Alpine Climbing on a Budget?

Hey so this is my first post here, I was looking into courses offered to learn the skills to safely alpine climb. However, the price tag on all these courses is way out of my budget... I am a student in the northeast of Canada and am looking for a solution! Was wondering if any of you had some insight on how to gain the experience necessary to start planning my own alpine climbs without completely draining my wallet! (or a course that is more reasonably priced then those I've already seen).

Thanks,

Matt Packer

Read this. Check if your school has a climbing club. Some of the gear stores in the States sponsor lower cost avalanche clinics, not sure about in your area. We hacked our way through climbing and basic mountaineering as starving students after reading FotH and managed to survive. good luck!

Start off by reading everything you can find on the subject. Living in Canada you can figure out clothing systems etc without a mountain at all come winter. Spend time hiking and just being outdoors at whatever altitude you have locally. Learn multi pitch trad climbing with all the ins and outs including retreat - Alpine is at its roots just multi pitch trad in the mountains instead of at a crag until you add in snow and ice skills. You can't learn everything from a book (or from a course really). Good judgement comes only from experience for example. Start easy - Alpine climbing comes in all difficulty levels just like everything else - start at the beginning and build with experience. There are many "hikes" to the summits of peaks in the Rockies that can teach you about mountains in general and how you acclimate. Add in good trad climbing skills and you should be good to start out. then the snow and ice can be added and you re ready. Would a "course" be great - of course it would - but if you can't you can't. I'd venture to say more people have learned to climb without courses than with.

Hey Matthew. I did an intro to mountaineering course last year in Alberta, one week course for $1500, personally I found the course good for someone that actually needed motivation or a reason to get started, and knew absolutely nothing, the actual content of the course was extremely basic and I was rather disappointed for the money I spent compared to what I learned. The basics include self arrest, how to rope up when crossing glacier, some very basic navigation, the basic knots, figure 8, clove hitch, barrel knot, etc.. and then a crevasse rescue, which was actually the highlight of the course and definitely something you and your partner should be well familiar with if doing any glacier travel. Personnally I would buy the book Freedom of the Hills, go out and practise the few basic subjects I mentioned, check with your local climbing gym to practise rope work and some climbing techniques. Then if you want to venture in the mountains, take a glacier travel course and avalanche course, which is half the price of the full mountain course. During those courses you will have a chance to practise and ask any questions concerning the basics you learned on your own. If your only focused on alpine rock, then climbing gym rope work, to get familiar with knots and belay, then get yourself a guide to take you on an alpine rock trip, still cheaper then the course and will learn just as much from the guide, or good chance there will be people at you local climbing gym you can hook up with. I have a guide contact in Canmore if your interested, great guy with lots of experience.

Matt, do you have the gear you need for the sort of climbs you want to do?

Hey guys,

Thanks for all the replies and sorry for being absent. Ive actually already made steps to pursuing alpine, rock climbing in the gym on top-rope but I can only really climb 5.9's, I also started leading at my local crag, at least the easy routes. I have no trad experience and the price of a rack is intimidating. I was also told never to buy used when it comes to a rack. Also I have no ice climbing experience but I think I might be able to take a course for really cheap because the instructor used to be my gym teacher. What would you say are the essential courses you have to take before being able to do a trip on your own without a guide? (All this is pretty subjective though as it comes down to judgement and experience, I'd just like to see what I need to create that base knowledge to start getting into more technical routes).

I'm spending my first season alpine climbing, coming from a few years climbing rock, and I can offer this advice:

Move. You have to be around the mountains to get alpine climbing, a few trips a year won't satisfy you after you've gotten a taste. Maybe have a look at see if you can transfer your uni course to Calgary. There's plenty of people looking for partners there, as well as a decent mountaineering club.

Buy Freedom of the Hills and practice all the ropework on the ground. Set up crevasse rescue rigs, practise body positioning for self arrest on hard ground etc. Seems stupid but it helps.

Buy used gear, but make sure you understand how to inspect it. I've got a double rack, most of which was pre loved. Metal hardware is generally ok, it's the softgoods that you should be wary about. I bought new ice tools/axe/crampons, I found that after buying second hand tools and new picks the cost worked out roughly the same, although there are deals to be had on MP or MEC gear swap. Boots are something you should try on before you buy, spending two days out with sore feet will kill your climbing ambitions.

I've yet to hire a guide, all of my skills have been taught by books and partners, and practised at the crags or at home before going out. YMMV, guides will teach you a lot in a shorter amount of time. Most people tell me that they learn more with a 1 on 1 day with a guide than on a multi person course. You should definitely do an avalanche course if you want to climb in winter though.

Final bit of advice is to start small. My first alpine experience was very humbling, I went on a trip I had no business being on. Don't get in over your head. If you can only lead 5.9, start out with scrambling and fifth class routes, and work your way up.

