Alpine Skills: Rock
Challenge yourself on this 4 day mountaineering course while learning new skills and enjoying the high alpine environment of the Canadian Rockies! This program is a great introduction to mountaineering skills for rocky peaks and will be an unforgettable experience. Join a small group of just 4 participants and a professional ACMG Alpine Guide while learning the skills for climbing mountains in the Rockies and around the world! Along with learning as many mountaineering skills as possible we will also climb a couple of fun mountains during the course. Some rock climbing experience is required and many participants choose to combine this course with a 2 day Intro Rock Course immediately beforehand for an incredible 6 days of climbing!
Below is some more information about the course but if you have any questions please contact us any time at info@cdnalpine.com
DATES 2025
- Aug 11-14th (4 spots left)
- Sep 15-18th (4 spots left)
- See Alpine Skills Course: Snow & Ice for June/July course options.
COST: $1195 + GST
Max Group Size: 4
Prerequisites: Good fitness, off-trail backpacking or scrambling experience, self-sufficient camping skills, and completion of an Intro Rock Course or similar climbing experience. See below for more details about the prerequisites for this challenging course.
Meeting Place & Time: Entrance to the Wildhorse Creek camping area on the David Thompson Highway (Alberta Hwy #11) at 9:00am the first morning.
Book your spot: Please contact us at info@cdnalpine.com for a registration package. A non-refundable deposit of $450 is required to book your spot with the remainder due 6 weeks prior to the start of the course. Reading and completing a Waiver form is required to participate in all courses or trips. A copy of the Waiver will be provided to you before booking and can also be downloaded here: CRAG Waiver Form. Before booking you must acknowledge that you have read & agree to the Waiver form.
Skills Covered
There are many possible topics and we pride ourselves on having small enough group sizes to customize the instruction to meet the needs of all participants. The main goal of the course is to help participants become self-sufficient on a variety of rock terrain encountered while mountaineering & scrambling. Some of the specific topics covered will include:
- Rock climbing movement skills
- Managing loose rock and other hazards
- Anchor building with trad gear
- Rappelling from natural & trad anchors
- Short-roping
- Climbing in boots
- Piton use
- Advanced scrambling skills
- Route finding
- Tons of ropework skills for mountaineering
- Mountain weather basics
- Conditions forecasting & assessment
- Navigation skills
- Light & fast techniques
- Gear selection
- Resources & ways to continue learning
Agenda
Weather, conditions and participants abilities may affect the order of activities and climbing objectives chosen. In particular there are many other peaks we may attempt depending on conditions at the time. However, here is a typical outline for the trip:
Day 1 – We will spend the day at a rock climbing area learning the basics of rock protection, anchor building, climbing in hiking/alpine boots, rappelling, belaying from above and lots of other alpine rock skills!
Day 2 – Alpine climbing day! We will use the skills we’ve learned so far as we ascend a fun peak along the David Thompson Highway. Along the way we will practice using the ropes in a variety of terrain, work on our routefinding skills, and get lots of practice leading and belaying moderate climbing sections!
Day 3 – Progression of alpine rock climbing skills. While doing a bunch of climbing you will also learn rescue skills, rope ascending, multipitch descents, and other ropework techniques. In the afternoon we will prepare for our final mountain of the week!
Day 4 – Alpine rock ascent! On the final day we will put many of the new skills into practice as we ascend a beautiful rocky peak along the David Thompson Highway. There will be opportunities for everyone to lead some rock pitches, practice route finding, try out shortroping and even an improvised rappel on the descent. After a course debrief we will say our goodbye’s and head home for some well deserved rest!
Prerequisites
- Fitness: The Alpine Skills Course is a very physically demanding trip in the mountains with not a lot of time for rest. Therefore, the biggest prerequisite is good physical fitness & endurance! You don’t need to be an Olympic athlete but you must be able to complete long days on your feet while carrying a pack in very rugged terrain. The longest days may include up to 25km of distance and 1000m of elevation gain. This course would be hard to enjoy if it is way beyond your fitness level or if you get bad blisters the first day! If you are unsure about your abilities please contact us at any time.
- Rock Climbing: All participants must have at least a couple days of outdoor rock climbing experience and basic skills such as belaying and tying in. A 2 day Intro Rock course is scheduled immediately beforehand and can be combined with this course for an awesome 6 days in the mountains! No other climbing experience is required but if you are already a sport climber or trad climber we will be able to build on those skills during the course!
- Outdoor Experience: All participants must have basic hiking, camping and general outdoors skills. You need to be comfortable being self-sufficient with all the camping & such so that we can focus our energy on the climbing.
- Scrambling Experience: All participants must have hiked or scrambled at least a couple of mountains so that you have an idea of what is involved fitness-wise for mountaineering in the Rockies. Small peaks such as Ha Ling or East End of Rundle are just fine but be aware that the peaks we attempt during the course will be much longer and more demanding! If you haven’t done any scrambling but are confident in your fitness & abilities feel free to get in touch.
