Alpine Skills

• Description

  The Alpine Skills course is the ideal course for anyone who is comfortable with the rope skills required for rock climbing. The emphasis of this program is to teach mountaineering skills and techniques to climbers who already have a rock climbing background. This course is very similar to Complete Mountaineering, though there will be more time spent learning and practicing Alpine-specific skills on this course as participants will already have the basic rope management skills such as knot-tying, belaying and rappelling
  
  At the conclusion of this course, students will have been taught:
  

  • methods for planning and preparing for a multi-day mountaineering objective
  • how to recognize mountain hazards, and methods of avoiding or minimizing those hazards
  • navigation techniques using a map, compass and altimeter
  • rope management skills related to rock, snow and ice climbing
  • glacier travel techniques
  • climbing and movement skills for rock, snow and ice
  • alpine travel skills for moderately technical terrain and glaciers
  • crevasse rescue fundamentals with a three person rope-team
  • Minimum Environmental Impact camping and travel practices
  • methods to practice and refine each set of skills taught on the course, on their own time

• Location

  The first day of this course is typically spent in Squamish, BC to review rock skills, rope techniques and introduce rescue basics.

  The specific location of the Alpine portion of this course will be decided one week prior to the course start date, as there are many variables that need to be considered, including weather, snow conditions, previous experience of the group, and access conditions.

  For the 2023 season most Alpine Skills Courses will be conducted in the Spearhead Range behind Blackcomb Mountain out of Whistler, BC. This is an excellent venue for this level of training, providing quick access to alpine objectives and large glaciers. The access is via the Gondola on Blackcomb Mountain and is not included in the course fee. Current 2023 Whistler/Blackcomb gondola price is $90/person.

• Guides/Instructors

  Each of our Alpine and Mountaineering programs are taught by some of the best climbers and Guides in Canada. All are certified by the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG) and each one has a passion for teaching that will inspire you in your climbing pursuits.

  Visit Guides and Instructors Page for complete details and background on each of our Guide Team.

• Itinerary

  The following is a brief possible schedule for the Canada West Mountain School 6-day Alpine Skills course. Many different variables (such as weather, snow conditions, group experience levels, etc) influence the actual day-to-day schedule and the order in which topics are presented, so the following should be considered a general outline only.

  Pre-course planning
  All of the course planning will take place by phone, email and/or in person at our office in the weeks and days leading up to the course. You will receive a comprehensive package after you have registered, detailing all of the critical areas to plan and prepare for. Areas covered are equipment, pre-course training, menu planning, logistics and weather.
  
  Day 1
  Meet in Squamish - Preparation and tone setting (2 hours)
  Skills covered: introductions, course objectives, gear review, communication, safety awareness, logistics planning.
  Rock climbing and rope skills review (4 hours)
  Skills covered: rope management review, rope rescue, anchor building
  Menu planning and final packing (2 hours)

  Day 2
  Approach to Alpine region base camp (approx. 2-3 hours )
  Skills covered: Navigation, map reading, pacing, group management, route finding, hazard awareness
  Camp set up (2 hours)
  Skills covered: Camp selection, hazard awareness, sanitation, environmental awareness, food storage, water, campcraft tips
  Introductory snow travel session (3-4 hours)
  Skills covered: Hazard awareness, navigation, off-trail travel, basic ice ax use, walking on snow, self-arrests
  Evening debrief (1 hour)
  Skills covered: overview of day, tomorrow's objectives, pre-planning, sort and pack gear for next morning, weather
  Day 3
  Steep snow and alpine travel skills (8-10 hours)
  Skills covered: Steep snow climbing, navigation and route finding, possible summit climb
  Day 4
  Approach to site for glacier travel instruction (2 hours)
  Skills covered: Navigation, pacing, group management, route finding, hazard awareness, glacier study
  Introduction to travel on ice (1 - 2 hours):
  Skills covered: Crampon technique, ice screw placement, walking on ice, hazard assessment, anchor building, step cutting
  Glacier travel and rescue skills (4 - 6 hours):
  Skills covered: Rope skills for glacier travel, route finding on glaciers, travel techniques for "dry" glacier and for snow covered glacier, crevasse rescues, general glacier travel
  Possible extra skills: Summit climb, serac or ice climbing if conditions allow
  Day 5
  Peak objective/travel day (10 - 12 hours)
  Skills covered: Application of all of above plus what ever comes up. Focus on hazard assessment and use of skills/tools to achieve objectives. This is the "put it all together" day
  Day 6
  Morning wrap up of final course objectives (4 - 6 hours)
  Skills covered: Finishing off main objectives, ascending ropes, rappelling, more rescue, serac climbing, orienteering, whatever the instructors and/or students feel they need
  Break camp/hike out (3 hours)
  Skills covered: Navigation, map reading, pacing, group management, route finding, hazard awareness.
  Wrap up and student assessments (1 - 2 hours)

• Equipment

  Please prepare your gear with the goal of reducing the weight of your pack as much as possible.

