Skills Covered

There are many possible topics and we pride ourselves on having small enough group sizes to customize the instruction to meet the needs of all participants. The main goal of the course is to help participants become self-sufficient in a variety of mountaineering terrain. Some of the specific topics covered will include:

• Glacier travel
• Snow & ice climbing
• Anchor building & belaying on snow, ice, and rock
• Rapelling snow, ice and rock
• Alpine rock climbing
• Rock protection (trad)
• Route finding
• Ropework skills for mountaineering
• Weather & avalanche basics
• Conditions forecasting & assessment
• Map & navigation skills
• Light & fast techniques
• Gear selection
• Resources & ways to continue learning

Agenda

Weather, conditions and participants abilities may affect the order of activities and climbing objectives chosen.  In particular there are many other peaks we may attempt depending on conditions at the time.  However, here is a typical outline for the week:

Day 1 – Glacier travel circuit at the Columbia Icefields. Participants will have chances to lead the rope team and participate in decision making. Along the way we will practice ice climbing, navigation, anchor building and many other skills.

Day 2 – Mt. Athabasca attempt! Athabasca is one of the best climbing peaks in the Canadian Rockies and has been many climbers first big mountain. This will be a long day with a pre-dawn start. See our Mt. Athabasca page for pictures & information. The most likely routes we will climb are the North Glacier or AA Col. 

Day 3 – Rock climbing & alpine rock skills. The day will be spent at a rock climbing area where we will learn the basics of rock protection, anchor building, ropework in alpine terrain, and doing some rock climbing. We will also practice climbing rock terrain with boots & crampons, a common mountaineering scenario! The night will be spent camping near the Saskatchewan River Crossing (45 minutes from the Icefields), or you can choose to get a room at the Saskatchewan River Crossing resort, David Thompson Resort, or the motel or hostel in Nordegg if you prefer.

Day 4 – Progression of alpine rock climbing skills. We will continue improving the skills from the day before and while doing a bunch of climbing you will also learn rescue skills, rope ascending, multipitch descents, and other ropework techniques. In the afternoon we will prepare for our final mountain of the week!

Day 5 – Alpine ascent! There are a few different mountains we may attempt on the final day. The choice of peak will depend on conditions, everyone’s interests and the weather.  The most common one is another fun & challenging mountain at the Icefields known as “A2”. This peak is a bit smaller than Mt. Athabasca but is more challenging with a complex glacier, a rocky ridge, and two pitches of climbing snowy rock with our crampons and mountaineering axes. It’s a great way to put all the new skills into practice and leads us to a spectacular rocky summit with excellent views! The descent will involve some down climbing, possibly a rappel, and then reversing our tracks across the glacier.  Other likely peaks we would attempt if conditions aren’t safe for A2 could include Mt. Saint Nick, Mt. Gordon or Boundary Peak.  After a course debrief we will say our goodbye’s and head home for some well deserved rest!