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

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.
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 |

Through five days on Mt. Baker, your student cohort will develop the mountain sense and skills needed to climb more independently in glaciated, mountainous, terrain. This program is designed to help push those technical mountain skills via a progression of daily seminars and live opportunities to employ decision making needed to successfully summit bigger mountains.

taught in the beautiful glaciat­ed envi­ron­ment of Mt. Baker, THIS SEMINAR is designed for mountaineers who are inter­est­ed in devel­op­ing self sufficiency in the mountains through THOUGHTFUL lessons and real-time experiences.

| 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 Sedro-Woolley, 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

Arrive in Sedro-Woolley in the morning. Guests and guides start with a morning introduction and seminar outline. 

We quickly move to learning how to set-up basecamp (while in town ) and pack for our hike to basecamp on the Easton Glacier.

Once basecamp is established, the team spends the reminder of the day learning about living skills on the glacier.

DAY 2

Wake up at Big Sandy Camp and breakfast. Today’s focus is on glacier skills, including crampon and ice axe techniques and self arresting a fall. These skills lead way to rope usage on a glacier including rope teams and crevasse rescue. We practice team-to-team rescues and solo team rescues

DAY 3

Today we will run some quick navigation skills with a half ascent on Mt. Baker with guests sharing leads and receiving real time feedback from your guide team. The second half of our day is for rest, or if conditions allow, some ice climbing in crevasses!

DAY 4

Summit day! Teams will wake-up early and attempt an ascent of Mt. Baker with guests alternating leads throughout the ascent and descent. Guides will provide feedback at critical points of the day and a AAR debrief back in camp

DAY 5

Wake up with a slow morning breakfast and an appreciation for five days on Mt.Baker! Our teams will pack up camp and hike back down to the trailhead. Most teams arrive back to town in the late afternoon. Plan flights for late in the evening.

| Download Our Trip Packet |

Black and white illustration of a traditional steam locomotive train viewed from the front, with a large circular headlamp in the center and smoke billowing from the smokestack.

Technical Experience

No technical prerequisites are required to join the Mountaineering Foundations Seminar. Familiarizing yourself with climbing gear, such as crampons, harnesses, carabiners, etc is recommended.

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.

CRAVASSE RESCUE DAY

EARLY MORNINGS, MT. BAKER

| 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

GLACIER ROPE TEAM

GLACIER ROPE WORK SEMINAR

| 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 4:1 ratio, with up to eight guests. Generally, we provide three guides with at full course of eight guests.

  • Yes! If you are interested in mountaineering and glacier travel, this seminar is for you!

  • 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.