The Backstory

The Backcountry Game’s creator, Mark Kelly, is a retired Ski Mountaineering Guide with AMGA certification and 2.5 decades of on-snow work experience. With millions of vertical feet of skiing accessed by climbing and touring, millions more were accessed over 19 years of helicopter and cat ski guiding in Alaska and beyond. As a guide and educator, Kelly noticed a deficit of physical teaching tools for avalanche safety courses.

After four years, many iterations, and a presentation to ISSW 2023, The Backcountry Game has been proven to provide a fun, realistic scenario for players to connect, learn backcountry terms and concepts, and develop the capacity for teamwork that backcountry requires.