7-day Mountaineering Course
The 7-day Mountaineering course is an introduction to mountaineering and expedition climbing. You and your team members will fly directly into the mountains from Talkeetna and land on a glacier. This maximizes time for technical skill development, such as establishing safe camps, traveling on a rope team, practicing crevasse rescue, and learning how to climb snow- and ice-covered peaks. You will learn how to live comfortably on snow-covered, glaciated terrain and gain an understanding of what it takes to pursue longer climbs in the Alaska Range. This course requires that you arrive in good physical condition and be excited to learn how to live in a remote, mountainous environment. Six full days in the field is a short amount of time to cover a large number of topics, move camp, and also climb a peak, so be prepared to absorb a lot of information.
FEATURES
- 1:3 instructor/student ratio, up to 9 students
- Mountaineering skills progression: knots, protection, anchors, belays, self-arrest, snow climbing techniques, descent
- Winter camping skills in a glacier environment
- Roped glacier travel and crevasse rescue techniques
- Snowshoe travel with ski poles, including safe glacier travel, route-finding, and navigation skills
- Recognize and avoid avalanche terrain
- Leadership and Expedition Behavior skills: fundamental tools for a successful expedition
- Preparing and eating tasty and nutritious food in the mountains
“I felt 100% comfortable with my guides, even when dangling 15 feet below the lip of a crevasse. My only complaint: I should have taken the 12-Day course.” — Stuart Pearce
Schedule
May 9-15, 2027
June 13-19, 2027 (All Women)
June 27-July 3, 2027
July 11-17, 2027
What's Included
- Professional instructors
- Round-trip glacier flight
- All food during your course and team lunch at AMS HQ on day 1
- All group camping and climbing equipment: ropes, tents, pickets, technical climbing gear, snow saws, wands
- Sled for each student, pre-rigged for roped glacier travel for use during the climb
- Snow kitchen equipment: kitchen tents, cooking stoves, utensils, and fuel
- Mountain communications: emergency use satellite phone, FRS on-mountain radios, Delorme In-Reach
- Maps, GPS
- Medical protocols, first aid, medication and repair kits
- Fully equipped staging area at AMS HQ and AMS Mountain Gear Shop in Talkeetna
- 24/7 support from staff at AMS in Talkeetna during your climb
- Regular social media updates during your climb
- Pre-course assistance with travel planning and training advice
- Post-course lodging and shuttle logistics
- Luggage storage and free parking during your course
- Camping at AMS HQ campground (tents are not provided)
- Welcome-back table with fresh foods and drinks after your course
- Knowledgeable staff to assist with lodging and shuttle logistics
This is a sample 7-day mountaineering course itinerary. Actual day-to-day activities of any course vary depending on course location, weather, and snow conditions.
Meet at AMS in Talkeetna at 8:00 a.m. for orientation, equipment checks, packing personal lunches, weighing everything for the flight, and other expedition preparations. After a team lunch, we practice knots, put on our harnesses and helmets, and learn fixed-line ascension. After storing any gear you don’t need, we load the van and drive to the airport. We load the plane, fly to Denali National Park & Preserve and land on the glacier. We establish our first camp close to the airstrip. We eat as a group and retire into tents. Tents are either 2 people in a 3-person tent or 3 people in a 4-person tent. That way you have a little extra room for the bulky clothing and sleeping bags.
The first day starts with a group breakfast and then moves right into the climbing curriculum with building and testing anchors and glacier travel techniques. Learn rope identification and care, rope handling, snow protection, anchor systems, belay techniques, rope-team organization, sled management, self-arrest, and glacier travel. We like to go out for a tour for the afternoon. Evening discussion: expedition behavior, teamwork, and leadership.
We like to spend the day at a crevasse doing scenarios. Travel is by rope team to a suitable training site where students will practice fixed-line ascension, self-rescue, lowering systems, mechanical-advantage hauling, and team crevasse-rescue procedures. Evening discussion: altitude illness, cold-related injuries, and emergency communication.
Break camp and move to a new location that positions well for a future peak ascent. Practice route-finding, rope team management, campsite selection, probing out camp, and camp build: quarry, tent platforms, walls, kitchens, bathroom. Typically we are moving downhill from the airstrip. Each tent will have its own kitchen and kitchen shelter. Evening discussion: avalanche hazard.
This is an introductory course suitable for people with no mountaineering experience. Prior experience backpacking, tent camping, and belaying will put students at an advantage, but are not required. Participants should arrive in good physical condition with a positive attitude and a desire to learn. They should be willing to work hard, have an open mind and be a team member.
