Backcountry ski touring is the ultimate winter experience. Sure,you could plan one yourself, but hiring a guide to book you the best backcountry huts and show you their favorite hidden powder stashes will ensure your next trip goes smoothly. Heck, they’ll even break trail for you.But the best part? From snow camping in an expedition tent to posting up in a lavish, off-the-grid lodge, you can goas hardcore or luxe as you want. These multi-day ski tours are perfect for everyone from backcountry newbies to more experiencedski mountaineers.
Valhalla Mountain Touring
New Denver, British Columbia
This will pick you up in a snowcat and deliver you to a backcountry lodge in B.C.’s Selkirk Mountains, where you’ll spend six days dropping 2,000-vertical-foot, powder-filled linesthrough the high alpine. You won’t exactly be roughing it. The lushtwo-storylodge has seven private bedrooms, a sauna, Wi-Fi, and delicious, hearty meals prepared by a cook and skier named Annie.From $1,950
Big Sky Backcountry Guides
Bozeman, Montana
Big Sky Backcountry Guides's earns its name. Fromlate March throughearly April, they'lllead you deep into the Tobacco Root Range west of Bozeman and set up a deluxe snow-camping outpost 12 miles from the nearest access point. For four days, you’ll send world-class couloirs rarely accessed by day-trippers before returning to one of the most comfortable winter camps around,complete with expedition-quality tents,a propane heater in the group shelter, home-cooked meals, and bonfires each night. Basically, it’s expedition skiing without the suffering—porters even help haul in the heavy gear. From $1,500
Alpenglow Expeditions
Quito, Ecuador
If you’re a backcountry enthusiast who’s dreamed of getting into ski mountaineering, consider Alpenglow Expeditions. On its 11-day , you’llclimb, summit, and ski two of Ecuador’s tallest volcanoes, 19,347-foot Cotopaxi and 18,997-foot Cayambe. Designed forburgeoning ski mountaineers who already have some high-altitude and steep-skiing experience, the trip is perfect for thoselooking to learn technical skillslike acclimatization, glacier travel, and crevasse-rescue techniques. $4,750
Northern Alpine Guides
Lofoten Islands, Norway
EachFebruary through May, offersthree-to-seven-day ski-touring trips around the Lofoten Islands, where guides will lead you on summit-to-sea adventures that end in arctic fjords and charming fishing villages. You’ll spot the northern lights while sleeping in the family-run, waterfront , which has a sauna, après-ski waffle buffet, and cozy cabin accommodations. From $160
High Sierra Snowcat and Yurt
Bridgeport, California
You can do guided, single-day outings with , but you’ll want a few days to truly experience the vast couloirs, wide-open bowls, and peaks of the eastern Sierra Nevada. You’ll stay in bunks in a remote backcountry yurtaccessed via snowcat, andguides will prep meals and give safety briefings each day. The snowcat helps with shuttles up to higher ground, but you’ll earn your turns from there. From $295
Points North Heli-ϳԹs
Cordova, Alaska
Want to experience heli-skiing but don’t have the budget for a $10,000 trip? Check out ’s weeklong, helicopter-assisted touring trips. Its backcountry base camp reopens next year, so for this year’sexpeditions,which will happen in March, you’ll spend three days being dropped by a helicopter into the Chugach Mountains and three days ski touring from Cordova’s . $3,850, including meals and lodging