6 days of training on alpine techniques on various terrains and situations.

The goals of this course are described in the itinerary below. According to each participant’s actual knowledge and prior experience, some topics might be addressed more or less to ensure that a basic understanding of safety is acquired. At the end of the course, the guide will be able to review each participant’s progress individually.

The order of the days listed and the venue are not fixed, and the program below should be considered a “sample” program. The actual weather and mountain conditions will be considered and taken into account when the guide lays out the plan for the week during the briefing on day 0.

Saturday – Day 0 – Meet with the lead-guide in the afternoon.
The guide will greet the group and outline the course program for the week.

• If you have any equipment that you need the guide to check, please bring it to this meeting.
• Let us know if you need to hire any equipment from us. We have limited crampons, ice axes, harnesses and helmets for hire. The guide will bring it to this meeting.
• Please let us know if you cannot attend the meeting (late aeroplane arrival). We can try to postpone it to 18 hours. Otherwise, you will receive a notice of where and when we meet the next day and what equipment to bring.

Sunday – Day 1 – Basic rock-climbing skills. Top-rope climbing.
The guide will choose a rock wall in the Chamonix Valley, where we train in basic rock-climbing techniques. You will climb, belay and abseil and learn valuable knots. Even if you have previous rock-climbing experience, there are always good reasons to refresh your skills and discover new ones.

• Introduction to the rock-climbing equipment.
• Movement on the rock: Basic climbing techniques and balance
• Belaying and abseiling: To belay a lead- and seconding climber, perform a rappel
• Climbing knots:  Mastering essential knots (e.g. figure-eight, clove hitch, prusik).
• Introduction to traditional gear (nuts, friends, slings).

Monday – Day 2 – Basic ice and glacier skills
We often head to the Mer de Glace, taking the little mountain train from Chamonix to Montenvers. We head up the glacier and find a good place to train glacier and ice techniques.

• Cramponning techniques: Learn the best ways to ascend and descend according to the steepness of the slope.
• Ice axe skills: Use the ice axe at different angles of ice, including cutting steps.
• Establish ice-belays: Ice-screws, abalakov, ice-bollard.
• Introduction to roped travel on glacier terrain.

3-day mountaineering trip with 2 nights in mountain huts.

On a three-day hut trip, we aim to climb several alpine peaks and train in alpine techniques. Skills learned during the first two days will be refreshed and applied while we focus on learning techniques appropriate for travelling in higher alpine terrain.

We will have time in the huts to discuss preparing a route, navigation in the mountains, determining and assessing the actual mountain conditions, and how to choose the best routes.
We will also discuss and analyse the inherent dangers of mountaineering, how to better understand the risks involved, and how to manage and minimize our exposure to them.

We have chosen to describe an itinerary around the Albert Premier Hut, a suitable venue for such a program. If conditions don’t allow for this itinerary or the guides feel another venue would suit the group better, they will make arrangements. The actual skills and theory taught wouldn’t change.

Tuesday – Day 3 – Trek to the Albert Premier hut – Crevasse rescue dry training
We meet at around 10 o’clock at Le Tour village at the end of the Chamonix Valley. We reach the Col du Balme with the lifts. From here, we hike about 2 hours to the hut.
During the afternoon, we will focus on crevasse rescue techniques and discuss the various pulley systems, mechanical devices, and knots used. Depending on the weather and the group’s experience, we could already practice crevasse rescue on the glacier this afternoon.
We prepare for the next day’s objective, plan the route, and discuss how to approach the climb.

• • Hike to hut
  • Crevasse rescue techniques
  • Preparation for the next day’s objective
  • Talk about mountain dangers & risk management

Wednesday – Day 4 – Alpine Climbing
We make an “alpine start” from the hut in the early hours. The objective of the day was planned and discussed yesterday. After a glacier approach, we will climb and reach one of the summits above the Tour Glacier as the sun greets us. The day emphasises succeeding in our planned climb, keeping a good pace, staying within our scheduled time frame, and climbing safely to a summit using various alpine climbing techniques.

We will spend time on the mountain training in various snow techniques, such as self-arrest, building snow anchors, and performing crevasse rescue.

• • • Glacier travel
    • Route finding/navigation
    • Moving together on snow and mixed terrain.
    • Using fixed blocks and spikes to belay from
    • Crossing rimaye (bergschrund)
    • Self-arrest on snow with ice-axe
    • Building snow-anchors

Thursday – Day 5 – Alpine Climbing
This is our second alpine climbing day. The guide will have helped plan and prepare for the route of the day together with the group yesterday. We are progressing towards making the group more autonomous, but still under the supervision of the guide and still with much input about the correct decision in the various situations encountered.
After our climb, we descend to the valley around midday. The group will have the afternoon off.

• • • Route finding/navigation
    • Using the rope when moving together
    • Using gear and natural protection while climbing
    • Establishing a point of rappel.
    • Executing rappels in mountain terrain

Friday – Day 6 – Multi-pitch rock climbing
This is our last day. We plan a multi-pitch rock route in the Chamonix Valley or nearby.
The course is finished in the afternoon. We enjoy a refreshment while debriefing.

• • Planning the climb (route, difficulty, gear)
  • Climbing as a rope team. Switching leads or with one lead-climber.
  • Being organized on the belay
  • Descent the route (walk-off or rappel descent)