Browse upcoming Climbing activities You must be a basic or intermediate climbing course graduate, student, or have equivalency to register for a climb.
The Basic Climbing Course is a one or two year course of classroom instruction, field instruction and climbing experience designed to provide the basic skills necessary to safely climb rock, snow and the glaciated peaks of the Pacific Northwest. This course covers selection and care of equipment, wilderness travel, roped and glacier travel, belaying, rappelling, rock climbing, crevasse rescue, and many other topics. During field trips and actual climbs the student will put these skills to practical use with experienced mountaineers. Solid physical conditioning and psychological commitment is essential
Past BCC Graduates: Graduates of the course are encouraged to participate on BCC climbs, particularly alpine and glacier outings. Review all of the climb listings and call the leader if you find something of interest. The intent is to create opportunities for you to be involved, to share your knowledge and experience with others, and to improve or maintain proficiency in your skills.
2009 Records: Graduation materials (forms for completed MOFA, trail maintenance, etc) should be sent to: Bill Wood, wwood999@gmail.com; 206-255-2723.
Basic Climbing registration: Our next Basic course will commence February, 2011.
Controlled Risk: Participants must be aware that mountain climbing can be a very hazardous activity, and that participation in course field trips, conditioners, and experience climbs does expose you to hazardous conditions and a possibility of serious injury or death.
2010 Course Info: Lectures are Wednesdays at the Tacoma clubhouse. They will begin promptly at 7 p.m. and run until about 10 p.m. Arrive by 6:30 p.m. to Lecture #1 for distribution and review of course materials. All lectures and field trip preps are required as prerequisites to attend field trips.
Lecture Schedule:
March 3 - Lecture 1: Conditioning, Equipment, Knots
March 31 - Lecture 2: Snow Travel, Avalanche Hazards
April 21 - Lecture 3: Rock Climbing
May 5 - Lecture 4: Accident Response, Mountain Rescue, Health, Nutrition
May 26 - Lecture 5: Glacier Travel, Crevasse Rescue
Field Trip Schedule:
March 10 or 17 - FT 1 Preparation: Fundamentals, Prusiking, Knots
March 20 - FT 1: Fundamentals, Prusik Test, Knots, Belaying
April 10 and 11 - FT 2: Winter Overnight
April 24 - FT 3: Belay Test
May 8 or 9 - FT 4 Rock I: Knots, Rock Climbing, Rappelling
May 22 or 23 - FT 5: Rock II: Rock Climbing, Rappelling
June 2 - FT 6 Preparation: Crevasse Rescue
June 12 and 13 - FT 6 and 7: Crevasse Rescue and Hard Snow
June 16 - Final Exam
June 30 - Course Review and Critique
October 3 - Graduation and Course Potluck 6:30 p.m.
Graduation Requirements
You have two years to complete the course (there is an administrative fee for returning 2nd yr students, see above).
Attend all lectures and field trip preps, and pass final examination.
Satisfactorily complete all field trips.
Satisfactorily complete one Conditioner, four Basic Climbs, including one Rock and one Glacier climb.
Apply for graduation as described in the course manual.
Climbs: During the course 100+ Basic Climbs and Conditioners are offered. To participate in climbs, Basic participants must complete the appropriate prerequisite field trips (as detailed in the course manual) and have successfully completed one conditioner. Many climbs are available for online registration; some require permission directly from the leader. Popular climbs fill quickly. Successful participants are flexible when selecting climbs from the offered destinations and are flexible with their personal schedule.
Hiking and Peak Awards
To promote interest in trails and climbs across Washington and into California, Oregon and Canada, the Mountaineers have established Hiking and Peak Awards. The awards are available to members that complete the requirements listed for a particular group of destinations.
