Advanced Alpine Mountaineering 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 21-28, 2024
Inclusions
- Professional mountaineering instructors
- Roundtrip glacier flight
- Entrance fees to Denali National Park and Preserve
- All food during your course
- All group camping equipment such as tents and stoves and shovels
- All group climbing equipment such as ropes and anchors
- All emergency first aid, communication, and repair equipment
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
