The BOEALPS Alpine Climbing Class (ACC) is an exceptional opportunity for those who want to advance their traditional (trad) lead climbing abilities and learn to apply them in an alpine environment; and have a desire to gain the skill and experience necessary to climb some of the more technical and remote climbs in the Cascades, the Olympics, and beyond. The Alpine Climbing Class builds on the fundamentals learned in the BOEALPS Basic Mountaineering Class (BMC) and BOEALPS Basic Rock Class (BRC); and helps students improved their competence and proficiency in alpine climbing. The class focuses on leading traditional rock climbing, steep snow climbing, and mountain safety skills. Throughout the course, students are challenged to practice good alpine decision making, alpine efficiency, and to develop leadership skills in the mountain environment.

The class runs from mid-March to mid-August with a Monday night classroom session and a 2-day weekend outing every other week. Please view the ACC Calendar (Schedule Summary or Google Calendar) for full schedule details. Please be aware that class dates are hard commitments and missing classes or make-ups are generally not acceptable. If you have concerns about specific dates, please contact the head instructor(s).

Ideal Student Characteristics

• Enthusiastic about being out in the mountains and a considerate climbing partner (a good team player).
• Comfortable with roped climbing up to 5.8 or higher, and optionally some experience with leading.
• Comfortable with glacier travel and steep snow travel up to 35-degrees (e.g. have climbed standard routes on some of the cascade volcanoes).
• Comfortable with Class 3 and Class 4 scrambling (with scree and choss) and have a significant amount of experience on this type of terrain (e.g. the Haystack on Mount Si and the standard route up Black Peak in mid-summer).
• Fit enough to hike up Mount Si (without the Haystack) in under 2.5 hours with a 25-lb pack.
• Great overall balance and coordination.