Alpine Skills Week
Our unique Alpine Skills program delivers 6 intensive days of pure alpine skills for those that already have experience rock climbing outdoors. Your previous rock climbing background allows you to focus on developing skills and techniques for alpine objectives on snow, ice, or rock. Time is spent in the alpine learning and applying technical skills – snow and glacier travel, ice climbing, alpine rock, crevasse rescue, mountain navigation, route planning, weather evaluation, and hazard assessment.
Select Date to Register
Cost Details
- 6 days of Instruction by members of the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides
- All technical climbing and rescue equipment required
- Online Virtual training in advance of the practical field sessions
- All personal gear and clothing suitable for mountain and winter environments
- Transportation to/from the course areas (Squamish, Whistler and possibly other locations)
- The Field Session may be held on Whistler/Blackcomb or Sea to Sky Gondola regions; lift access is required and is not included in the course fee if these areas are used.
- All meals and food for the duration of the course
Pre Requisities
- Overnight backpacking experience with a multi-day pack
- Outdoor rock climbing and basic rope handling experience
- Participants must be in very good physical condition
- Must be comfortable hiking for 6-8 hours each day
- Must be comfortable travelling in off-trail conditions
Description
- 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
Itinerary
Equipment
Location
Waivers & Policies
- Canada West Mountain School Waiver and Medical disclosure form
- Canada West Mountain School Refund/transfer Policy
Cost: $1,375.00 Cost includes:
Participants on the Complete Mountaineering course are responsible for:
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:
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)
Here is a link to our Mountaineering Gear list – Mountaineering Course Gear List.
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), and review this article here – Boots for Mountaineering courses
Personal camping and clothing systems
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.
In order to best prepare for the weather, you should always plan for the worst which includes temperatures below freezing at night, and likely precipitation of rain and/or wet snow each day. Please ensure your clothing and gear is suitable for these conditions, even though it may be hot, dry, and sunny as well!
Technical gear
Technical gear is listed on the Mountaineering Course Gear List. All technical gear is supplied if needed (with the exception of crampons), provided participants request in advance what they will be needing. Crampons 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. Crampons are available to rent at many outdoor stores such as MEC.
In regards to communal gear such as tents, stoves, and cookware, participants may choose to share tents and cooking gear/stoves to save weight. This can be arranged during the first day of the course, prior to heading into the alpine. If you are attending the course on your own, you will need to plan on supplying your own tent and cooking supplies for the program.
If you require rental gear, please ensure that you arrange this with a rental agency well in advance of your course date!
Here are a few stores in the region that supply good service and quality outdoor equipment. If you need to purchase or rent equipment, please contact the store well in advance of the course to ensure that what you require is available!
Valhalla Pure Squamish (www.squamishgear.com)
Station Square, Squamish 604-892-9092 (rentals available)
Mountain Equipment Co-op (www.mec.ca)
111 East 2nd Ave, Vancouver 604-872-7858 (rentals available)
1341 Main St, N. Vancouver 604-990-4417 (rentals available)
Climb On Equipment (www.climbonequipment.com” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>)
38165 2nd Avenue Squamish, BC 604-892-2243 (rentals available)
Evo Backcountry – Whistler (www.evo.com – Whistler)
Suite 106-4154 Village Green, Whistler, 604-932-6409 (rentals available)
The first day of this course is typically spent in Squamish, BC, to review rock skills, rope rescue techniques and finalize the trip plans.
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 2025 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 2025 Whistler/Blackcomb gondola price is $90/person (as of October, 2024)
Waiver & Medical Disclosure
- Complete the required Waiver and Medical disclosure form in advance of your program. Click on the link and navigate to the specific program and date that you are registered for:
Cancellation & Transfer policy
- Review the CWMS cancellation and transfer policy:
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Contact
Main office 604.878.7007
Squamish 604.815.3451
Toll Free 1.888.892.2266
1290 3rd St
West Vancouver, BC
V7S 2Y2
Canada
