skis, and running shoes as her catalyst for connection. Since getting her first passport at the age of 3 months, she’s been on the go, in search of people, places, and stories – exploring the Wasatch mountains she calls home along with the Himalaya, Andes, and many lesser-known ranges in-between to document the diversity of human experience through narrative and imagery.
For any inquiries regarding the Arc'teryx Backcountry Academy, please contact backcountryacademy@arcteryx.com and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
- The Arc'teryx Backcountry Academy Team
Right Skills for the right clinic: All clinics cater to specific skillsets and to a described level of fitness needed. We have clinics suited to levels from beginner to advanced. Please carefully consider the clinics skill level and the required level of physical fitness, as shown in each clinic description. We want to make sure you chose the right clinic, so you can enjoy the experience to the fullest.
Plan realistically: Don’t book clinics that are overlapping in time. If you do this you will not be able to attend all of them. Also consider fatigue over those 3 active days. At the end of the day, make the best of your Academy days in Chamonix.
Advance your mountain skills: For one same clinic, you may find multiple levels. Ensure your skills match the clinic, and follow the progressions in picking clinics. In other words don’t start with Level 3, and then finish your weekend experience with Level 1. Instead, follow the progressions outlined, and advance your skills.
We speak the world: The Arc’teryx Academy attracts alpine enthusiasts from 25+ countries. Most of the clinics will be English and/ or French spoken. Once we’ll know more of about clinics participants origins, we’ll make our best to staff clinics per language – English, French and may be German – so that you get the most understandable alpine expertise from participating guides and athletes in a language you understand.
Bring the right gear: Do visit the « What to bring » page and check out specific gear requirements in each clinic description. Come geared up!
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Crampon compatible mountaineering boots, ice climbing technical crampons, harness, helmet, 2 technical ice axes (possible to rent in Chamonix), dynamic lanyard and a screw-gate carabiner and head torch. Bring your own equipment so that you can practice with what you normally use. As for the clothes, please note that the temperature can be quite hot or cold, depending on weather. Bring layers of clothes which you can adjust from functional t-shirt to fleece or wool mid layers, lightweight puffer jacket, Goretex jacket, Softshell trousers, hat, one thin and one warm pair of gloves and solar protection (sunglasses, hat, sunscreen, lip protection). You will need more/less 35l rucksack. Please bring enough food and water (at least 2 litres) for a full day in mountains.
Please visit our What to Bring page for more information.