MT. BAKER, NORTH CASCADES

mountaineering foundations 1 SEMINAR

July/August

5- Days

Intro

$1699

Upcoming TripS

July 5- 9, 2027

EXPLORE OUR ALPINE CLIMBING SCHOOLS

DISCOVER

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Black and white diagram showing a chain of people connecting at the arms, with the middle section labeled 'How the internet works', and a blue arrow pointing downward.

ITINERARY AND PREP

OVERVIEW

WHATS INCLUDED

GALLERY

PRICING DETAILS

FAQ’s

| OVERVIEW |

Five days is the perfect amount of time to refine and apply complex alpine skills in real terrain, on famous peaks in the North Cascades. Since your cohort of students and you have graduated from our Mountaineering Foundations Seminar and are generally climbing independently in glaciated terrain, we’ve designed this program to help push your technical mountain skills in rock and steeper two-tool snow climbing. We push your education forward by exploring routes such as the Fisher Chimneys on Mt. Shuksan which require precise navigation skills, an ability to move protected as a team in rock terrain, and considerations for leading and descending steep snow climbing.

taught in the rugged glaciat­ed envi­ron­ments of the North Cas­cades, THIS SEMINAR is designed for mountaineers who are inter­est­ed in devel­op­ing more advanced abil­i­ty in ALPINE ROCK AND mixed ter­rain ON longer AND MORE COMPLEX, alpine routes.

| GALLERY |

| ITINERARY AND PREP |

Pre-Trip call

Guides and guests will connect with a video call to discuss gear selection for the seminar, meet each other, talk objectives for the trip, and answer any lingering questions as we prepare to meet in the field.

EVENING PREP SESSION

Meet at a local park close to the North Cascades, in Bellingham, where we will share a final gear prep overview and share carpooling logistics for the next day. Then we go to a local eatery for a pre-trip team dinner. This gives students time to grab any last-minute course items.

DAY 1

Our team will meet at the Lake Ann Trailhead, make any small adjustments to the kit, and then take a stroll our Mt. Shuksan base camp.

After establishing camp and reminding everyone of the importance of personal maintenance, hygiene, sleeping in cold environments, and Leave No Trace principles, as well as addressing any student concerns, we will teach a skills seminar on protection in alpine terrain using the rope, reviewing anchor knowledge including piton placements, and refine our understanding of the chimney sections on Mt. Shuksan for day two.

DAY 2

Wake-up and breakfast! We pack up camp and team climb through the chimneys putting our rope skills to the test from yesterday! We establish our advanced basecamp mid-afternoon at one of the most scenic sites in the North Cascades.

At high camp, we will polish steep snow skills on Winnies slide, reviewing cramponing techniques, two-tool climbing, and snow anchors.

DAY 3

Snow school skills day! Today we continue on our Fisher Chimneys route, climbing from advanced basecamp through Winnies Slide and up towards Hell’s Highway. This section of the mountain has steep snow and crevassed terrain and makes for a great learning environment of how to move efficiently between glacier team travel rope techniques and pitched out snow climbing.

DAY 4

Summit day on Shuksan via the East Ridge. The team wakes up early, climbing through familiar terrain until we reach the base of Shuksan’s summit pyramid. We climb through technical rock to reach the summit and then descend back to our advanced basecamp.

DAY 5

Wake up, breakfast, pack up camp, and descend to the trailhead. Depending on time, we will have dinner as a team and debrief the seminar experience while also coloring in ways to continuing to refine your skills in the mountains.

| Download Our Trip Packet |

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Technical Experience

Completion of Smile’s Mountaineering Foundations 1 Seminar or equivalent prerequisite training.

Black and white 3D pyramid sculpture with a reflective surface

Fitness

Excellent physical fitness is required. Climbers must be able to hike and climb for many hours while carrying a pack. Training for Advanced Alpine Climbing is a great fitness program to develop a strong alpine climbing base. 50% intensity is a good marker of alpine fitness for this weekend.

Altitude

No prior experience at altitude is required.

EAST RIDGE ROUTE

SUMMIT BLOCK, MT. SHUKSAN

| WHATS INCLUDED |

  • Group cooking equipment and storage, including water purification, and bear bags
  • Bivy bags for sleeping and group tents
  • Technical climbing gear including ice axe, crampons, snow pickets
  • Climbing helmet and or harness
  • Certified guides
  • Pitons and bailing cord/gear for anchor improvements on route
  • Personal climbing kit including lockers, slings, cams, wedges, belay devices, etc
  • Sleeping bag or pad
  • Personal hiking gear such as backpacks and poles
  • Food for camp and on route
  • Transportation to the venue
  • Tips for guides

ALPINE ROPE WORK

SULPHIDE GLACIER DESCENT TO HIGH-CAMP

| PRICING DETAILS |

MT. BAKER, NORTH CASCADES

mountaineering foundations 1 seminar

July/August

5- Days

Intro

$1699 Per Guest

Upcoming TripS

July 5- 9, 2027

| QUESTIONS |

mountaineering foundations 1 SEMINAR.

  • Smile focuses on small groups and ratios that meet/exceed the professional standards of mountain guiding. This seminar has a 3:1 ratio, with up to six guests and two guides.

  • If you have completed our Mountaineering Foundations 1 Seminar or similar prerequisites and are ready to take the next step in your alpine climbing development, YES!

  • Yes, we provide the following gear at no charge for this seminar. Helmet, harness, tent, group cooking and food storage, ice axe, and crampons. Please note- we may be able to supplement other gear needs so please make your reservations early and email climb@smilemountainguides.com with personal gear requests.

  • Please click here to review our domestic cancellation policy.

  • We will sleep two people per 3p tent at Big Sandy basecamp on the Easton Glacier of Mt. Baker.


  • Aside from the technical gear that we are often able to provide we strongly recommend bringing everything on the Equipment List. These kits have been dialed and tested by our guides for over 20 years; while you may not end up using everything you bring, weather variability in the mountains demands that we’re ready to dress for any and all conditions!

  • Please email:

    climb@smilemountainguides.com for more information about this program or any other climbing school program inquiry.