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OVERVIEW
This course introduces the fundamental skills essential for safe, independent travel in glaciated environments. The curriculum includes crevasse rescue and basic glacier ice climbing. It is designed for any climber seeking to gain experience on glaciers and open the door to ascents of Mount Baker, Mount Rainier and other glaciated mountains.
Crevasse Rescue and Intro to Ice Climbing • 2 Day Course
Mount Baker is a superb mountaineering training ground because its glaciers can be accessed within a few hours’ hike from the Heliotrope Ridge Trailhead. Participants on this 2-day course will camp at the foot of the Coleman Glacier with spectacular views of the north face of Mount Baker and surrounding peaks. The curriculum begins with an introduction to fundamental ice axe and crampon technique, then progresses through glacier ice climbing and crevasse rescue. Your guides will host discussions on related topics throughout the program.
Crevasse Rescue School Curriculum
- Crampon technique
- Ice axe technique
- Movement on ice
- Glacier ice climbing
- Basic climbing knots & hitches
- Rope management
- Introduction to snow & ice anchors
- Crevasse rescue & self-extrication
Course Highlights
- Learn basic ice climbing skills on Mount Baker’s Coleman Glacier.
- Develop advanced glacier mountaineering skills including anchors and crevasse rescue.
- Enjoy a Northwest Alpine Guides adventure in the beautiful North Cascades.
Day to Day Itinerary
Day 1 • Ice Climbing Instruction
Day 2 • Crevasse Rescue Instruction
4 to 1 Climber to Guide Ratio
We lead the Crevasse Rescue Course at a 4 to 1 climber to guide ratio ensuring that you receive personal attention and hands-on instruction throughout the course.
Northwest Alpine Guides holds a Special Use Permit and is an authorized outfitter guide within Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest and Mt. Baker Ranger District
“In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture policy, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability. To file a complaint of discrimination: write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TDD).”
ITINERARY
Course begins and ends in Mount Baker – Snoqualmie National Forest
Plan to arrive the day before the course begins.
Day 1 • Hike to Camp • Ice Climbing Instruction
Meet at our Guide Hut in Sedro-Woolley, WA.
Northwest Alpine Guides will provide you with a detailed PreClimb departure book upon registration including personal gear list, meeting location and driving directions.
Our alpine guides will meet you for team introductions, a gear check, and group gear distribution. The team will then drive approximately two hours to the Heliotrope Ridge Trailhead at 3,500 feet.
We follow the Heliotrope Ridge Trail through old-growth forest to our high camp at the foot of the Coleman Glacier at approximately 6,000 feet. In the afternoon we practice ice axe and crampon techniques and basic ice climbing.
Vertical gain hiking: 2,500 feet
Hiking time: 3-4 hours
Accommodations: Tented Camp
Day 2 • Crevasse Rescue Instruction
Today we shift our focus to advanced glacier mountaineering skills. The curriculum includes an introduction to snow anchors and crevasse rescue systems such as the Z-Pulley.
After training, we break camp, pack our gear and retrace our steps back to the trailhead. We generally arrive at our cars by late afternoon and conclude our adventure in Sedro-Woolley.
Vertical Descent Hiking: 2,500 feet
Hiking Time: 2 hours
Plan to depart the day after the course ends.
Itinerary Notes
Northwest Alpine Guides makes every effort to uphold the scheduled itinerary, although our guides are given discretion to adapt the itinerary for reasons beyond our control or due to the needs of the group. Meal schedule: (B) Breakfast (L) Lunch (D) Dinner
DETAILS
Where to Meet
At 8:00 a.m. on the morning of the climb, we meet in Sedro-Woolley, WA, for an equipment check and orientation before driving to the trailhead. We will email you detailed PreClimb information including a gear list and full departure details upon receiving your registration.
Deposit and Payments
- $250.00 deposit includes a $250.00 non-refundable registration fee, due with application.
- Balance due 90 days prior to start date.
- The balance can be paid by check, or credit card.
Price Includes
- Guided instruction
- Boiled water for meals
- Professional mountain guide
- Group equipment (including tents, ropes, stoves, etc.)
- Wilderness Permits
Price Does Not Include
- Transportation
- Trailhead parking fees (Northwest Forest Pass)
- Meals and snack food
- Personal gear
- Hotels or lodging
- Trip cancellation insurance
- Medical and evacuation coverage
- Staff gratuities
Guides
Our instructors are highly skilled professional guides who have been selected based on their technical proficiency, proven safety records, careful judgment, patience, and supportive teaching styles. They are dedicated to a climbing lifestyle, and collectively have climbed throughout the earth’s major mountain ranges. Our guides are friendly, very willing to share their own experiences, and can help you develop a plan to achieve your own climbing ambitions. All our guides carry current certification in wilderness first aid.
