Will this teach me alpine climbing skills or is it just basic winter backcountry things like camping and layering?

A big part of winter alpine objectives is setting up camps and keeping yourself warm and comfortable which are much more challenging. So that is a focus of this course. We do cover basic avalanche assessment and ice climbing skills. Because climbing is a progressive set of skills we adjust somewhat based on the skill levels of participants and the venue. Challenging conditions can create time constraints that make it difficult to cover everything and we typically give participants feedback about where they should spend efforts to progress further.

Does this replace an avalanche course?

One of the big focuses of winter climbing is assessing or avoiding avalanche terrain. That knowledge cannot simply be boxed into any course. Long term experience, the transfer of knowledge, and mentorship from experienced partners are all critical aspects of learning how to deal with avalanche problems. While we spend time in this course discussing avalanche hazards and how we deal with them during alpine climbs a Beginner or Advanced avalanche course is beneficial to the well rounded knowledge that will help you avoid getting caught in an avalanche.

Do I need previous rock or ice climbing experience?

Any climbing skills will provide a good foundation on which to build further skills. Anyone with a strong backcountry background such as backpacking or skiing will have the fitness and basic self care skills to benefit from this winter skills course. Those with some climbing background will likely benefit a little more and progress a bit more quickly.

What travel methods do you use?

It is required that participants be able to travel in deep and often unconsolidated snow. We ask that participants be prepared with either snowshoes or a backcountry ski set up in order to be able to efficiently travel in venues with deep snow.

Does that mean I need to know how to backcountry ski?

No, we don't require any backcountry ski skills. Many winter objectives are approached more easily through the use of skis. Snow shoes are perfectly acceptable for winter climbs but most climbers in the long term tend to lean towards a backcountry ski or split boarding set up for efficiency. A lot of times snow shoes that work fine on the way up get outshined by a downhill setup like we teach during an Intro to Backcountry course.