Oh, and work on cadio. I thought I was fit and the mountains kicked my ass.

Have you done any backpacking? If not, start doing it as soon as weather permits (winter backpacking could be pricey). Backpacking teaches how to suffer and helps you dial in the overnight gear/food/water situation. It also teaches you quickly that lightweight gear is worth the price. Not sure about Canada, but NE US has a lot of excellent backpacking trails, some are even super short (a mile or so from the parking to a lean-to).

I'm assuming since you are a beginner, a lot if not all of your first alpine climbs will be overnight trips.

I've been backpacking for the last 10 years, I'm 19 now. I really got into it though when I found backpackinglight.com and started doing ultralight. Now I'm really just focusing on the transition to climbing. Started rock climbing this summer, tried to get out once a week. Its just really overwhelming to learn all the skills and expensive! This winter my goal is to start doing winter ascents of some of the presidential range, and depending on how that goes my partner and I will judge if were ready to attempt a presidential traverse (not in February but at least when there is still snow!).

If you want to get a taste on a budget, check out the Adirondack Mountain Club's Winter Mountaineering School www.winterschool.org
based in Lake Placid, NY (About 2 hours South of Montreal)

It's everything short of technical, roped climbing. It focuses on winter travel & backcountry camping with ascents of the ADK High Peaks (4000'-5300') using crampons and ice axe (including self-arrest training). It obviously does not have the elevation of other programs, or the technical aspect, but at less than $500 for a week of instruction including room and board, it's a smoking hot deal.

After the course, you should have all the skills you need for the Presi Traverse.

This year's program starts in like 3 weeks and there are probably slots open if you can gear up in time...

- Move +1
- Freedom of the Hills +1
- Lead multi pitch trad +1
- ice climb +1
- Suffer on long muti-day winter scrambles +1
- Ski the backcountry

If you want to become a good, we'll rounded (not dead) alpine climber, you should spend some money.

Teaching yourself to lead trad and to assess avalanche hazards without expert instruction would be a poor choice, IMO.

Something no one has mentioned yet - join the Alpine Club of Canada. They are always having events geared around different aspects of climbing, and it's a great way to meet people and learn in a more informal and inexpensive fashion than hiring a guide or going on a big trip.

I've been a member for a few years now and all the excursions I've been on have been great.

ACC is definitely the way to go on a budget.

The ADK Winter Mountaineering School is pretty expensive, considering the exhaustive gear list.

Mountaineer Mountain Fest in the Adks, Smuggs Ice Bash in VT, and Mount Washington Valley Ice Fest in NH all have relatively cheap alpine options with groups. And I don't think you'd need to buy much gear for those.

Fox Mountain Guides also does a Mountaineering 101 course at Ice Fest that looked pretty cool.

AThomas wrote:ACC is definitely the way to go on a budget. The ADK Winter Mountaineering School is pretty expensive, considering the exhaustive gear list. Mountaineer Mountain Fest in the Adks, Smuggs Ice Bash in VT, and Mount Washington Valley Ice Fest in NH all have relatively cheap alpine options with groups. And I don't think you'd need to buy much gear for those. Fox Mountain Guides also does a Mountaineering 101 course at Ice Fest that looked pretty cool.

The only one of these I've been to is the MWV Ice Fest in NH and you barely need any gear at all for that one. There's a whole room of rep tables handing out demo gear and last year everyone got a free OR beanie so you could literally suit yourself up from head to toe before your clinic. Definitely able to demo axes, boots, crampons, harness, shells, and gloves, looked like enough backpacks for most who want them to demo one. Don't remember if there were shell pants available.

I would encourage you to double-down on the rock climbing you are already doing. Alpine climbing is a combination of several disciplines; rather than trying to take a class to become an alpine climber, I would encourage you to see it as training multiple skills & sports independently. An accomplished alpine climber is (IMO) also an accomplished rock, ice, snow, and mountain climber. Each is a world unto itself, and none can be mastered in a single class.

There is a lot of overlap between winter camping and alpine climbing. Learning how to function in the cold. How to make snow shelters (esp. emergency ones). Figuring exactly at what effort level you can maintain and still stay dry. Getting your stove to work in high winds and extreme cold etc.

Matt!

Come to the Mount Washington Valley Ice Fest!
Feb. 6-8, 2015
North Conway, NH

We have so many great clinics and at great prices! Also, we have demo boots, ice tools, crampons, harnesses, helmets, packs, gloves, jackets, and gaiters from our sponsors for you to try out for free! You just need to dress yourself in the proper attire.
And it's a super fun and inspiring weekend with shows in the evenings!

Visit: mwv-icefest.com/clinics/

Also great and affordable lodging beta: mwv-icefest.com/lodging/

Mount Washington Valley Ice Fest!