  Here is a link to our Mountaineering Gear list - Mountaineering Course Gear List

  Plan on using the same personal clothing and camping equipment that you would take on an overnight backpacking trip. Your Base Camp on the Mountaineering courses will often be in an alpine or sub-alpine location and exposed to the weather.

  Footwear:
  You will be working each day in and on snow, so it is important to have proper boots suitable for snow travel. Boots also must be appropriate for use with general mountaineering-style crampons (See the FAQ section for details on Boots)

  As for weather, you should always plan for the worst which includes temperatures of close to freezing or below at night, and precipitation of rain and/or wet snow each day. Please ensure your clothing and gear is suitable for these conditions.

  Technical gear is listed on the Gear list. Students are asked to supply their own basic slings and cords, as these items may experience wear on each course. These items are available at outdoor stores such as MEC, Climb On, Valhalla Pure, etc. All other technical gear is supplied, with the exception of Crampons, which are required. There are many styles of attachment systems yet any general mountaineering crampon will work, as long as they are compatible with your boots and have front-points for climbing steep snow and ice ("Micro-spikes" or "Instep" hiking style crampons are not suitable).

  In regards to communal gear such as tents, stoves and cookware, we encourage people to share tents and cooking gear/stoves. If you already have a team or partner planned, this is great. If you wish, we can help coordinate this for you and put you in contact with other students - just let us know when you book your course.

• FAQ's

  Questions about Alpine Skills course

  What are the best boots for my Mountaineering Course?

  This is one of the most common questions we get, here are some suggestions to help you:

  Your first goal is to determine what you will be using your boots for after the course, where you will get the most use of them. If you will use them for a lot of backpacking trips, a boot with a more flexible sole is ideal. Be aware that this is a trade-off for better security while kicking steps and travelling on steeper snow, where a rigid boot performs better.

  You will next want to consider the type of "welt" (the lip on the toe and heel of the boot). This will determine the style of crampon used for that boot. For general snow use, a “strap on” style of crampon is fine and can go onto any boot, regardless of welt. Another very popular crampon system is a “Hybrid strap-on”, that uses a step-in style for the heel and a strap-on style for the toe. This Hybrid style only requires a heel welt, and is one of the most popular systems for general mountaineering and on our Mountaineering courses. If you are looking at more technical mountaineering and ice climbing, a boot with a heel and toe welt is a good idea as it will allow a technical “step-in” style of crampon attachment, much simpler and more secure for technical climbing (though these boots are often more rigid and less comfortable for extended walking).

  After you determine the general style of boot, you will need to try a lot of different boots on, and go with the one that has the best fit. A boot that fits well is more important than almost any other factor, as long as it is a decently built boot suitable for the activity. Avoid sales and cheaper boots unless they fit great!

  For Canada West Mountaineering courses, any boot that accepts crampons and is designed for mountaineering or light mountaineering will be fine. Even many sturdier backpacking boots are fine as long as they are reasonably stiff and can accept a crampon.

  Lastly, please make sure that you spend enough time in the boots to break them in before your course or trip!

  Do I need to bring special gear?

  Canada West Mountain School will supply all specialised technical climbing safety equipment (with the exception of Crampons). If you do have any gear, though, please bring it so you can practice with your own equipment.

  You will need to supply your own personal clothing, boots, crampons and overnight camping gear (see our Mountaineering Course Gear List).

  What happens if the weather is not good?

  Weather conditions in the mountains are constantly changing and are one of the many facets of Alpine climbing that mountaineers need to contend with. All the skills on our mountaineering courses can be taught in virtually any conditions, without compromising the safety or integrity of the course.

  The best way to ensure that weather does not take away from your course is to be well prepared with good quality gear.

  Where is the Alpine Skills course conducted?

  Our Mountaineering and Alpine-based courses are conducted at a variety of Alpine locations in the Coast Mountains of BC. Specific locations are chosen close to the course date, based on current conditions and weather forecasts. Typical areas include the Joffre Range near the Duffey Lake road; Spearhead Range in Garibaldi Park behind Whistler; and, Brohm Ridge near Garibaldi Peak, above Squamish.

  How long are the days?

  A typical day on our Mountaineering courses begins with a departure from camp at 0800 and a return to camp around 5 pm. Of course, this will vary due to weather and daily objectives, but plan on 8 hours away from camp each day.

• Links, Documents and Paperwork

  Complete the required Waiver and Medical disclosure form in advance of the field session. Click on the link and navigate to your specific course and date:
  • Canada West Mountain School Waiver and Medical disclosure form

   

  Review the CWMS cancelation and transfer policy:
  • Canada West Mountain School Refund/transfer Policy

   

  Review the Alpine Skills mountaineering Pre-planning document:
  • Alpine Skills Pre-planning. Please note that some logistics and location details may vary between courses.