Duration
- 4 days
- 3 nights
Season
- Summer
Client:Guide Ratio
2:1
Minimum Participants
2
Day 1 - Arrive at your designated meeting location by 8am to go over equipment, distribute group gear, and finish loading your packs before driving to the trailhead. The approach to basecamp is 3-5 miles and up to 4,000 feet of elevation gain. After setting up camp, you'll spend the afternoon working on anchoring and rope skills and getting a chance to rest up for what's to come with a hot meal and a good night's sleep.
Day 2 - Today is a full day of skills practice. We'll focus on ways to move efficiently in 3rd, 4th, and low 5th class alpine terrain using quick belays and more advanced anchor building and rope management techniques. Learn how to solve some of the moat problems you may encounter in the field and get valuable feedback from your instructor. After a long day of new information, you will be happy to go to bed early to get some rest for the following day's climb!
Day 3 - This will be another full day of alpine climbing, but this time you'll be taking the lead on a summit climb! From route planning to building anchors and managing the descent, you will get the chance to practice your skills and decision making with your guide there to support and encourage you every step of the way. Make sure to have a moment of taking it all in at the summit - you earned it! Later, we will debrief the climb over a hot meal and you can crawl into your sleeping bag to reflect on this amazing day before drifting off to sleep.
Day 4 - On the last day you may be ready to pack up and get home early. You may also want a little more skills practice under the guidance of our instructors. We can do either! The plan for this day is flexible based on the needs of the group. It may also act as a back-up summit day in case of poor conditions earlier on. At the latest you can expect to be back to the trailhead around 6pm.
- Glacier Mountaineering Leadership Course or equivalent experience.
- Proficiency in all basic mountaineering skills and experience leading a rope team on at least 3 glaciated climbs.
- Traditional Lead Climbing or equivalent experience.
- Ability to move over technical terrain for up to 12 hours, ascending up to 4,000 ft with a 30 lb pack, several days in a row.
- Upon registration, you will receive a confirmation email full of important information - make sure to read it thoroughly!
- 7-10 days before your trip you will receive an email from your guide containing even more details, including the exact meetup location and time.
- Plan to attend a virtual pre-trip meeting in the evening a few days before your course begins. This is required and a great opportunity to meet your guide, review gear, discuss your trip plan, and ask any last minute questions. The exact time of your meeting will be set by your instructor and noted in their welcome email.
- Leading up to your course, make sure to eat healthy, drink extra water, and get plenty of sleep.
- Please arrive on time and ready to go at your pre-arranged meeting location. Upon arrival, we'll distribute any group gear and finish loading our packs. From there we will caravan to the trailhead.
- All along the way, our office team is available via email or phone to answer any questions you may have.
This trip will leave you with knowledge and practical application of:
- Pre-trip planning.
- Mountain weather.
- Off-trail navigation and movement.
- Glacier rigging, rope team travel and management.
- Route finding and navigation in glaciated terrain.
- Running belays and snow anchor construction.
- Two and three-person crevasse rescue.
- Traditional gear placements, route finding, and anchor building in an alpine environment.
- Multi-pitch techniques and rope management.
- Moat solutions and quick belays.
- Rappelling.
- Route planning and summit planning.
- Leadership, communication, and decision-making in glaciated and alpine rock terrain.
- Basic emergency response.
PLUS:
- A fun experience you’ll remember forever!
- A sense of accomplishment in achieving your goals for the trip.
- Confidence in your newfound skills and where to take them next.
- Tips and tricks to add to your toolbox from our professional and knowledgeable guides.