Blackbird Mountain Guides — Local services in Truckee

April 2024 - just down from 3 day 2 nite custom guided touring on SW face of Shasta with guides Jan and Timm. BMG took our group of 4 (and a 5th we mutually thought to include) on a multi day camp mixing mostly touring with some super relevant alpine skills drills and training. Making camp in lingering days of storms, guide's beta about just where good snow likely to accumulate spot on, scoring great lines. Summit eluded us again (see review from last year) for windscouring of upper elevations, but right call for the day. BMG's gear as advertised, Jan and Timm lead comfortable and efficient camp routine, leaving keeper learning points in the minds of all of our fairly experienced group. My 3rd time with BMG, not my last at all.From June 2023: Shasta ski touring expedition with guide Jason this past weekend - spectacular! (24-25 Jun '23). Great sense of how the sno-pac was evolving w the season, Jason targeted hard-to-get-to NE side of Shasta, and brought great beta about the maze of FS roads leading up to the wilderness boundary, so we were able to depart onto snow at about the 6500' level. Making camp at 8,000 ft, we had an open afternoon for glacier and self arrest skills training. Alpine start on Sunday, we ascended the Wintun-Holtum snowfields to about 12.5k'. Though early arrival of thunderstorm risk called our summit bid there, Jason lateraled us over to the Holtum glacier for a stunningly spectacular 2K' drop down perfect corn. Super organized, super good mountaineering coach, just the right balance of chill with sense of urgency when needed; what I really admired about Jason's lead was having to pick up for another BMG's guide's unexpected injury with about a day's notice. Pulled it off like he'd been planning for weeks. Also appreciated BMG figuring out how to offer this expedition as a sub for planned Mt Baker push when the planned guide there injured, and no local subs available. Worked for the whole party, worked for me, hats off to BMG and Jason in particular. Hope to bring my home skimo gang on a BMG tour...

IF I COULD GIVE IT 10 STARS, I WOULD GIVE IT 1000!!!!!!

I can't say enough good things about Blackbird (in Truckee, CA). I just took my AIARE 1 course and I am absolutely blown away by how well the course, the pre-course material was sent out, the intentionality of the guides and the office staff (see below), and how AWESOME the company is. My instructor was Mike Henry and HE IS AWESOME! As a woman (with disabilities and a person of color), my experience as a new back country participant hasn't been the most welcoming. I simply want to learn more and understand that I don't have the background like some other people. With Mike, I had no fear of that. He made me feel so welcomed, answered all my questions without any hesitation, and allowed me to learn in various ways. A HUGE tap on the back for Mike Henry!

Here are just some of the SMALL yet BIG things that Blackbird did: Instructor reached out individually over text to make sure we had all of our gear, materials, and things ready for the first day of the course. Instructor was very communicative and timely about changes in plans We had some unfortunate weather during our course. Not a problem with us! Mike made sure he adjusted the schedule a little to keep us warm and SAFE, while still doing some important classroom work Made sure the group was comfortable in the terrain we were in Encouraged for all and any questions, making sure each person's questions, thoughts, and ideas were recognized Made sure everyone had the right and safe gear. Made sure that all our gear was working properly throughout the two days Emails were prompt, clear, and easy to grasp!

I could go on and on. This is the company you want to go through. You will not regret it.

Thanks Mike, Chris, and the whole Blackbird family! Y'all are doing the important work to keep all of us safe in the back country. Looking forward to doing a rescue...

Would highly recommend Blackbird Mountain Guides! We are in Washington state and did an Intro to Backcountry Course with Jess T. She did a phenomenal job of tailoring to each of our group member's needs and skill levels, as we all had differing prior experience in the backcountry and with avalanche safety. For my partner and I, the course was just what we wanted -- a chill, informative way to practice getting some laps in and becoming more comfortable with transitioning, with the opportunity to ask questions about route planning and avalanche safety. We are intermediate skiers who had done an Avy I course a few years ago and had been in the backcountry a handful of times before but wanted to feel more independent; others in our group were truly brand new to the backcountry and touring gear, and we all had a great time. Probably the best way to do it is to take this class and then do an Avy course which I think is what Blackbird recommends. Jess had a really wonderful energy and group facilitation style that inspired comfort and confidence. Her eagerness to share tips and tricks, and with a sense of humor and warmth to boot, was much appreciated. Also, the general structure (which I assume is an organizational standard) of creating a group text of participants with a shared Notes app of resources a few days in advance of the tour was a very nice touch; it helped everyone understand where our tour-mates were coming from in terms of experience and planted some important educational seeds. Thank you Jess...