Basic Alpine Climbing Course

2015 Climbers Reunion
Friday, October 23, 5:30-9PM
Potluck - bring an Entre/salad/Desert to share
Beverages provided by Climbing Committee

 Optional sign up can be done using the MANAGE REGISTRATION button (right margin).  Sign up helps with Planning. 

The Basic Alpine Climbing Course is a year-long program preparing students to be solid and competent climbers reaching rock and glacier summits of the Pacific Northwest. The course format is a combination of class lectures, in-town field trips, small group instruction at local crags and alpine climbs in the mountains during the summer.

Sign up begins October 1st and runs through the end of the month. 

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The course includes five lectures and seven field trips plus readings.  Participation in all lectures and successful completion of all field trips is required to continue in the course.  Note that many field trips are offered on four dates; in such cases each student must complete one of the four sessions.  See the schedule in Course Requirements section  (below).

Students are assigned to Small Instructional Groups (SIGs) before the first lecture. SIGs offer more personalize instruction, extra practice sessions, and often climbs just for the group.   SIGs typically are led by 1 or 2 Climb Leaders, with 8 -10 students.  SIG assignments are arranged by home address zip codes. You can request to be paired with another student or switched to a more conveniently located SIG, if there is room.  Two of the required field trips (#4 SIG Rock Outing and #6 SIG Snow Camping) are done just with your SIG, and your SIG will schedule these trips separately.  These two are not listed among the five all-course field trips below.

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After the "in town" training, students start going on climbs, always with carefully selected, experienced leaders. A high level of physical fitness is required.

Skills taught include belaying, rappelling, rope handling, 5th class rock climbing, snow climbing, glacier travel, back-country camping including on snow, guidance on gear purchases and conditioning, and more - lots more.

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Navigation, First Aid, and Stewardship activities are also necessary for graduation.  Earning the appropriate badges through the Mountaineers is one way to meet these requirements. Those with comparable (or better) credentials can have the Navigation and/or First Aid requirement waived. A Stewardship activity with other organizations is acceptable in lieu of the Stewardship badge.

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The course is a significant time commitment and also requires the purchase of several hundred dollars of clothing and equipment, especially for those who do not already have hiking or backpacking gear. Even those who have some equipment already can expect to spend at least $500 on gear, and the course fee is $550.

Not all things need to be purchased right away, however, and some things can be rented from local mountain shops or borrowed from friends. But be aware our course requires an investment of both time and money. Some things to keep in mind: This is not rock climbing at the crags, it's summit-oriented alpine climbing in the mountains on rock, snow and glaciers.

There are no refunds beyond the first class meeting in January. 

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"Frequently Asked Questions - Your survival guide to Basic Alpine Climbing" and additional information can be found in the Course Materials section (below).  

Contact basic.climbing@gmail.com if you have specific questions that are not covered in the course material.

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Alpine climbing with The Mountaineers is an awesome opportunity to confidently and competently visit places where few can go; to experience levels of instant trust, bonding, and community not commonly experienced in everyday life, all while pushing your physical limits and achieving personal goals. Welcome to your new adventures. We look forward to sharing them with you.