Complete Mountaineering
Types: Alpine, Summer
Want to take your alpine climbing and mountaineering to the next level? This course in modern alpinism is just the ticket!
Complete Mountaineering
The Complete Mountaineering course combines our popular Intro and Advanced Mountaineering course into a complete package that will take aspiring alpinists through all the skills needed to tackle classic alpine routes. We even have time for some student lead objectives during the course! So if you're looking for a complete course on modern alpinism look no further this course covers the skills you need to safely and efficiently travel through the mountains with confidence!
With a focus on providing a well-rounded, but modern approach to alpine climbing this course covers everything from equipment selection and use, trip planning, navigation and mountain weather to alpine rock, snow and ice climbing and technical descents.
We base the Complete Mountaineering course is based out of Squamish for the first few days before heading up into the hills and to areas like the Joffre Lakes area, Tantalus Range, Wedge area, Garibaldi, etc. The exact location of the various days can vary a bit depending on current conditions and weather but you can expect a day or 2 in Squamish working on rock skills, 4 nights camping in the mountains, a few summits and a lot of learning!
If this course seems a little more in-depth than what you're looking for we also offer an Intro to Mountaineering & Alpinism course.
Waiver & Risk Management:
As you know, outdoor activities involve numerous hazards including, but not limited to, avalanches, crevasses, rockfall, slips and falls, equipment failure, poor weather, etc. And while we do our best to anticipate and mitigate these hazards we cannot completely eliminate them. So, as with anything fun, you will be required to sign our Participant Release to take part in one of our courses or trips.
Day 0.5 – Trip Planning (online afternoon/evening session):
- Meet using an online chat to review the trip including:
- Trip planning
- Equipment
- Navigation
- Weather
Day 1 – Rock Skills:
- Technical Rock Skills Field Day
- Squamish
- Focus On:
- Trad gear placement
- Anchor building
- Multi-pitch climbing & station management
- Rappelling
- Long pitching – Short pitching & simul-climbing
Day 2 – Alpine Rock Objective:
- Utilize new skills for a student lead climb on an alpine rock route
- Blackcomb Buttress, Sky Pilot, etc.
- Focus On:
- Terrain Assessment
- Transitions
- Mountain awareness
Day 3 – Glacier Skills:
- In the morning we head to an alpine area to set up camp
- Focus on:
- Leave no trace principals
- Navigation
- Glacier study
- After Lunch we go over Glacier Travel skills
- Focus On:
- Roping up for Glacier travel
- Crevasse rescue
- Equipment use
Day 4 – Snow/Ice Skills:
- Head to nearby snow slopes / glacier
- Focus On:
- Snow and ice protection
- Anchor building
- Steep snow climbing
- Improvised descents
- Self arrest on snow
- Rope team arrest on snow
- Traversing glaciers
Day 5 – Alpine Objective 1:
- Student lead climb on an alpine route
- Focus on putting all the skills together:
- Trip planning
- Terrain assessment
- Transitions
- Mountain awareness
- Hazard assessment and management
Day 6 – Alpine Objective 2:
- Another student lead climb on an alpine route
Day 7 – Wrap Up:
- Morning Field Review
- Focus on:
- More complex rescue scenarios
- Review skills that may need more work
- Address student questions
- Break camp & hike out
- Wrap-Up Session
- Assessment of each student
Book Complete Mountaineering
Upcoming Dates:
- ✓ June 22nd (7 Days)
- ✓ August 3rd, 2027 (7 Days)
Fine Print:
- Lifetime deposits (deposits never expire)
- Canadian course prices are in CAD
- All courses are subject to 5% GST (tax)
- Payments made by credit card are subject to a 2.5% credit card fee
- Be sure to look over our Booking Policies
- Participants will be required to sign a BlackSheep Participant Release
