Here's SheJump's CO Chapter backcountry clinic recap, through the eyes of attendee and Vail Resorts buzz.snow.com editor, Morgan Bast. Thanks, Morgan! —Leah Fielding, Associate Editor

Chances are if you're a hard-core skier with hard-core skier friends, you've been invited into the backcountry. And you've been scared. With the threat of exhaustion, gear difficulties, avalanches and thousands of other situations that can go wrong, those emotions are completely justified.

Women new to the sport tend to stray away from the backcountry because of these reasons and the way we analyze each one. But that draw to ski bigger, better, and harder than we have before or than any of the boys is there. And so is the backcountry.

So Vail ski resort, SheJumps, a non-profit organization that "strives to increase female participation in outdoor activities by building upon a supportive community," and Alpine Initiatives which helps the "mountain community to collaborate, contribute and initiate change in communities and environments worldwide" got together to educate a group of backcountry-seeking ski babes.

"Women are the voice of reason in any group," Kelli Rohrig, backcountry badass and one of the clinic's instructors said. "We're thinkers and keep our boyfriends, brothers, and friends out of trouble."

Rohrig and Maeve Nevins along with some of the organizers of the clinic taught 12 women over the course of two days at Vail ski resort some backcountry basics and how women can uniquely use these skills when going out of bounds. Here are the top 5 tips for women backcountry skiers from that clinic.

1.  Do your research before you leave the house
Before you even get in your car, you should know what the conditions will be like in the area you want to ski. There are a ton of great websites that regularly track the conditions in the backcountry with graphs, charts and tons of data. The Colorado Avalanche Information Center, or CAIC, is the best one in the state. Hint -- know how to read an avalanche rose before even thinking about going out of bounds.

2. Carry the right equipment and know how to use it
Do not leave home without a shovel, probe, helmet and beacon, Nevins and Rohrig said. And be wary of those that did. If you see someone in the backcountry that doesn't have a backpack on, chances are they aren't using their brain either.

"Putting a beacon on is more complicated that putting on a bra for the first time," Nevins told the class. Not to mention actually learning how to use it. Train yourself regularly on how to use your beacon by running drills, playing hide and go seek, and in real life situations that will raise your adrenaline. Get out your shovel and see how much work it is to actually move a ton of snow in case an avalanche buries a friend. More than anything, just be familiar with your gear as you don't want to learn in an emergency situation.

3.  Know how to read a slope
Chances are, if you'd ski it in-bounds, you wouldn't want to ski it out of bounds. In the backcountry, safe skiers typically try to avoid lines over 35 degrees, or what would be considered a steep blue or a milder black in the resort. The slope angle, recent snowfall history, terrain features including any traps like rivers or a tree grove at the bottom of a pitch, and the slope's aspect are all things to keep in mind when choosing where to ski. Added up, these things can make for a perfect -- or deadly -- excursion. Invest in some literature to know the safe signs . Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain by Bruce Tremper is a great one as is Free Skiing - How to Adapt to the Mountain by Jimmy Oden.

4. Use safe travel protocols
Don't let your ego get the best of you. Guys do that enough and women should keep their wits about them to stay safe. By sticking to the top of a ridge line, only putting one person on a slope at a time, skiing down one at a time, stopping only in safe areas, and keeping an eye on your group as much as possible, you'll stay aware and alive. We ladies like to chat. Keep the chit chat to a minimum and keep your eyes open to potential dangers to travel safely.

5. Take a class.
What, you think you could learn everything you need to know about backcountry safety in an article? Think again. Only by properly training yourself and giving yourself enough time to acclimate to the backcountry will you really truly be safe. And even then, stuff happens. Courses like the Avalanche 1 certification or clinics like the one put on by SheJumps and Alpine Initiatives can help train you, but you still have to be willing to learn. And practice, practice, practice.

For more information on avalanche safety or backcountry skiing, check out the American Avalanche Association or Colorado Avalanche Information Center.