Alpine Climbing Course
features
- 1:2 instructor student ratio is the gold standard. Crevasse self-rescue class in AMS before departing.
- A carefully planned menu and complete kitchen for each cook group.
- Mountain Hardwear Trango tents, Black Diamond kitchen shelters, and Hilleberg classroom.
Schedule
June 20 – 27, 2025
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
- Snow Kitchen Equipment: community kitchen tent, 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 staff at AMS in Talkeetna during your course
- 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 expedition
- Post-climb welcome back table with fresh fruit and drinks
- Knowledgeable staff to assist with lodging and shuttle logistics
AMS likes organization and thoroughness. That requires time. Your instructors dedicate two days before the start date to checking all the gear and packing the food. Every stove is fired up, every radio is checked, and all the ropes are inspected. We adhere to the motto, “Prior planning prevents poor performance.”
Day 1
8:00 am: Meet at AMS for course orientation and overview of the day. Check equipment and issue gear. Pack lunches. Calculate weights. This is a busy day, so please be on time.
12:00 pm: Lunch provided at AMS. Lasagna and salad.
1:00 pm: Practice fixed line ascension at AMS.
4:00 pm: Load van. 3-minute drive to airport. Organize loads for fixed-wing flights.
4:30 pm: Fly onto the glacier. Reorganize loads for glacier travel, travel a short distance and establish camp: probe and wand the perimeter, build walls, make sleeping platforms, set up group kitchen, establish the bathroom.
6:00 pm: Make group dinner.
Classes: Site selection, tent spacing, shovel and snow saw use, wall building, tent pitching, hygiene and sanitation, group kitchen basics, stove use and care, cooking basics, bomb proofing the camp, staying warm at night. Evening discussion: Goals and Expectations, Expedition Behavior, Leadership.
Day 2
Climbing skills review. Self-arrest. Crevasse rescue. Roped glacier travel. Scouting tour.
Day 3
Move Day. Camp is broken down and moved to a rock climbing location. Practice movement skills on rock, protection placement, lead climbing techniques, top ropinjg, rappelling. Evening discussion: Grading and Difficulty Ratings, Climbing Style and Ethics.
Day 4
Climbing Day. Classes on belaying off anchor plaquette style, belay transitions, single and double rope lead climbing techniques.
Day 5
Rescue Day. Practice freeing the brake hand, escaping the belay, reaching a fallen climber, passing a knot, short roping, improvised litters. Evening discussion: Planning for climbing day. Evening discussion: Fall Factors and Material Strength.
Day 6
Climbing Day
Day 7
Climbing Day
Day 8
Pack up camp. Student-led rope teams head back to the airstrip. Fly back to Talkeetna. Clean up and de-issue gear, write evaluations, and finish logistics. Group dinner at a local restaurant.
Applicants should have at least two (2) years prior roped climbing experience, be comfortable in exposed locations, and be familiar with belaying, building anchors, and rappelling.
If you want to climb in Alaska, use AMS. Their knowledge and experience in this area is unparalleled.—Brent Erickson
I learned heaps and tons and bunches. When can I go again? — Meg McKinney Larsen
