Skiing (or snowboarding) in complex terrain — steeps, variable snow, tight trees — demands more than guts. You need good judgment about your skills so you can enjoy the mountains safely, push yourself, and avoid getting in over your head.  

At Selkirk Tangiers, we believe that honest self-assessment is one of the most powerful tools a mountain adventurer can have. To help, we use a structured Ability Checker that walks you through scenarios, technical skills, and mental readiness. Below is how to think about assessing your level, and how the Ability Checker can help you zero in. 

Why Self-Assessment Matters 

1. Safety first
   Overestimating your skill can make a day on the mountain more stressful than fun. Underestimating it can lead to missed opportunities. A good self-assessment helps you push boundaries while keeping risk reasonable.

2. Effective progression
   If you understand exactly which skills you’re solid on, and which you aren’t, you can focus your training time more efficiently and build confidence where it counts.

3. Better communication
   When hiring guides, joining groups, or planning big trips, being able to articulate your ability helps others set the right expectations. Plus, you’ll enjoy the experience more when everyone’s on the same page.

4. Mental readiness
   Sometimes ability isn’t just about technique but mindset: exposure, avalanche risk, fatigue, decision fatigue. Self-assessment includes all of that. 

Key Dimensions of Ability 

When we talk about “ability,” we’re really talking about a few overlapping domains: 

How to Assess Yourself — Questions to Ask 

Before you use any tool, reflecting on your own experience is helpful. Ask yourself: 

• When the snow is non-ideal (crud, sun-crust, wind slab, storm snow), do I stay in control, or do I feel like I’m just hanging on? 
• How do I perform in steep terrain (say 35°+)?  
• Can I link long runs of varied snow types without overly fatiguing or losing control? 
• Have I managed adverse conditions: low visibility, variable snow, changing weather, avalanche terrain? 

To make the process more objective and actionable, we’ve developed an Ability Checker with our friends at Backcountry Learning. It’s a tool designed to help you pin down where your skills stand.

What It Does 

• Presents realistic scenarios that test not just technique, but physical, mental, and environmental readiness. 
• Helps you rate yourself across the different domains above. 

How to Use It 

1. Answer honestly: It works best if you resist the urge to inflate or downplay. 
2. Be specific: Think of actual times you’ve handled (or struggled in) challenging snow or terrain. 
3. Use it as a baseline: Then revisit it periodically (e.g. at season midpoint, or after significant trips). 
4. Use the results to guide your preparation: Maybe you need to do terrain exposure drills, more fitness work, technical skill clinics, or decision-making / avalanche education. 

At STHS, we don’t believe ability is a fixed box. You can always grow, but growth comes when you understand what your real ability is. The Ability Checker is our way of helping you get a more honest, useful measure of where you are starting from. Use it not to judge, but to guide. 

Try the tool, see where you stand, and let’s plan what comes next.