The Annual Lake Tahoe Backcountry Demo Event is North America’s largest venue for the latest and greatest in all things alpine touring, telemark and splitboard.

The event is held annually at the Alpine side of Palisades Tahoe, a destination known for popular hikes, great out-of-bounds terrain, and easy to access side-country. The event provides a forum to perpetuate the enthusiasm for all aspects of in-area and backcountry skiing.

The event is free, but participants must possess a valid lift ticket or season pass purchased from Palisades Tahoe, along with a driver’s license and credit card for deposit. Participants can register beforehand here or at the Alpenglow tents at Palisades Tahoe Alpine.

Demos begin at 9am each day and items can only be used for 3-4 runs at a time so that everyone gets a fair chance to try equipment equally. All demos must be returned by no later than 2:30pm or will be subject to a $150 late penalty.

Please note that this a DEMO, not a RENTAL and is designed to test DOWNHILL performance of backcountry equipment. If you are intrigued by backcountry skiing/riding, we suggest you reach out to a local guide/education outfit like Alpenglow Expeditions, but our event isn't designed to let you "try out" the sport. Our weekend is more of a "test drive" type opportunity so that you get your purchase right. Lastly, please make sure to bring your own poles as we do not provide any.

Participating companies include DPS Skis, Dynafit, Black Diamond Equipment, Tecnica, Blizzard, Lange, Black Crows, Marker, Volkl, Jones Snowboards, Elan, Roxa, Atomic, Scarpa, Fischer and more. While there will be telemark gear to demo, it will primarily be the NTN system, with boots from Scarpa and Scott and bindings from Meidjo and Twenty Two Designs.