North Cascades Intro to Mountaineering

This program is designed for beginner or intermediate climbers who wish to develop strong fundamental skills in all aspects of snow and glacier climbing.

It serves as a prerequisite for many of Smile’s intermediate-level climbs and is a stepping stone to more technically difficult mountains, including Denali and high-altitude climbs in South America.

This course and curriculum have served as a springboard to many climbing careers and have developed a foundation of skills for many independent climbers.

This course takes place in the North Cascades on Peaks such as Mt. Shuksan, Eldorado Peak, Sahale Peak, and others throughout the Cascades

The focus of this program is to learn and increase technical knowledge/skills in all aspects of snow and alpine climbing including:

+Glacier travel

+Rope/belay techniques

+Crevasse rescue

+Route finding

+Self-arresting techniques

+Rappelling

+Cramponing

+Snow Anchors

Pre Couse Trip Call:

When the roster is full- the team will meet with their guide via a Google Meet call to discuss gear selection for the course, meet our new teammates, and discuss the seminar, answering any questions the group has.

Day One:

We will meet at a local park close to the North Cascades in Sedro-Woolley to gear prep, learn some packing techniques, and allow some time if people need to grab any last-minute items. This will also be a good time to pack group gear. We reconvene and carpool to the trailhead.

An integral part of mountaineering and expeditionary climbing is being able to set up a protected and secure camp in an extreme environment. As a group, we’ll practice these skills. Guides discuss the importance of personal maintenance, hygiene, sleeping in cold environments, and Leave No Trace principles, as well as address any student concerns. Finally, instruction on proper hydration, including efficient snow-melting protocols, nutrition, and backcountry cooking techniques will be addressed.

We will then spend the remaining day reviewing knots & hitches. Evening dinner and sleep.

Day two:

Glacier day! We will start the day with conversations surrounding how we travel on a glacier and the considerations for doing so.

Good footwork, balance, and rest techniques are invaluable skills that we use throughout the course. Guides then introduce the use of the ice axe and students conclude by practicing a variety of self-arrest positions.

After this, we develop rope work skills: coiling, storing, and changing the length of the climbing rope. If conditions and time permits, we go for a short glacier tour, winding our way through seemingly bottomless crevasses in both classical and echelon formations. Here, the emphasis is on proper rope interval, shortening and lengthening the rope, communication, route finding and hazard assessment.

Day Three:

We’ll demonstrate a variety of snow and ice anchors useful for belaying, running protection, and rescue scenarios. Once students are comfortable constructing a variety of different anchor types and styles, we put it all to the test.

We fully weight and test all of the student anchors to ensure they are constructed properly for our intended purpose.

Then we put the anchors to the test. Climbers belay and rappel off of the anchors they construct. We teach a variety of belaying and rappelling techniques that are useful in mountaineering and vertical climbing. We introduce a variety of hauling systems, with an emphasis on understanding the mechanical advantage each system employs.

Day Four:

With the skills developed in the previous days – knots, prusiks, rope handling, anchor construction, belaying, and mechanical advantage systems – students should now have the necessary skills and comfort to execute crevasse rescue. Crevasse rescue is an essential skill and considerable time and emphasis will be placed on practicing it in this course.

Our first run will be on the surface but then it is expected that each person demonstrates proficiency in holding a real-life fall into a crevasse and performing an actual rescue.

At this time, students also have the opportunity to practice ascending out of a crevasse on their own with the use of their prusiks. This gives a much more realistic feel of what self-rescue is all about.

Crevasses can be a hazardous environment, and care must be taken to mitigate the risks properly. Guides emphasize climber well-being. Nevertheless, this is an extremely memorable and rewarding day.

Day 5

At this point, students should have made the transition to becoming valuable members of a rope team and the group is now ready to push higher into the mountains. Depending on conditions and weather, we’ll use this day to go for the summit.

The most important skills we’ll learn are how to prepare, plan, and execute the summit climb. Developing a route plan, assessing the hazards, preparing one’s summit pack, and climbing and descending competently through glaciers to an icy Cascades summit.

It is a rewarding experience with breathtaking views in every direction. It is also a demanding day, both physically and mentally, which provides great training for more advanced objectives students may encounter later in their climbing careers.

Finally, we break down camp following our Leave No Trace principles hike back down to the trailhead.

It is often customary to have a group meal back in the first town we come to and celebrate five great days spent in the mountains!

NORTH CASCADES: GETTING THERE

North Cascades National Park, Washington State is located 2 hours Northeast of Seattle. The Pacific Northwest is beautiful and thriving both in its cities and its parks. Make sure you plan to spend some time in town before and after your SMG trip. Bellingham and even closer Sedro-Woolley serve as the launching points for all of our climbs in North Cascades National Park.

The best option for flying to the area is through Seattle, WA. Many airline options exist, and because Sea-Tac is a major airport and Seattle a major travel destination there are typically many flights to choose from.

You will need to organize a rental car to drive to Bellingham or Sedro from Seattle. Typically in the summer months, you can choose any type of vehicle.

There are many great hotels, suites, and vacation rentals for you to stay in while you’re in the area. Give our office a call at 410-982-8282 if you have any questions about what would suit you best for this trip! Below are just a few options catering to different lodging styles and preferences in Bellingham:

VRBO

Sedro Woolley also has a number of great hotels, suites, and vacation rentals for you to stay in while you’re in the area. Give our office a call at 410-982-8282 if you have any questions about what would suit you best for this trip!

Three Rivers Inn Hotel