A full scholarship
on every backcountry day
One on each of this season's Intro to Backcountry and Intro to Ski / Snowboard Mountaineering days on Mt. Washington. Apply by December 15 and name up to three days that work for you. On-resort days are $25, $10 or free for everyone, no application.
What the scholarship is
A backcountry scholarship covers the full program fee for one guided day on Mt. Washington: Intro to Backcountry, in every version, or Intro to Ski / Snowboard Mountaineering, in every version. It exists so that the fee is never the reason someone sits out a day in the backcountry.
A scholarship covers the program fee and nothing else: not a rental if you need one (from the shops on each program page), lunch, lodging, or getting yourself to Pinkham Notch. The $25 deposit comes back to you in full after your day.
Apply, hear back, book, show up
Apply by December 15
The application takes about five minutes: the program, up to three days that work for you in order, and a few questions. The ones about income and identity are optional, seen only by IST, and reported to funders only as totals.
Everyone is decided at once
After December 15 we read every application together, and you hear by email either way.
Book within 10 days
Your acceptance email has the link for your day. Book it inside 10 days with the $25 refundable deposit, returned in full when you attend. If you do not book in 10 days, the day goes to that day’s backup.
Show up and use it
A scholarship is for the day you booked: it does not roll over and an unused one is not offered again, because another applicant would have used it. If IST cancels the day, for conditions or any other reason, you are offered one of your other picked days if a spot is open.
Ready to apply? Applications close December 15, 2026, and everyone hears at once after that.
Apply by December 15Which days, and the terms in full
One scholarship on every date of every version of Intro to Backcountry (open, women’s, queer and BIPOC) and of Intro to Ski / Snowboard Mountaineering (open, women’s, queer and BIPOC). The dates are on each program’s page, and every one of them is in the application’s dropdowns.
If you cancel or do not show up
Any cancellation or no-show forfeits the $25 deposit, and you are not a priority for a scholarship in a future season. A cancellation 14 or more days before the day lets the backup take it. A medical reason or a true emergency is the one exception: email us and the deposit comes back.
If IST cancels your day
For conditions or any other reason: you are offered one of the other days you picked, if a spot is open. If none is, the scholarship ends there with no penalty to you, and the deposit comes back.
One scholarship, one day
You can be chosen for one day a season. It is for the day you booked, it does not roll over to another day or another season, and a scholarship that goes unused is not offered to you again.
How we choose
For financial need, from what you tell us on the application. Our executive director reads every application; the board does not see them.
On-resort days: $25, $10 or free, no application
Every on-resort day, at every mountain, including every affinity day, has three prices, and you choose yours at checkout. Nobody applies and nobody asks.
inclusive10 at checkoutinclusive at checkoutNo questions asked. Every price is the same day on snow.
An on-resort day with us is $25. If $25 would keep you home, choose $10 or free instead. The price is about what fits your year, not what you get: every price is the same day, the same group, the same volunteers. We take your word for it.
At the going rate, a day like this is worth about $150 a person. Members, sponsors and donors help close the gap between that and what you pay, and we raise the rest however we can. That money is what keeps the free option open on every day, pays our guides fairly, covers the insurance and permits that let us run at all, and takes us to new mountains each season.
If you have room to put more toward it, you can add a gift when you book, make a donation any time, or become a member and cover your own days and someone else's all season. Your uphill ticket or pass, where the mountain needs one, and any rental are separate.
Which price is yours? An imperfect guide
The honest answer is whichever one you can pay without thinking twice, and if you land between two, either one is right. $25 is for you if you meet your basic needs most months and have some money left over; if you can eat out, see a show or replace a worn-out glove without planning around it. $10 is for you if money is tighter this year than it was; if $25 is doable but it would mean skipping something else; if you are a student, between jobs or working part time and not by choice. Free is for you if money is tight, or you are not sure it will stretch to the season; if other people depend on what you earn; if there is little or nothing left at the end of most months. We would be glad to see you, and nobody will ask. Basic needs means food, housing, transportation and health care.
The AIARE courses have their own application
Our AIARE 1 and Avalanche Rescue courses with Northeast Mountaineering come at a discount for IST, and the seats go by application for financial need. It is a separate, shorter application on the course page, and it closes December 1.
The AIARE coursesBefore you apply
Can I apply for more than one day?
You name up to three days that work for you, in order, and you can be chosen for one of them. One scholarship a season per person.
Do I need experience?
Only what that program needs. Intro to Backcountry asks for no touring experience and black diamond terrain in control on your own. Intro to Ski / Snowboard Mountaineering asks for prior touring, an Intro to Backcountry or the equivalent, and double black diamond terrain. The requirements are on each program’s page.
Who chooses, and how?
Our executive director, for financial need, from what you tell us on the application.
What is the $25 deposit for?
It holds your day, and it comes back to you in full when you attend. Last season scholarships went unused while other people waited; the deposit is how a scholarship stays with someone who will use it.
Does it cover rentals, lodging or travel?
No. The scholarship covers the program fee. Rentals are from the shops on each program page, and lodging partners are on the Lodging page.
Can I apply again next season?
Yes, unless you were chosen and did not use your day. An unused scholarship is not offered again.
Is there a scholarship for on-resort days?
You do not need one: every on-resort day is $25, $10 or free, your choice at checkout, no application. The codes are above.
I want to pay for someone else’s day
Thank you. Every backcountry booking has a $20, $50 or $150 add-on toward a scholarship, $150 being one full Intro to Backcountry scholarship, and the Donate page takes any amount any time.
