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Mountaineering 12-Day Course CLICK AMS’ mission is to seek excellence in safe and responsible mountaineering and wilderness travel, while teaching and guiding others. Our core curriculum focuses on safety and judgment, leadership, teamwork, mountaineering skills, “Leave No Trace” practices, and the enjoyment of experiencing the wilderness of Alaska. The 12-day mountaineering course is an excellent opportunity to build a solid foundation of essential skills, while pursuing mountaineering safely and responsibly within a challenging and remote glaciated environment. The class list for this course includes glacier travel and crevasse rescue skills, snow and ice climbing techniques, avalanche curriculum, winter camping, and environmental studies. Twelve days provides enough time to apply these skills in a real environment. Throughout the course participants learn by doing. The experience provides students with the confidence to live comfortably on a glacier, travel roped, and climb moderate peaks in a remote environment. Successful graduates are eligible to join a Denali’s West Buttress expedition. The 12-day course is an introductory climbing course with the only prerequisite that participants arrive with a desire to learn and work hard. AMS’ goal is to provide a solid foundation to pursue mountaineering. Features of This Course 1:3 instructor/student ratio, 9 students maximum Mountaineering skills progression: protection, anchors, belaying, self-arrest, snow, ice, and/or rock climbing Crevasse rescue, roped glacier travel, and moving camp Avalanche curriculum: mechanics, hazard evaluation, and transceiver searches Multiple peak ascent possibilities Glacier camping, winter survival skills Soft skills: leadership, expedition planning, and group dynamics Skiing or snow shoeing Expedition Style & Remoteness AMS mountaineering courses are self-reliant expeditions that travel in remote mountain range in Alaska. Throughout the course, students learn to live safely in a glaciated environment, prepare their own meals, care for themselves, and climb mountains. The course format emphasizes hands-on learning and the application of new skills in a variety of terrain. If the weather is unflyable, evacuation to modern medical facilities can be difficult and may take up to several days. AMS courses model climbing and camping techniques that prepare students to pursue mountaineering in the most severe environments. CLICK Environment Mountaineering courses fly into Denali National Park & Preserve, home to America’s biggest and wildest mountains. We choose specific mountain regions suitable for teaching our mountaineering progression. Pristine wilderness and good quality climbing routes factor highly. The exact location depends on snow and landing conditions. Course routes are classic for a mountaineering expedition in Alaska. Each of these areas with their variety of terrain, beauty, and isolation are challenging and demand respect. Expect to be on snow for the duration of the course. All types of weather can also be encountered. Alaska is full of surprises. The First Day We meet for equipment check at AMS at 9:00 a.m. on the starting day of the course. Most people flying from out-of-state arrive the day before the course in order to be on time. We prefer to not check equipment before the starting time, as we are busy two days before the course briefing and packing group gear and food. After instructors go through your equipment and issue any items you need they will provide a course orientation. At 12 pm, lunch at AMS is provided. After lunch, we pack, dress, and fly onto the glacier in a ski-equipped fixed wing Cessna 185 or a DeHaviland Beaver. The 30-45 minute flight into Denali National Park is the quickest way to access the snowy, glaciated peaks of the Alaska Range, and is a spectacular and memorable highlight to the course. This is a busy day, so please take care of all personal business beforehand. Be aware, Alaska has unpredictable weather which can prevent flying into or out of the mountains on schedule. The AMS Talkeetna facilities allow for instructors to teach curriculum and stay on track in the event of un-flyable weather. Course Progression The goal of this course is the development of mountain skills and CLICK judgment necessary to pursue mountaineering in a glaciated environment. We prepare students to return to the Alaska Range and safely repeat what they accomplished during the course. Subsequently, instructors have an extensive class list and carefully thought out course progression. From day one, you will be practicing glacier camping techniques for winter conditions. The first couple days are spent on the skills necessary for everyone to route find safely on a glacier, and to rescue each other and self-rescue in the event of a crevasse fall. With peak ascents being the final objective, the course progresses to more advanced terrain and steeper snow and cramponing techniques, running belays, and avalanche assessment and rescue skills. Depending on conditions, ice climbing is also taught. You will receive written evaluations at the end of the course to compliment your resume. CLICK Course Objectives Each course is unique due to variables such as course area, participants, and environmental conditions. Working with these variables, it is our goal for each student to accomplish the following objectives: Safety & Judgment AMS teaches mountaineering skills, which promote the health and safety of all expedition members. Each graduate is expected to: manage the hazards of traveling and camping in a glaciated mountain environment recognize and prevent cold injuries and altitude-related illnesses recognize and prevent cold injuries and altitude-related illnesses know how to build a fortified camp display knowledge of personal limitations, and the judgment to stay within them Leadership & Teamwork Students are exposed to theory and practice of outdoor leadership, teamwork and expedition behavior. Each graduate is expected to: display understanding of instructors' decision-making processes through discussion and questioning demonstrate good expedition behavior: positive attitude, desire to achieve group goals, strong work ethic effectively communicate ideas and concerns with individuals and within groups use good judgment and attention to detail to participate fully in a safe, environmentally sound expedition Environmental Ethics An important part of every course is to instill low-impact techniques into our expedition strategy. Each graduate is expected to: perform minimum-impact living and traveling skills appropriate to a glaciated environment show respect for pristine wilderness Winter Camping & Glacier Travel AMS courses learn and practice backcountry skills, which are safe for the individual and environment. Each graduate is expected to: understand campsite selection, how to establish a fortified perimeter camp, and the importance of staying within the confines of camp live comfortably, efficiently, and responsibly camping, cooking, and dressing for a variety of conditions learn to be organized, and take care of personal and group equipment dispose of human waste in the most responsible manner. build and manage a snow kitchen and prepare nutritious meals Mountaineering Skills CLICK Learning the skills to become a safe and competent climber is the main goal of AMS Mountaineering Courses. Each graduate is expected to: master basic knots and rope handling techniques place protection and build anchors understand and demonstrate belay techniques appropriate to the situation: glacier travel, running protection, fixed lines competently set up 2, 3, and 4 person rope teams with sleds for glacier travel practice setting up and using lowering and raising systems and fixed-line ascension demonstrate efficient and safe glacier travel and route finding techniques and navigation skills demonstrate snow and ice climbing techniques for moderate and steep terrain recognize and avoid avalanche terrain, make stability assessments, demonstrate avalanche transceivers search techniques establish a skill base to climb Denali [Click For Course Application] [Click For Graduates' Comments]

Top of Page Travel & Lodging General Info Email Us Alaska Mountaineering School Colby Coombs & Caitlin Palmer, Directors PO BOX 566, 3rd Street, Talkeetna, AK 99676 USA phone: (907)733-1016 fax: (907)733-1362 email: info@climbalaska.org AMS top image: Alaska Range viewed from Talkeetna Mount Foraker (17,400'), Mount Hunter (14,570'), Denali (20,320')