[pct-l] Snow Course Testimonial

[ned at pacificcrestcustombuilders.com]

The odds are, you'll have a better time in the wilderness if you know what to expect and you know what you're doing. 

We offer free, 3-day winter courses teaching summer hikers how to safely camp and travel in snow for just this objective.

Dan Alvarez, "Out of Order," was one of our students this past winter. He is now finishing the Continental Divide. While he was preparing for the last 600 miles of his epic journey, he felt like sending us a note of appreciation (on the back of a well-worn map!). So that you can understand the benefits of our courses, I'd like to share his feelings with all of you:


"Ned,

Hopefully you remember me from a Snow Course earlier this year. I dug a snow cave and had a great time. I'm writing you from the middle of Montana as I head into the last 600 miles of the CDT. It has been one great adventure and many, many times along the way I've thought back to the Snow Course and have been so grateful that I'd taken it. I had to deal with massive amounts of snow in Southern Colorado through the San Juans and patches continued through the rest of the state. Instead of being frustrated or scared of it, I enjoyed the challenge and had the confidence to take on whatever came my way, from crossing steep traverses to long, long stretches of post-holing, I always felt I had a good sense for what was going on around me out there and knew I could handle it--even the good sense to stay put a few days as the snow fell!

"I thought I was finished with the snow after Colorado, but there was plenty left for me in the Winds! There, too, the knowledge from the Course gave me confidence that I could handle it. Your Course was a great gift to me and I don't believe I would have made it as far as I have without it. Not only did it make me safer on snow, it made me enjoy it. I love the snow now and love being in it. With the right gear and right mindset, it is not something to be feared, but rather, something to be enjoyed. So many of my fellow hikers were paralyzed by fear, and I would have been too if not for your Course. Thank you so much for opening my eyes."


If, in the process of planning for your PCT adventure, any of you have any questions about hiking in, on, or through snow, please consider taking one of our Snow Courses. They will open your eyes to new adventure and cause you to no longer be afraid of the Fourth Season!

Mtnned and Lady J