Intro to Ski Mountaineering

Dates:

TBD

Price:

TBD

Meeting Place:

Golden, BC

Included:

Accommodation at Icefall Lodge, Mons Hut or the Lyell Hut, Rostrum Cabin, Alexandra Cabin, food, guiding and instruction.

Skills Covered

  • Avalanche awareness
  • Crevasse rescue
  • Tracksetting
  • Rope handling technique
  • Use of boot and ski crampons
  • Glacier travel
  • Navigation and route finding

This is a course designed to teach mountaineering techniques in spring ski conditions. Learn the skills that complement ski touring and expand what is possible on skis.

Spring is the perfect time to climb many of the high peaks in the Rockies. Skis offer easy travel, less chance of falling in a crevasse and best of all, quick descents. The spring snow conditions can offer a more predictable melt-freeze avalanche cycle as well as a settled snowpack and easy travel. On many peaks, spring offers the best combination of conditions.

This course will teach you the mountaineering skills necessary to take advantage of the spring season. Many of the skills will carry over directly to summer mountaineering.

Advanced Ski Mountaineering

Dates:

April 28 - May 4, 2025
April 29 - May 5, 2025

Price:

$2450; $800 deposit required to book.

Meeting Place:

Golden, BC

Included:

Accommodation at Icefall Lodge, Mons Hut or the Lyell Hut, Rostrum Cabin, Alexandra Cabin, food, guiding and instruction.

Skills Covered

  • Route finding and leading on glaciers.
  • Short roping on snow and rock.
  • Crevasse rescue and rope techniques for glacier travel.
  • Use of boot and ski crampons
  • Route planning.
  • General rope handling skills.
  • Map reading and terrain assessment.
  • Decision making.
  • Whiteout navigation.

This is an advanced-level course designed for skiers wishing to become ski guides or advanced recreational skiers wishing to push their limits. The course will emphasize learning but will include mountaineering summits. Objectives will vary depending on conditions but may include the five Lyell peaks (all over 11,000 feet), Icefall peak, Lens Peak, and Mons Peak. There is plenty of heavily glaciated big mountain terrain as well as many unskied lines to explore.

Icefall Lodge has an abundance of high peaks, big glaciers and long runs; the highest peaks and longest runs of any lodge in Canada. There is also a comfortable lodge and two high elevation huts to access this incredible terrain from. It is the perfect location to get out into heavily glaciated complex alpine terrain. The goal will be to get participants leading in this terrain. The spring often has perfect conditions to make some of the more complex lines possible.

There will be an emphasis on guiding techniques for those wishing to pursue a guiding career. The course will try to put participants in a leadership position, structured similar to the ACMG guides courses. There will be evening discussions, and instruction, so expect a full week of learning.

Located in one of the most rugged corners of the Canadian Rockies, Icefall Lodge provides an ideal base for learning mountain skills. Icefall Lodge has an abundance of high peaks, big glaciers and long runs; the highest peaks and longest runs of any lodge in Canada. There is also a comfortable lodge and four high elevation huts to access this incredible terrain from.

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What's Included

✓ Comfortable lodge and 4 high altitude satellite huts

✓ Helicopter access

✓ Access to many of the highest peaks in the Rockies

✓ Traverse options

✓ Varied terrain provides the right venue for teaching

✓ Quick easy access to glaciers

✓ Remote wilderness setting far from the crowds

✓ Ski mountaineering peaks