Tipping
Our guides are dedicated mountain professionals who work hard to ensure your success and wellbeing on the mountain. If you have a positive experience, gratuities are an excellent way to show your appreciation. Tips normally average 10 – 20% of the cost of the program. If you prefer to transfer funds electronically, please send gratuities through paypal.me/mountaingurus
Age Guidelines
Participants age 16 & 17: May participate in fixed-date group itineraries if accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
Participants age 15 and younger: May only participate in private climbs and must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
All minor climbers must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian throughout the entirety of the program. If either the minor climber or the guardian needs to descend at any time during the program, both climbers must descend together.
Travel Insurance
We highly recommend that all participants consider travel and trip cancellation insurance. Travel insurance offers the best possible protection in the event of a sudden, unexpected illness or injury prior to or while traveling. Northwest Alpine Guides does not insure you against these risks. For more info about current coverage plans and quotes please visit.
Global Rescue
We recommend Signature Travel Insurance.
For travel insurance or Global Rescue membership.
Click here for a quote
Ripcord Rescue Travel Insurance
For travel, evacuation and rescue coverage.
Click here for a quote
Date Changes
Date changes may be requested at anytime up to 45 days prior to your departure date for a $150.00 fee per person. Date changes are subject to availability and apply only to the current climbing season. No date changes allowed less than 45 days before departure.
Cancellations
Since departures require a minimum number of participants, Northwest Alpine Guides must adhere to a stringent refund policy. The policy is intended to protect participants who have otherwise committed time and resources to the departure. Please read our Online Reservation for Terms and Conditions.
MEALS
You will need to provide all of your own meals during the Crevasse Rescue 2-Day Course. You will need one (1) breakfast, enough lunch and snack food for two (2) days, and one (1) dinner. Northwest Alpine Guides will provide the group with hot cooking water for breakfast and dinner.
Meal Schedule
Lunch & snacks for hike from trailhead to high camp, Dinner
Three or four 15-minute lunch & snack breaks. Dinner in high camp.
Day 2: Breakfast, Lunch & snacks for the course
Three or four 15-minute lunch & snack breaks
Day 2: Remaining snacks for the descent to trailhead
Mountain Lunches
We recommend that you bring a variety of snack food to eat while moving. On each day, we will encourage you to eat at regular, short maintenance breaks, roughly once every hour. These snacks can be critical for maintaining a steady supply of energy while moving up and down the mountain. We will not stop for a big lunch break.
Some examples of snack foods include dried meats (salami), jerky (turkey, beef, fish), tuna fish, cheese, crackers, bagels, dried fruit, nuts, chocolate, candy bars, gummy candy, cookies, energy bars and trail mix.
We cannot overstate how critical it is for you to bring foods that you enjoy eating. Eating properly is the key to maintaining strength in the mountains. We recommend a selection of sweet, sour and salty food.
When preparing lunches, please do not bring food items that require cooking or extensive preparation.
Mountain Breakfasts and Dinners
Please prepare your meals prior to your climb. Suggested food items:
Alpine Breakfast: Instant oatmeal, Pop Tarts, dried fruit, granola bars, bagels, peanut butter, cream cheese.
Dinner: Freeze-dried dinners are easy to prepare but do not always taste good and may affect your stomach. Instant noodle soups and rice are also popular. You may also consider bringing a cold meal of dried meat, bread, pizza, or sandwiches.
Hot Drinks: Coffee, Caffeinated Tea, Herbal Tea, Cocoa, Cider
Cold drinking water will be available in high camp. Hot, boiled cooking water will be provided for your meal preparation, for example for freeze-dried dinners, instant soups, instant oatmeal and hot drinks.
When preparing meals, please do not bring food items that require extensive cooking or other preparation.
TRAVEL
Getting There
At 8:00 a.m. on the morning of the climb, we meet at the Guide Hut in Sedro-Woolley, WA for equipment check and orientation before heading to the trailhead. Upon receiving your registration, Northwest Alpine Guides will email you complete PreClimb information, including a gear list specific to your itinerary and other departure details.
The small town of Sedro-Woolley, “The Gateway to the North Cascades,” is approximately 70 miles and a 1.5-hour drive from Seattle or Bellevue. Limited services are available in Sedro-Woolley. More extensive food, shopping and lodging options may be found nearby in the cities of Mount Vernon and Burlington.
