Alpine Scrambling Course

Most Northwest mountain summits are accessible by scramble routes. In this course you will learn how to reach those non-technical snow and rock summits. Comprehensive instruction includes proper equipment and clothing, route finding, avalanche awareness and avoidance, rock and off-trail scrambling, snow travel, ice-ax arrest, glissade techniques and wilderness ethics. Alpine scrambles are moderate to strenuous outings involving off-trail travel. They are generally summit oriented with class 2 or 3 climbing on rock or equally exposed snow slopes. Scrambles do not involve travel over glaciers or rock where a climbing harness and roped protection are called for. Scrambles often visit many of the same destinations as technical climbs, just using different routes.

Class Schedule:

April 1 - Lecture 1 Course overview, clothing, equip, 10Es
April 15 – Lecture 2 Snow travel & avy
April 29 – Lecture 3 Rock
May 13 – Lecture 4 Wilderness travel, camping, snow
May 27 – Final Test

Note: you can sign up for conditioning hikes led by Mike Murphy or John Murphy scheduled weekly if you want to get an idea of conditioning requirements and you can ask us about the class.