The Mountaineers
Fall is here, and with fall comes registration for new courses, including our popular Basic Alpine Climbing course. With the widespread effects of the pandemic, our capacity and format will be different for the 2021 courses, and we’ve tried our best to outline those changes below. We hope that you’ll still be able to find a course that piques your interest for the coming year!
Our Basic Alpine Climbing Course is our most popular course, and is often the gateway for further technical training on rock and ice. This year, we’re happy to announce that the Foothills branch will be hosting their first iteration of Basic, and now all seven of our branches will offer this course and help more people discover the joys of climbing in the alpine.
In 2020, all of our Basic Alpine Climbing courses were halted mid-track due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, most 2020 students had incomplete coursework and were offered a spot on the 2021 roster to complete the course and graduate. This means our Seattle and Bellingham will likely not have any further capacity for the 2021 course. The Olympia Basic Alpine Climbing course is currently full, but a few more spots may become available if instructor capacity allows. Please join the Olympia Basic wait list if you’re interested. Some of the courses offered will have remaining spots, but not all branches will have as much availability as they usually do. The Tacoma, Kitsap, Everett, and Foothills branches will most likely have spots available.
Sign up for Basic
Our Tacoma and Foothills Basic courses have both been posted. Please note that Tacoma will allow general registrations after all the 2020 students who requested credit have been registered. Kitsap and Everett Basic courses should be posted soon.
To receive a notification when these courses are posted, go to ‘Edit Profile’ and adjust your alerts and notifications to receive an email when climbing courses with these branches are posted.
What to Expect
All courses will have changes to their normal format. Many course lectures will be presented online using Zoom. Field trips may be conducted in a ‘pod’ style where participants remain in the same group throughout the course. And of course, face masks and social distancing will be required. Whatever way our course leaders decide to format their COVID-safe courses, we can be sure they’ll do it in a way that is effective and fun!
More Options
In addition to the Basic Alpine Climbing course, we plan to host many of our regular spring and summer courses such as AIARE 1, alpine scrambling, glacier travel, sport climbing, kayaking, sailing, and more.
Questions?
If you have any questions about the courses, would like assistance getting registered, or would like help setting up your notification preferences, please don’t hesitate to call Member Services at 206-521-6001 or email us at info@mountaineers.org.
