Backcountry Skiing Elopements

It doesn’t get much more Colorado than backcountry skiing elopements, and somehow I’ve found myself a bit of a niche expert on these since photographing my first one in 2019. Because while there are quite a few photographers who do ski & snowboard elopements at the resorts, I might just be the only one with experience from backcountry elopements. And since I keep getting inquiries from couples who are interested in doing a ski tour for their engagement photos and elopements, I wanted to write this guide to share some tips and photo inspiration.

I have to start with a note on safety: if you have never done backcountry skiing or splitboarding before, I will not be the first to take you out, and especially not for something as important as your elopement. Please consider taking an Intro to Backcountry course to start—I did mine through Backcountry Babes in Breckenridge, but there are providers all over the country. And if you really want to get into this, I wholeheartedly recommend taking an AAI L1 or AIARE 1 course to learn trip planning, reading the terrain, using your safety gear, and making safe decisions in the backcountry.

Backcountry skiing and splitboarding is an inherently risky activity, and can result in serious injury or even death. Any advice in this blog post is intended for people who are already experienced in the backcountry and have questions around how to combine this activity with photography, whether for an engagement session or elopement, and should not be taken as instructions on how to start backcountry skiing.

Now if you’re reading this, I’m guessing you already enjoy going backcountry skiing with your partner, and you’re considering doing a tour for either engagement photos or your elopement. You might be wondering if it’s even possible to pull this off, and if you can find a photographer who can handle a ski tour with all their camera gear. And while you might be experienced with trip planning, how do you go about choosing a location for a backcountry skiing elopement?

The best approach is to plan your day as you’d plan any other ski tour, but with a few modifications. You might want to keep the uphill portion a bit shorter and easier than you normally would, if you know that you’ll be doing a lot of photos when you get up there. The longest uphill I’ve done for photos was about 2 miles, and that was a pretty killer workout. Some of my favorite places for backcountry skiing photos only require a 0.5 mile or so approach to get incredible views!

I will also be the first to admit that I’m most comfortable on slopes in the 10-20° range, and I won’t be going anywhere near the upper twenties or low thirties when carrying all my camera gear. I recommend keeping your tour more mellow if it’s for your elopement than what you might normally ski, so that we don’t have to worry about getting into avalanche terrain. This is especially true if you want to ski in wedding attire—a dress can get caught in your bindings and throw you off in a way you’re not used to.

Think about what’s most important to you. Is it the views where you exchange your vows, not having other skiers around, or getting fresh tracks on your first lap as a married couple? If we’re working together, I will create a personalized location guide for ski tours that I am confident I can handle, and that I know would make for great photos.

There’s no question that doing photos on skis is harder than normal elopements where we can all move freely in all directions, but that challenge is part of what I love so much about photographing couples while skiing as well. The best photos come when you’re having a good time—and how can we not smile when playing around in the snow? I’ll of course give you some directions as needed, but this isn’t about the photos. It’s about your experience, doing something you love together, and getting to remember it through the photos afterwards.

When planning a backcountry skiing elopement, we can do our best to optimize for snow conditions and weather through the date we choose, but there are of course no guarantees for this stuff, and we should be prepared for whatever Colorado throws at us. I also recommend that we have a backup plan in place if avalanche conditions should rise so high that there’s no safe travel—whether that’s rescheduling for another date, or changing locations to something that’s far enough away from avalanche terrain that there’s no risk at all for getting ourselves in trouble.

Backcountry hut trips

Hut trips were the reason I got into skiing, and so many of my favorite memories with my husband come from spending a couple of nights in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by snow and silence. You can see more photos from a backcountry hut trip elopement I photographed in the San Juans here, but I was only along for a day trip that time. If you think having your photographer with you for an overnight hut trip would be fun, we should talk—it’s been on my bucket list ever since my first hut trip to Vagabond Ranch in 2010, and I’ve been to a handful of huts since that would be perfect for an elopement.

Bringing the crew

If you’re used to skiing with friends, you might want to bring them along for your elopement too! I’m happy to photograph elopements with guests, as long as you can vouch for everyone to have prior backcountry experience and carry safety gear. If you do decide to invite friends along, I’d still recommend that we have at least an hour for photos without your guests as well—it can be harder to get good portraits if you have friends cheering from the background every time you go in for a kiss.

Uphill skiing at the resorts

If you want a similar experience to backcountry skiing without the avalanche risks involved, uphill skiing at a resort might be a great alternative for your elopement. Following a groomed track inbounds means we won’t have to carry avalanche safety gear, and you’ll save weight and have more room in your packs for wedding attire. And by going before or after lift hours, we can have the slopes to ourselves!

If you think I might be the right photographer for your backcountry skiing elopement, I’d love to chat more about what you’re planning and how I can help. Contact me so we can schedule a call, and I’m happy to create a custom quote for you since these kinds of elopements always end up being some of my favorite days to “work!”