ASI is one of America’s original all conditions, all terrain, rock and alpine climbing, and ski mountaineering programs.

The ASI program was carefully planned and developed by Bela G. Vadasz & Mimi Maki-Vadasz during undergraduate and postgraduate studies in Recreation and Outdoor Education at San Francisco State University. After years of teaching and program planning through university and continuing education programs they began what is now the ASI program in 1979. 

In the past two and a half decades, through continued professional development and association with distinguished colleagues, programs have evolved and have been refined to the existing state-of-the-art program. Much experience has been gained not only from training and certification but from climbing, skiing and guiding throughout many of the greatest ranges of the world. Since the beginning, ASI has made the commitment to blend the best from American outdoor educational values with progressive techniques of climbing and high mountain skiing that are practiced by the most accomplished alpinists throughout the world. 

To this day, now 30 years after the beginning of ASI, the educational ideals that the program was founded on remain paramount to work with people who are interested in becoming experts in the mountains. Whether it’s on skis, boots or crampons, to adopt the experiences the mountains have to offer is a part of life as well as a lifestyle.

Tahoe Wilderness Medicine has partnered with ASI to offer incredible instruction in outdoor skills.