Volunteer with IST in Colorado
We are bringing Inclusive Ski Touring to Colorado for the 2027 season, and we are looking for the volunteers who will run it.
What is the opportunity?
We are planning for three no-drop uphill touring days in Colorado, within day-trip driving distance of Denver, resort still to be decided. One in January, one in February and one in March. Our on-resort days are volunteer led, so the volunteer group is what makes them happen. We are looking for Colorado-based volunteers to run these days, and applications are open now.
What we would ask of you
A program day runs about four hours and starts mid-morning, with the exact time set with the resort. You help at check-in, you help people get their skins on, and then you tour with a group and make sure nobody gets left behind. That is most of it. Some volunteers sweep at the back, some lead from the front, and some spend the morning at the lodge being the friendly face somebody needed.
Colorado has three program days this season, so come to as many of the three as you can. There are two roles, Assistant and Lead.
Assistants help at check-in, help people work out their layers, encourage everybody up the hill, and are the last person up and down so that nobody is behind them. Leads take a group out in front and set the pace for it. Normally a Lead has volunteered on two IST tours first. At a new location like Colorado, nobody has those tours yet, so we approve Leads on experience, and you can put your hand up for Lead now.
Every volunteer is trained before the season. Colorado's training is in person in the Denver area, so the first Colorado group actually meets each other, and it is specific to Colorado. We share the date with everyone who applies. If you cannot make it but still want to help, apply anyway and say so, and we will find other ways for you to get involved. Leads also join a lead call for Colorado.
Here is what happens next.
About ten minutes, on the same application every IST volunteer uses.
We reply to everyone who applies, with where you fit and what comes next.
In person, before the season.
Through our scheduling system, once training is done.
You do not need to be an expert
You do not need to be the fastest or most experienced tourer. If you can move uphill at an easy, conversational pace and enjoy helping other people up the hill, you will fit right in.
No prior guiding or teaching experience is needed. Prior IST experience helps for a Lead role, and we know most Colorado volunteers, probably all of them, will be new to IST, so if a Lead role interests you, say so on the application. Assistants just need a friendly attitude, patience, and basic comfort touring uphill.
Bring your own touring setup, clothing and outerwear appropriate for the weather, and a helmet. We arrange any uphill access your shift needs.
First aid certification
Welcome, and not required. Some of our volunteers are wilderness first responders and nurses. Plenty have nothing, or something that expired years ago. Tell us what you have and we will place you accordingly.
Gear knowledge
You do not need to know every binding on the market. We cover setups at training, and there is always somebody on the day who knows the awkward ones. If a binding needs adjusting rather than explaining, that is a job for the resort rental shop or ski patrol, not for you.
Cancelling a day you signed up for
Email Ben and Lindsay so we can adjust staffing. Volunteers cannot cancel shifts in the system directly.
Other ways to help
Program days are not the only thing. We expect to need help representing IST at awareness and fundraising events in Colorado, and we will ask the Colorado volunteer group first. There is a question on the application for it.
Want the full picture of how volunteering with IST works? Read our volunteer page.
About ten minutes. It is the same application every IST volunteer uses, and it asks where you can volunteer, which role you want and what else you bring.
Anything at all, including the ones you think are too small to ask.
