This course is designed for indi­vid­u­als aspir­ing to learn the fun­da­men­tal skills of snow, ice, and glac­i­er climb­ing tech­niques, and the appli­ca­tion of these skills toward the ascent and descent of major glaciat­ed moun­tains. Our goal is to devel­op com­pe­tent, self-reliant ski moun­taineers ready to climb and ski local­ly or in the great ranges of the world. This course is tru­ly an excel­lent foun­da­tion for any ski­er seek­ing inde­pen­dence in the alpine arena.
 
Set in a spec­tac­u­lar envi­ron­ment that pro­vides abun­dant learn­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties, this com­pre­hen­sive course is tru­ly reward­ing. The three days take place in the North Cas­cades where active glac­i­ers, vol­canic peaks, and breath­tak­ing views cre­ate the ide­al learn­ing envi­ron­ment. A sum­mit attempt on the last day of the course gives you the chance to put your new­ly devel­oped skills to the test.
 
This is an inter­me­di­ate lev­el instruc­tion­al course. Lev­el 1 avalanche train­ing, inter­me­di­ate ski skills and pre­vi­ous ski tour­ing expe­ri­ence are rec­om­mend­ed. It is open for tele­mark and alpine tour­ing skiers, as well as snowboarders.

This course involves the following:

• Ski­ing with both a day pack and overnight pack to 45 lbs
• Inter­me­di­ate-advanced lev­el ter­rain with some slopes to the black dia­mond level
• Glac­i­er trav­el and steep snow climbing
• Long days in poten­tial­ly adverse weather
• Skiers should be in excel­lent phys­i­cal con­di­tion and com­pe­tent on var­ied terrain

Course cur­ricu­lum includes:

• Ter­rain man­age­ment (haz­ard assess­ment, effi­cien­cy, speed)
• Ter­rain man­age­ment with hill track
• Ter­rain man­age­ment downhill
• Snow climb­ing, ice axe posi­tion­ing, and mov­ing in balance
• Self arrest techniques
• Snow and ice anchor selec­tion, con­struc­tion, and equalization
• Snow climb­ing and cram­pon techniques
• Prus­sik­ing and team crevasse res­cue practice
• Rap­pelling and rope management
• Glaciol­o­gy and crevasse pat­tern prediction
• Nav­i­ga­tion using maps, altime­ters, and compasses
• Roped glac­i­er trav­el and route find­ing through crevassed areas
• Moun­tain weath­er, alpine ecol­o­gy, haz­ard assess­ment, and Leave No Trace Ethics

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