GALLERY
DETAILS
The Pacific Northwest has long been considered the premier destination for beginner-level glacier mountaineering. This five-day course gives students the knowledge and skills necessary to climb glaciated peaks of the Pacific Northwest without a guide, and provides an opportunity to summit a glaciated peak. Examples of peaks this course prepares students to climb include Mt. Adams, Baker, Shuksan, Glacier Peak, Mt. Olympus, and Mt. Rainier by the standard routes. Climbing these peaks requires a high level of physical fitness, experience in expedition planning, and skills in navigation, glacier travel, and crevasse rescue. We will cover all of this as part of the Mountaineering course. This course includes a summit of Mt.Baker.
Skills Covered during the Mountaineering course:
- Clothing and equipment selection
- Expedition planning and the permit process
- Leave-No-Trace
- Group travel techniques
- Mountain navigation
- Travel time estimates
- Campsite selection and set-up
- Camp cooking
- staying warm in an alpine environment
- High elevation concerns
- Rope management
- Glacier travel techniques
- Knots and hitches
- Walking on snow with and without crampons
- Self-arrest with and without an ice axe
- Self-arrest on a rope team
- Placing snow protection
- Shortening and lengthening the rope
- Hazard assessment
- Basic Crevasse Rescue: Self rescue
- Basic Crevasse Rescue: Partner rescue
We will have a logistics meeting and gear check at least three days before your trip is scheduled to depart.
Duration
5 Days 4 Nights CampingGear check
RequiredPassport
Not Required for AmericansMinimum Age
13 years oldActivity
Mountaineering and InstructionAccommodation
Tents PRICE BASIS
PRICE INCLUDES
- Stoves/Cook Kits
- Tents
- Group climbing equipment
- Guide Services
- Pre-trip Planning/Information session on packing and gear
- Backpacking, mountaineering, and general outdoor safety skills
PRICE DOES NOT INCLUDE
- Transportation (We will help arrange carpools)
- Parking or entry fees
- Meals/Snacks/Drinks
- Gratuities for Guides
ITINERARY
Day 1 on Mountaineering Course:
Meet at a convenient Park and Ride in the Seattle Area, at the trailhead, or at the Miyar Adventures store depending upon the needs of students. Drive 2.5 to 3 hrs. to the trailhead. Common locations for this course include Mt. Baker and Mt. Shuksan. Hike to camp and set-up camp. Skills instruction until dinner time. Discussion topic and bedtime.
Day 2 on Mountaineering Course:
Full day of skills instruction. Usually this day is used to teach walking techniques with and without crampons, self-arrest with and without an ice axe, stacking, flaking, and coiling a rope, knots and hitches, and setting-up a rope team.
Day 3 on Mountaineering Course:
Another full day of skills instruction. Rope team travel in glaciated terrain, self-arrest on a rope team, how and when to place running protection, how to pass running protection, how to shorten and lengthen the rope, how to place protection for rescue. Overview of crevasse rescue as a large rope team and as a small rope team when creating mechanical advantage with pulley systems may be necessary.
Day 4 on Mountaineering Course:
Today is a half-day of skills instruction near camp. We will review skills that are relevant for our climb tomorrow or practice self-rescue if students are all caught-up. We go to bed early to get some rest for an early wake-up to start our climb. The remainder of crevasse rescue will be taught the following day.
Day 5 on Mountaineering Course:
We wake around 1am to head to the summit. After a summit attempt students will return to camp to rest. After two-hours of rest students will resume practicing crevasse rescue in a crevasse near camp before heading back to the car. A celebratory meal en route back to Seattle rounds-out the Mountaineering Skills Course.
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