3-Day Ice Climbing Course Itinerary
Day Before the Trip
Mandatory 4 p.m. gear check at Alpine Ascents’ Seattle office, to ensure that everyone is fully equipped and prepared to depart the next morning. Rental gear is fitted and packed at this time. We’ll also review the functionality of each piece of gear, packing our backpacks, wilderness ethics, and Leave No Trace practices. Duration: Approximately 2 hours.
Day 1
Meet in Glacier, WA at 7:30 a.m. We will drive to the North Side of Mount Baker and park at the Heliotrope Ridge Trailhead. This is a well graded trail that provides quick access to a spectacular alpine wonderland. We’ll hike to our camp site near the Coleman Glacier at 5,000 ft. Once on trail, this is a relatively easy move of approximately 2,000 vertical feet. Often there is time that evening to practice ice climbing on the vertical seracs of the Coleman Glacier.
Day 2
We’ll get an early start to make the most of our training day. We’ll rope up and head over to our classroom site set amongst the steep ice and towering seracs of the Lower Coleman Glacier. Along the way, we’ll review the tenants of glacial travel. At our classroom site, guides will begin by explaining risk aware site selection, how to judge ice quality, and positioning of the belayer. From there we’ll take a deep dive into belay techniques and instruction on ice tool and crampon use for steep ice climbing.
In the afternoon, we’ll focus on developing efficient climbing technique on 60 – 80 degree ice walls with the use of two ice tools. Expect lots of time spent climbing and applying basic ice climbing techniques to a variety of objectives. Climbers will also belay each other and practice rappelling and getting lowered down ice cliffs. Guides will discuss selection and placement of ice screws for belays and on-route protection as well as screw removal and racking. All of these skills help translate into success on technical alpine climbs such as the North Ridge of Mount Baker and the Kautz Glacier on Rainier.
Day 3
We’ll get another early start so we can squeeze in some more skills and climbing practice before it’s time to return to camp, pack up, and hike back to the trailhead.
We recommend climbers fly home the day after the course ends.
Excellent expedition! The accommodations were great. The logistics and itinerary were good. The acclimatization schedule on the mountain worked well and suited everyone.
