Queenstown Backcountry Ski Touring & Snowboarding

Queenstown Mountain Guides run daily guided backcountry ski touring & snowboarding trips in the Remarkables backcountry. Our daily trips access the vast basins of the Doolans ski touring area immediately behind the Remarkables ski resort. This area offers some of the best easily accessed backcountry ski touring in New Zealand.

Our backcountry trips are run by professionally qualified backcountry ski guides with in depth knowledge of the local terrain & conditions. Safety is our number one priority.

This is a great day out on any day and is especially epic on a powder day. There is so much untouched terrain behind these ski areas with no tracks! When you ski or ride with a guide you get the benefit of local knowledge & safety, our local ski guides are knowledgeable and fun.

Our Queenstown ski touring & split boarding trips allow you to ski & ride some steeps, shred some powder, or get an introduction to the backcountry while learning about avalanche safety. No previous ski touring experience is needed you just need to be an intermediate skier or rider and be able to ski off piste.

As well as being Queenstown's only professionally qualified IFMGA Mountain & Ski Guiding operation our guides have the best knowledge of the local terrain. All of our ski guides are professionally qualified and working in the industry. They know the backcountry - if they are not ski touring guiding you will find them guiding heli-skiing or working in the ski patrol and avalanche industry.

Pricing for Queenstown Backcountry Ski Touring & Snowboarding

• 1 client $585
• 2 clients $315 per person
• 3 - 6 clients $230 per person

How experienced do I need to be?

• As a minimum you should be an intermediate skier/boarder. You should be able to comfortably ski/ride blue runs at your local ski field and also have some experience skiing/riding black runs. Off piste skiing/riding experience is preferred but not essential.
• You should be able to ski/ride with a light backpack. This is so you can carry avalanche safety equipment, warm clothing, and your own food and water for the day.
• You should have a good level of aerobic fitness.
• You do not need any previous ski touring or split boarding experience and you will be shown how to use the equipment at the start of the day.

How do I schedule my ski touring/ split boarding day?

We recommend that you book in advance. It is also good to contact us when you arrive in Queenstown and let us know your availability. This allows us to be flexible in case of bad weather and for us to find you the best skiing and riding conditions while you are here.

What do I need to bring?

• Food and water for the day
• A small pack to carry your equipment
• Warm clothing, windproof jacket and pants, warm gloves, sunglasses or goggles, and sunscreen
• Ski touring equipment, split boarding set up, or board and snow shoes. See below for equipment hire

Ski touring ski's & split board hire

Ski touring equipment and split boards can be hired from Small Planet Outdoors, 17 Shotover St, Queenstown. For snowboarders Queenstown Mountain Guides rents snow shoes for $25 per day that can be used as an alternative to a split board setup.

Other related trips

3 Day Backcountry Ski Tour

6 Day Ski Mountaineering & Backcountry Avalanche Course

Client review

"My wife and I just finished a 5-day ski touring trip on the Fox Glacier with Mike and QMG and absolutely loved it. Mike worked diligently to coordinate the location of the trip, helicopters, and huts to make sure we got the most out of our 5 day trip on the Glacier. We had lots of fresh and tasty food including bacon and eggs every morning, fruit, Thai curry, pad Thai, and Mexican. The daily ski tours were awesome and included skiing and climbing various summits and high cols. Mike genuinely wanted us to have a great and safe experience and took the time to explain and teach us about the intricacies of skiing and climbing in NZ. All that said, it felt like Mike was not only our guide for the 5-day trip, but our guide for our entire trip to New Zealand. He offered us suggestions on more skiing and hiking in NZ after our Fox Glacier trip, and even had some topo maps and weather reports printed off for us to go by. Special thanks to Mike and Marina for the great bed and breakfast after the trip as well! 5 stars. We highly recommend Queenstown Mountain Guides." C Beyer - Canada