The Guide Hut / Northwest Alpine Guides
305 F And S Grade Road
Sedro-Woolley, WA 98284
Click here for directions
Parking can be found across the street in the Park & Ride lot.
We sell a selection of basic mountaineering equipment in our Sedro-Woolley location. Following the gear check and orientation you will have an opportunity to stop at a market for other last-minute items.
The Guide Hut
On the day of your climb, you will meet your guides at the Guide Hut for group orientation and gear check. For participants on our 3-day and 5-day mountaineering courses, the Guide Hut opens on Thursday afternoons from 4-6 p.m. the day before the climb, and on Friday morning at 8:00 a.m. the day of the climb. For participants on other 2-day and 3-day climbing itineraries please refer to your PreClimb registration email for exact meeting times and location.
During open hours at the Guide Hut, you will have an opportunity to pick up pre-reserved rental items, try on boots, and purchase last-minute items prior to driving to the trailhead. The Guide Hut offers a selection of retail items such as outdoor clothing, glacier sunglasses, gloves, water bottles, cups, bowls, spoons, sunscreen, carabiners, climbing cord, waste kits, mole skin, batteries, freeze-dried foods, as well as NWAG logo wear. Visit the Guide Hut online store for available merchandise.
The Guide Hut serves Northwest Alpine Guides climbing customers only. It is not open to the public, and does not serve customers outside of scheduled operating hours.
Flight Travel
Most climbers will fly into Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) the evening before the program and rent a car for the hour and forty-five minute drive to Sedro Woolley, Washington. Please note that Seattle traffic is worsening and driving times from Seattle and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport may be significantly longer.
Our Northwest programs begin at the date, time and meeting location listed in the itinerary in your PreClimb Information. Meeting locations may vary depending on program destination. Climbers flying to Washington State must arrive the day before their program begins in order the meet the group for an early morning gear check and orientation. Return times on the final day of the program are difficult to predict. We strongly recommend that climbers book a hotel night following the final day of their itinerary and schedule departure flights on the following day. If departing on the last day of the program, we recommend booking a flight later than 10 pm.
Transportation
Transportation between the meeting location and the trailhead is not included in the price of the trip. Guides are not responsible for providing transportation to team members. We serve both local and out-of-town climbers in our Northwest programs, and many of our guests prefer to use their own vehicles. Team members are free to organize rideshares with other team members. With your permission, our office staff can share your name and contact information with other team members so that you can organize ridesharing. The NWAG office does not coordinate ridesharing or carpooling and we are unable to share customer or guide contact information due to privacy concerns. In rare cases, Northwest Alpine Guides staff may provide limited transportation between the trailhead and Sedro-Woolley / Seattle / Bellevue as a fee service.
Trailhead Parking
You will need to obtain a NW Forest Pass or equivalent parking permit to leave your car at the trailhead lot. Single-use passes are $5.00 per day. They can be purchased in advance or the day of the gear check. A National Parks pass may suffice.
Driving Directions
From Seattle
Take I-5 North towards Burlington to Cook Road in Skagit County.
Take exit 232 from I-5 N
Turn right onto Cook Road, Head East to Sedro-Woolley
Follow Cook Road to Borseth Road in Sedro-Woolley, 7 min (4.3 mi)
At the traffic circle, take the 3rd exit and onto Borseth Road
Turn left onto F & S Grade Road
The NWAG Guide Hut is the first building on your left
From Bellingham
Take I-5 South towards Burlington to Cook Road in Skagit County.
Take exit 232 from I-5 S
Follow Cook Road to Borseth Road in Sedro-Woolley, 7 min (4.3 mi)
Turn left onto F & S Grade Road
The NWAG Guide Hut is the first building on your left
From Burlington
From State Highway 20 East, at the traffic circle, take the 2nd exit onto Cook Road (after the Walgreens)
Follow Cook Road to Borseth Road in Sedro-Woolley, 7 min (4.3 mi)
Turn left onto F&S Grade Road
The NWAG Guide Hut is the first building on your left
Hotels
Lodging in Burlington and Sedro-Woolley, Washington. For those who wish to lodge close to the meeting location the night before the climb, the following options are recommended.
Three Rivers Inn Hotel
210 Ball Street
Sedro-Woolley, WA 98284
Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Burlington
9384 Old Hwy 99 North
Burlington, WA 98233
La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Burlington
1670 S Burlington Blvd
Burlington, WA 98233
There are many hotel choices in Seattle, Bellevue and Issaquah.
Red Lion Hotel Bellevue
11211 Main Street
Bellevue, WA 98004
Motel 6 Seattle East Issaquah
1885 15th Pl NW
Issaquah, WA 98027
