Basic Alpine Climbing Course

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Our grand finale to the season! Graduation ceremony for all Seattle Branch climbing courses, awards, and recognition for outstanding performance. 

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Welcome to the Seattle Basic Alpine Climbing course! Our beautiful Pacific NW offers a lot of great alpine places that we want to share with you. Please thoroughly read the text below before applying.

The 2026 course APPLICATION PERIOD HAS ENDED.

Application process and timelines

This course has many more applicants than we can accommodate. Therefore,  every applicant is added to a lottery for admission. Please use the link  below to submit your application. Timelines for the application process:

• Applications accepted: Oct 6-17 (non-members can apply)
  Link: https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/8496172/2026-Seattle-Basic-Alpine-Climbing-Course-Application
• Application results published via email: starting Nov 3th
• Successful applicants can register: Nov 4-14
• Further admissions past Nov 15 if spots remain unclaimed.
• Cancellation: course fee minus $10 by Dec 14th.  No refunds after Dec 14th.

Our Selection Process

Thank you for your interest in the Basic Climbing Course! We receive many applications for a limited number of spots, so our selection process is structured to build a diverse and committed cohort of new climbers.

Evaluation Criteria

Each application is reviewed by at least two volunteers and scored on three weighted criteria:

1. Technical Skills: Your outdoor experience, ranging from backpacking to advanced training (like an Alpine Scrambling course or NOLS) and significant personal adventures.

2. Volunteerism: Your commitment to community service, such as trail maintenance, regular volunteering, or leadership roles.

3. Lottery: A computer-generated number to ensure a fair and equitable process for all applicants.

How Offers Are Made

Applications are ranked by their total score, and we send acceptance offers in batches. This is because our course capacity depends on the number of volunteer SIG (Small Group Instruction) leaders, and also because spots open up as some accepted applicants choose other programs.

The first offers will be sent in early November, and we aim to fill all spots from our ranked list and waitlist by Thanksgiving. We appreciate your patience and understanding!

Course content:

The Basic Alpine Climbing Course is a year-long program that prepares you to be a solid and competent follower at Basic rock and glacier climbs of the Pacific Northwest. You will learn  belaying, rappelling, rope handling, low 5th class rock climbing, snow climbing, glacier travel, backcountry camping including on snow; you will get guidance on gear purchases and conditioning, and a lot more. The course is taught in a combination of class lectures, field trips, and small group instruction at the Program center and outdoors. Once you have passed the training, you are qualified to sign up as a follower for basic alpine climbs during summer climbing season. 

Commitment:

This course is a significant time and financial commitment:

You are expected to join seven field trips and four lectures. It is highly recommended to participate in the Monday evening training events of your small instructional group (SIG). You will also need a base level of fitness that is required to join the climbs. You will also need to complete the Navigation and Wilderness First Aid courses. 

Expect to spend $500+ on climbing-specific gear on top of general backpacking equipment. You don’t need your equipment right away, and your instructors can give you guidance.

Read about Cody’s experience with the course.

Scholarships and Financial assistance

The Mountaineers are committed to making our courses accessible to everyone, regardless of your ability to pay.  We encourage students who cannot afford this course to apply for our scholarship program, which is funded by generous donors.

Please apply early for a Scholarship. Applications may take up to 2 weeks to process and financial assistance can only be applied before you register for the course.  Please note, successful scholarship applicants still need to get actually admitted to the course, which is done in common with other non-scholarship applicants, using the application form above.

Read more about THIS and other Climbing COURSEs here