Difficulty:
Beginner to intermediate, experience backpacking required
Fitness:
Ability to carry 50 lb pack for 3 days
Season:
June to September
Group Size:
1-3 participants
Duration:
3 days, 2 nights in the mountains
Location:
West Rosebud, MT
Includes:
Rental equipment, group cooking equipment, & instruction from a professional guide
Excludes:
Food, transportation, lodging, personal items, and guide gratuity
Course Details
This course is the backcountry version of our Alpine Skills, built to give aspiring alpinists the tools they need to start alpine climbing safely on their own. These courses are largely designed based on specific experience and goals of participants, but typically highlight glacial travel, crevasse rescue, snow travel techniques, traditional gear, multi-pitch climbing, multi-pitch rappelling, route selection, and risk management.
Skills Covered:
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Multi-day route selection
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Multi-day preparation & gear
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Packing the right equipment
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Review of knots, hitches, and belaying
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Movement on steep snow & self arrest
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Anchor construction, rock & snow
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Traditional gear placement
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Glacial travel & crevasse rescue
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Retreat
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Campsite selection and considerations
This course is 3 days long and starts early with a gear check at our office in Red Lodge. Day 1 takes us up West Rosebud and into the Huckleberry Creek drainage for a big approach day to camp at Princess Lake. Day 2 starts early with the goal of Storm Tower. On the way, participants learn the skills necessary to climb this objective, including steep snow and alpine rock. On the descent, we stop for lunch and hone in our glacial techniques, learning crevasse rescue and more. Day 3 has time in the morning for reviewing traditional gear and anchors in a ground school setting before hiking out.
**Don't see a course date listed? Email our office to see if there is one coming up, or start a course of your own! Many of our courses are custom and low ratio, built to your needs.