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Mountaineering 6-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 emphasizes safety and judgment, leadership and team work, mountaineering skills, Leave No Trace practices, and fun. The six-day course provides the minimum skill base to pursue mountaineering in a challenging and remote glaciated environment. A proven curriculum on snow camping and glacier travel and rescue skills is covered with opportunities to apply these skills in a realistic environment. Most of your time will be spent learning and practicing climbing skills. In addition, students learn camping techniques to live comfortably on a glacier in a potentially hostile environment. AMS goal is to provide a solid foundation for students to pursue mountaineering on their own. Six days is a short amount of time to cover a large number of topics, move camp, and climb a peak, so expect to receive a lot of information! Features of This Course 1:3 instructor/student ratio, 9 students maximum Mountaineering skills progression: protection, anchors, belaying, self-arrest, snow and/or ice climbing Crevasse rescue, roped glacier travel, and moving camp One or more summit attempts Glacier camping, winter survival skills Avalanche curriculum: mechanics, hazard evaluation, and transceivers Leadership, expedition planning, and group dynamics Expedition Style & Remoteness AMS mountaineering courses are self-reliant expeditions that travel in a 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. 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 take several days from these areas. Mountaineering courses model climbing and camping techniques that prepare students for a lifetime of enjoyment. CLICK Environment Mountaineering courses fly into Denali National Park & Preserve, home to America's biggest and wildest mountains. AMS establishes areas in the Park suitable for our progression. Chosen for pristine quality and suitable climbing objectives, the exact location depends on landing conditions and instructor preference. Course routes are classic for a mountaineering expedition in Alaska. Each of these areas, with their variety of terrain, beauty, and isolation is challenging and demand respect. Expect to be on snow for the duration. Weather of all varieties is to be expected: wind, snow, rain, and intense heat. Be aware, Alaska has unpredictable weather which can prevent flying into or out of the mountains on schedule. We will do our best to accommodate and be productive. The First Day Courses meet for gear check at AMS at 9:00 a.m. on the starting day of your course. Most students arrive the day before the course to allow adequate time to rest. Please be on time so we can start checking equipment. You can check equipment early on the first day, but not the day before, as we are busy briefing, checking group gear, and packing food. After checking equipment and issuing any items you need, we will have a course orientation. At 1 pm, lunch at AMS is provided. After lunch, we pack, dress, and fly onto the glacier in ski-equipped fixed wing Cessna 185 airplanes. The 30-45 minute flight into Denali National Park is spectacular and a memorable highlight to the course and the quickest way to access the snowy peaks. This is a busy day, so please take care of all personal business beforehand. Course Progression The goal of this course is the development of mountain skills and judgment necessary to pursue mountaineering in a glaciated environment. We prepare our students to return to the Alaska Range and safely repeat what they accomplished on the course. Subsequently, instructors have a long class list and carefully thought out course progression. From day one, you practice safe glacier camping techniques. The first couple days is spent on 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 a peak ascent being the final objective, the course progresses to more advanced terrain and steeper snow and cramponing techniques, running belays, and avalanche awareness. CLICK Course Objectives Each course is unique due to variables such as route, group dynamics and environmental conditions. Working with these variables, it is our goal that each student accomplishes the following objectives. Safety & Judgment AMS teaches mountaineering skills, which promote the health and safety of all expedition members. Each graduate is expected to: minimize the hazards of traveling and camping in a glaciated mountain environment understand the recognition and prevention of: cold and altitude-related injuries 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 dispose of human waste in the most responsible manner Winter Camping & Glacier Travel AMS courses learn and practice minimum-impact backcountry skills that 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 build and manage a snow kitchen and prepare nutritious meals Mountaineering Skills Learning the skills to become a safe and competent climber is the primary goal of AMS Mountaineering Courses. Each CLICK graduate is expected to: master basic knots and rope handling techniques place protection and build anchors understand 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 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')