Introduction to Winter Mountaineering

Are you ready to begin your climbing journey and explore peaks around the world? This course will give you the skillset to feel confident as you move through the mountains. You will learn snow climbing, avalanche awareness, winter backcountry camping, backcountry cooking, navigation, anchor building, and much more!

Are you interested in exploring the mountains in the Winter? This in depth course will give you the skills necessary to explore the snowy mountain tops responsibly. This course is designed for beginners, however seasoned mountaineers will still learn from some of the best guides in the industry. The course is based out of Mammoth Lakes, CA.

The mountains here are some of the most beautiful in the world and provide a great mountaineering training ground. Our goals are to get you educated on the in’s and outs of winter camping, ice axe, crampons, snowshoes, navigation, and much more. While doing this, our plan is to summit a beautiful High Sierra peak. The peak we shoot for will be based on the weather forecast and the fitness of the group. This program is ideal for novice climbers seeking to learn the fundamentals of mountaineering and gain confidence traveling in the mountains. No matter what you encounter, rock scrambling, steep snow slopes, whiteouts, this course is built to give you the skills to handle it.

Book Intro to Winter Mountaineering Course
Mammoth Lakes, CA

  • January 7-9, 2025

  • January 24-26, 2025

  • February 11-13, 2025

  • February 22-24, 2025

  • March 4-6, 2025

  • March 14-16, 2025

  • April 4-6, 2025

  • April 16-18, 2025

  • Winter camping and tactics for staying warm

  • Backcountry cooking

  • Efficient ways to melt snow

  • Tent anchoring in the Winter

  • Gear for Winter travel

  • Ice axe techniques and self arrest

  • Crampon techniques

  • SnowShoeing techniques

  • Avalanche awareness

  • Avalanche rescue drills

  • Efficient mountain movement

  • Understanding weather forecasts

  • Backcountry Navigation

  • Survival techniques

Course Objectives

Ratio

3:1 climber to guide ratio

Pricing

$950.00

Must be in good physical condition.
Must be able to hike with a 40 lb backpack.

Skill Level

Required Equipment

Day 1: Meet your guide in Mammoth Lakes, CA. Today we spend the day working on the skills for Winter Mountaineering. We will learn ice axe and crampon techniques, Self Arrest, Avalanche awareness, rescue techniques, and winter survival techniques. In the afternoon we do a gear check and make sure we have all the gear for our overnight trip. Depending on snow coverage we can spend the evening relaxing at the nearby hot springs.

Day 2: Today we trek into our base camp. We will use our snowshoes and hike as far up as the day will allow. The evening is spent learning about backcountry cooking, navigation, and winter camping skills. The guides will prepare you an amazing dinner and then we will go to bed early in preparation for the following day.


Day 3: We will get an alpine start and attempt to climb one of our objectives. Today we put all the learned skills to use and are hopefully rewarded by a beautiful summit. After our attempt we will head back to our camp, pack up, and descend back to our cars. This is an unforgettable experience.

Itinerary

Cancellation Policy

Please read our Cancellation & Refund Policies before booking.