Alpine Climbing Foundations 2 Seminar

This course is taught in the rugged glaciat­ed envi­ron­ments of the North Cas­cades and is designed for climbers who are inter­est­ed in devel­op­ing skills in mixed, rock, and steep snow terrain needed to accomplish longer and hard­er alpine routes.

We’ll spend all five days in the alpine where the team will spend the nights in tents, enjoy­ing the qui­et and soli­tude of the wilder­ness. Each day will be full of instruc­tion — see below for course objectives.

This seminar aims to introduce topics which will allow students to push into alpine climbing terrain.

Topics can include:

-mul­ti-pitch alpine rock climbing techniques inlcuding, belay tech­niques, rap­pelling, and rope management

-Rock, snow and ice anchor selec­tion, anchor con­struc­tion, equal­iza­tion, and use of inter­me­di­ate pro­tec­tion for lead climbing

-Mod­er­ate and steep snow and ice climb­ing, cram­pon usage tech­niques, and prop­er appli­ca­tion of com­bined skills in a vari­ety of terrain

-Ice axe posi­tion­ing, self arrest, and bal­ance positioning

-Glaciol­o­gy and crevasse pat­tern prediction

-Roped glac­i­er trav­el, rope team man­age­ment, route find­ing, and crevasse navigation

-Crevasse self-res­cue tech­niques (prus­sik­ing) and team crevasse res­cue techniques

-Haz­ard assess­ment includ­ing: dis­cus­sion of objec­tive vs. sub­jec­tive haz­ards, assess­ment of avalanche dan­ger, crevasse fall, rock and ice fall dangers

-Dis­cus­sions will include prop­er cloth­ing and climb­ing gear for sur­vival in the high moun­tains, moun­tain weath­er, alpine ecol­o­gy, effi­cient, com­pe­tent and self-depen­dent climb­ing tech­niques, and Leave No Trace ethics

This course takes place in the North Cascades on Peaks such as Mt. Shuksan, Eldorado Peak, Forbidden Peak, and others throughout the Cascades.

Pre Couse Trip Call:

When the roster is full- the team will meet with their guide via Google Meet to discuss gear selection for the course, meet our new teammates, and discuss the seminar, answering any questions the group has.

Evening Before:

Meet at a local park close to the North Cascades, in Sedro-Woolley, to do a gear prep overview and packing techniques, then go to a local eatery for a pre-trip team dinner. This gives students time to grab any last-minute course items.

Day One:

The team meets at the established trailhead, makes any small adjustments to the kit, and then takes a stroll to our alpine destination’s base camp.

An integral part of mountaineering and expeditionary climbing is being able to set up a protected and secure camp in an extreme environment. As a group, we’ll practice these skills. Guides discuss the importance of personal maintenance, hygiene, sleeping in cold environments, and Leave No Trace principles, as well as address any student concerns.

Finally, instructions on proper hydration, including efficient snow-melting protocols, nutrition, and backcountry cooking techniques will be addressed.

We will also start the technical learnings at camp by refreshing and developing rope work skills: coiling, storing, and changing the length of the climbing rope for glacier travel.

Day two:

After breakfast we head out for a short glacier tour, winding our way through seemingly bottomless crevasses in both classical and echelon formations. Here, the emphasis is on proper rope interval, shortening and lengthening the rope, communication, route finding, and hazard assessment.

On the glacier, we will find a secure spot to introduce and review snow anchors and then test those anchors till failure. All student anchors will be weighted, so we make sure they’re good! With plenty of anchors to pick from we start building the foundations of snow belays and rappelling, with lots of practice!

Finally, the team will either move positions to a new area or stay in the same location and go over crevasse rescue, focusing on independent team rescue and aiding and assisting techniques of an outside party.

Day Three:

Now we switch over to the rock and start to develop our alpine rock climbing skills which includes practicals and demonstrations on:

-Use of placing active and passive

-Alpine anchor building using natural features and artificial protection.

-Terrain management including short-pitching and belays while also introducing “hornology”.

*Potential mini summit possible

Day Four:

At this point, students should have made the transition to becoming valuable members of a rope team and the group is now ready to push higher into the mountains. Depending on conditions and weather, we’ll either use this day to go for a summit objective in the zone, which we discuss the evening prior OR focus on bringing all the skills together in an alpine objective without a summit, depending on needs.

The most important skills we’ll learn are how to prepare, plan, and execute the summit climb of a classic alpine route. By developing a route plan, assessing the hazards, preparing one’s summit pack, and climbing and descending competently through glaciers and seracs to a rocky Cascadian summit, we understand where our capabilities are and what still needs work.

This is a demanding day, both physically and mentally, which provides great training for more advanced objectives students may encounter later in their climbing careers.

Day Five:

Review of skills that need more attention in the morning then finally, we break down camp following our Leave No Trace principles and hike back down to the trailhead.

It is often customary to have a group meal back in the first town we come to and celebrate five great days spent in the mountains!

NORTH CASCADES: GETTING THERE

North Cascades National Park, Washington State is located 2 hours Northeast of Seattle. The Pacific Northwest is beautiful and thriving both in its cities and its parks. Make sure you plan to spend some time in town before and after your SMG trip. Bellingham and even closer Sedro-Woolley serve as the launching points for all of our climbs in North Cascades National Park.

The best option for flying to the area is through Seattle, WA. Many airline options exist, and because Sea-Tac is a major airport and Seattle a major travel destination there are typically many flights to choose from.

You will need to organize a rental car to drive to Bellingham or Sedro from Seattle. Typically in the summer months, you can choose any type of vehicle.

There are many great hotels, suites, and vacation rentals for you to stay in while you’re in the area. Give our office a call at 410-982-8282 if you have any questions about what would suit you best for this trip! Below are just a few options catering to different lodging styles and preferences in Bellingham:

VRBO

Sedro Woolley also has a number of great hotels, suites, and vacation rentals for you to stay in while you’re in the area. Give our office a call at 410-982-8282 if you have any questions about what would suit you best for this trip!

Three Rivers Inn Hotel