After landing in Calgary, make your way to Columbia Icefields and set off on your week-long adventure in the Banff area. Spend the day learning about snow and ice climbing and crevasse rescue skills from your AMGA-certified guide with years of experience in the field.
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Join your guide on this six-day adventure, full of climbing in and around Banff, Lake Louise and the Columbia Icefields! The area offers so many classic Rockies high points, with a variety of routes to choose from! This comprehensive mountain training week is designed to upgrade your basic hiking and scrambling skills to solid alpinist skills, which will allow you to explore further and higher than you’ve ever imagined! You will spend a lot of time on rock, snow and ice terrain acquiring new climbing techniques and skills important for alpine climbing. This will all be done in a safe and organized manner with an experienced guide by your side!
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During your first three days, you will focus on learning. There will also be an opportunity to climb 1-2 peaks, one being the famous Mt. Athabasca and another smaller peak such as A2 or Hilda peak, depending on the group dynamics and previous experience. Mt. Athabasca is suitable for both beginner and experienced alpinists. There are several good routes on the mountain, and all of them involve early alpine starts from the Icefields Parkway with a total elevation gain of 1,500 m (4,920 ft).
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Head to Lake Louise for a comprehensive school of rock climbing skills, sport and traditional climbing. Spend your next three days practicing single-pitch and alpine rock climbing in different, yet stunning locations only Canadian Rockies offer. All the skills taught will be adapted to the group’s ability. Enjoy the views over some of the most adventurous mountain routes in a picture-postcard setting.
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Spend your fifth day on one of the many Banff multi-pitch classics to learn multi-pitch efficiencies and technical decent (multi-pitch rappelling). There will be plenty of opportunities to do mock leads and practice many of the skills for your future climbing adventures!
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Today’s itinerary will be completely up to you—tailor the day according to your wishes and focus on perfecting your skills! After six days of lessons and practice, prepare for departure and start planning your next adventure when you will explore further and higher than you have ever imagined!
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Included:
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- Experienced ACMG/IFMGA certified local guides with extensive knowledge of the area
- 6-day adventure in the Canadian Rockies
- Group technical gear
Add-ons:
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- Alpine kit rental (crampons, harness, axe, helmet) — $130 per person, for the whole trip
Not included:
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- Flights to Canada
- Personal climbing equipment
- Mountaineering boots
- Food
- Transportation
- Accommodation
Accommodation options include:
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- Ice fields Campground
- Hilda Hostel
- Glacier View Lodge
- Lake Louise Alpine Center
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No alpine climbing experience is necessary to join this course! However, you need to be in excellent aerobic condition and have previous experience with either mountaineering or scrambling. This means you have ascended lower-angle non-technical climbs where you can walk up the majority of a mountaineering objective.
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The pursuit of alpine climbing requires more skills than mountaineering, has a larger psychological component, and takes longer to master. The standard routes, in good condition, are suitable for beginner mountaineers. You need to be in excellent aerobic condition and have previous experience with advanced hiking or mountaineering.
Even though alpine climbing is all about using good movement techniques and tools, rather than muscling up a cliff using brute strength, a week in the alpine environment will test you. Be prepared for full days of strenuous climbing in cold temperatures and changeable weather conditions.
Be honest with yourself about your experience and fitness. You will be vetted by the guide after booking to secure the quality of the course.
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Some of the skills you will learn are:
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- Pre-trip planning, route selection and navigation
- Leadership
- Glacier travel
- Crevasse rescue
- Snow and Basic Ice Climbing:
- Anchors — V-threads, ice screws, T-slots, snow pickets
- Rappelling on snow, ice and rock including multi-pitch rappelling
- Using crampons and ice axe
- Rock Climbing:
- Anchors using bolts and traditional gear
- Lead climbing on bolts and traditional gear
- Multi-pitch climbing skills, with climbing routes ranging from 5.5-5.10 depending on skill level
- Moving on alpine rock terrain
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The aim of alpinism is to be self-sufficient, meaning you carry everything yourself, without porters, and to travel fast and light. Alpine climbing is essentially an endurance event so the best way to prepare is to work on your cardio and strength levels. You’ll use your major leg muscles and your core muscles, so try to increase endurance in those same muscle groups. Work on your overall endurance by uphill/downhill hiking, scrambling and trail running under load. Balance and flexibility training will also help you make the most of the course.
