Alpine Scrambling Course

*AS A RESULT OF THE SUSPENSION OF ALL COURSES/ACTIVITIES/EVENTS UNTIL 4/24/20, WE WILL BE CANCELING THIS COURSE. CURRENT PARTICIPANTS MAY RECEIVE A FULL REFUND OR TAKE THE COURSE NEXT YEAR AT NO EXTRA COST. PLEASE SEE THE COVID-19 RESPONSE PAGE FOR MORE INFORMATION*

Please see e-mail shared with all participants and instructors.

Next update will be shared by (or before) March 31, 2020.

Registration Timeframe

See registration dates listed below; see full registration schedule here (and under Course Materials).  Registration Details and Course Logistics will be discussed during the Gear Workshop.

WILDERNESS NAVIGATION & WILDERNESS FIRST AID ARE SEPARATE COURSES AND CHARGE SEPARATE FEES

• Find Wilderness Navigation Courses, listed here, or register for Seattle here. Badge required before June 1, 2020.
• Find Wilderness First Aid Courses, listed here, or register for Seattle here. Badge required before November 1, 2020.

Note: additional coursework can be taken through any branch.

What is Scrambling? 

Alpine Scrambling is a thrilling Mountaineer's experience serving as a stepping stone between strenuous hiking and technical mountain climbing.  In a single day-trip (otherwise known as ‘scramble’) one might take advantage of a conventional trail before traversing an off-trail section of: dense forest, an open meadow of flowers, a steep snow slope, a sheer rocky ridgeline, and finally a serene summit with views extending across the Cascades.

Alpine Scrambling is an introduction to Mountaineering and fills the gap between on-trail hiking and roped climbing. In the Alpine Scrambling course you will learn essential techniques of off-trail wilderness travel needed for reaching snow and rock summits. Alpine scrambling may at times involve unroped movement on and across low or moderately-exposed snow and rock terrain, but does not include roped climbing.

Not sure if Scrambling is for you? Here are some pictures showing the types of places we go: https://photos.app.goo.gl/slX2LfBEHqB0T7FO2

• Course Content

  • Mountaineering Gear and Trip Planning
  • Snow Travel: Snow travel safety (avalanche), moving through snow, ice axe  use, self-arrest skills and winter navigation
  • Rock Travel: Movement on a variety of rock surfaces, unroped climbing techniques, protected downclimb (emergency descent  method).

Course requirements

• Participate in one  weeknight Gear Workshop
• Participant in one Conditioner (offered weekdays, weeknights and weekends)
• Participate in both  weeknight Snow and Rock Workshops (or one  weekend-day combination Snow & Rock Workshop)
• Participate in one weekend Rock and Snow Field Trip (both Saturday and Sunday)
• Participate in one weekend-day (Saturday or Sunday) Experience Field Trip
• Participate in  three Mountaineers Club Scrambles (one must be Snow and one must be Rock, the third can be whichever you prefer)

please note: we've done our best to offer a variety of options for varying schedules. in the event you have extenuating circumstances preventing you from the exact options below - please email us directly to help find the best solution.

• ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

  In addition to the required course activities (workshops and field trips) the following badges are  REQUIRED to graduate from the Scramble Course. Please note: these are separate Mountaineers activities & courses that you will also need to register for.
  
  • Complete Low Impact Recreation Quiz (before November 1, 2020)
  • Participate in a  Stewardship Activity (before November 1, 2020)
  • Complete Wilderness Navigation Course* (before June 1, 2020)
  • Complete Wilderness First Aid Course* (before (November 1, 2020)

*wilderness navigation & wilderness first aid are separate courses and charge separate fees

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

The Mountaineers strives to serve everyone, regardless of ability to pay. We are committed to providing access to outdoor recreation and education opportunities for all members and youth in the communities we serve. Our courses are priced to cover our costs but we realize the cost incurred through gear and additional course requirements can add up quickly.   We encourage you to explore the scholarship program made available by generous donors within our community. More information on financial assistance is available here: https://www.mountaineers.org/membership/scholarship-financial-assistance

REQUIRED EQUIPMENT

In addition to the course fees, scrambling requires a substantial amount of gear. In addition to general outdoor gear (outdoor clothing, rain gear, backpack, 10 essentials, etc) there are a few technical pieces of gear required. The majority of the first workshop is dedicated to gear, we encourage you to wait until after the gear workshop to make purchases.  These are:

• Mountaineering boots (different from hiking boots, $300-$500),
• Ice axe ($70-$100), and
• Climbing helmet ($60-$100). 

EQUIVALENCY

If you already have the skills covered in this course and want to get involved, check out Scrambling Equivalency.