Up to two weeks prior to the course, begin to gradually wake up earlier; it is not uncommon to wake up at 2-3 am for a summit.
If you want to get a hang of outdoor rock climbing prior to this course, join a basic Intro to Outdoor Rock Climbing course. Avalanche hazards may also be a consideration at any time of the year. Therefore, an AST (Avalanche Skills Training) course is beneficial and recommended, but not a necessity.
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Personal items and gear:
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- Fleece or wool hat
- Neck gaiter
- Face mask
- Lightweight and midweight gloves
- Hardshell jacket with hood (Gore-Tex or equivalent)
- Lightweight wind shell
- Down or synthetic jacket with hood
- Long-sleeved base layer
- Long base layer pants (tights work well in the summer)
- Hardshell pants
- Softshell pants (wind-proof or wind-resistant)
- Leg gaiters (ankle to mid calf height works best in summer)
- Liner socks and wool socks
- Underwear
- Mountaineering boots that work with crampons (can be rented)
- Rock shoes (can be rented)
- Daypack large enough to carry all the items listed (around 40L)
- Sunglasses or a visor hat
- Headlamp
- Helmet
- Ice axe (can be rented)
- Harness (can be rented)
- 12-point crampons (can be rented)
- 3 locking caribiners, 2 non locking caribiners
- 2x5m 6mm prussic cord
- 1x 60 cm sewn sling
- Belay device
- Micro traction and or Tiblok optional
- 2x 13 cm ice screws
- Chalk bag
- Water bottle or hydration pack
- Food you can eat on-the-go
- Toiletries (sunscreen, hand sanitizer, blister kit, toilet paper, etc.)
- Camera — optional
If you decide to camp with the group at the Icefields Campground on days 0- 2:
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- Pillow
- Sleeping bag (3 season, -7 C it can dip below freezing in summer)
- Sleeping pad
- Tent
- Stove and cooking pots utensils
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Your guides offer alpine kit rental (crampons, harness, axe, helmet). It’s $130 per person, for the whole trip. You can add this to your booking upon checkout.
Mountaineering boots and rock shoes from Gear Up. If you help renting anything else, let us know and we can help make arrangements.
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Group sizes:
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- The client-to-guide ratio will be 3:1 during the Athabasca summit, 2:1 on alpine rock routes, and 6:1 for instructional days. The maximum client-to-guide ratio is 6:1.
- It takes a minimum of 2 people for the skills week to run.
- If the trip should extend beyond the scheduled days, the extra days will be charged out at the day rate for the specific trip. This may apply to trips with a higher commitment grade and or more remote trips.
- Group dynamics: Not everyone travels at the same pace we will always travel relative to the pace of the slower group member. The guides reserve the right to make decisions on where the group will go and which route the group will climb.
Climbing days can be arranged for larger groups. Contact us to make arrangements.
Min. age requirements:
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- Everybody over the age of 18 is welcome to book this climbing adventure.
If you plan to climb with anyone under the age of 18, please contact us prior to booking to make arrangements.
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To get to Banff National Park, most people fly into Calgary International Airport. Once you get to Calgary, you can rent a car or take a shuttle service. It takes about 1.5 hours to reach Banff, and just over 4 hours to reach Columbia Icefields.
On Day, 1 the group will meet at the Columbia Icefields campground at 8:30am by the entrance kiosk. A final logistics email will be sent to you a few days before the tip start date to finalize any last-minute logistics.
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We highly recommend that you cover all your bases with both medical and travel protection. To make your booking and traveling experience as carefree as possible, simply choose Redpoint—the official 57hours insurance partner!
Redpoint tailors their protection packages for adventure travel, offering a comprehensive travel program, even in remote locations. Trip cancellation, natural disasters, pandemic coverage, medical evacuation, primary medical expenses—regardless of the travel interruption that may happen, Redpoint will have you covered.
Once your booking is confirmed and your trip is paid in full, you will be offered to purchase Redpoint’s protection. If you need any help or require more information, let us know and we will be happy to help!
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