Our climbers are a diverse group who are dedicated to providing activities that inspire newcomers and our community to enjoy the mountains, rock crags, and frozen waterfalls in the region and beyond. ... moreOur climbers are a diverse group who are dedicated to providing activities that inspire newcomers and our community to enjoy the mountains, rock crags, and frozen waterfalls in the region and beyond. Leaving the horizontal world safely and returning, while having fun and challenging adventures along the way is of utmost importance. Once you enter the vertical world, you are changed forever.
We are fortunate to have such a great area to live, work and play in. Our activities are generated from our members and range from evening climbing at the local crag to a weekend outing to a distant summit bid in some far away land. Our journeys are unique and memorable. Hopefully not epics, but if so, something that will make us stronger and more aware of what can be done when we return the next time.
We endorse the climber's code and articles of the Tyrol Declaration and work hard to keep abreast of changes in our community. We are stewards of the local rock crags and support educating our youth about redundant anchoring systems and common climbing practices. If we notice unsafe conditions or hear of potential access issues, we work with the community to resolve them. We participate in clean up activities to share the responsibility that comes with using these locations for our recreation.
We do not provide any guiding services and expect every climber to take the responsibility for her/himself as well as be an integral part of a team. To do this, climbers must understand their role as a climber and develop the necessary knowledge and skills needed to thrive. As a team we can accomplish a great many things and return home to tell the story and share it with others.
Our leaders are developed by mentors who are dedicated to providing what was provided to them with some enhancements of their own based on their mistakes and successes. This ethic of giving back time to assist other new climbers and striving to improve is what perpetuates our programs and provides the energy that we have needed to succeed for over 40 years. The tradition of those who have come before to teach us is strong in this group.
Our volunteers in the climbing community dedicate time and resources to provide instructional opportunities to educate our members in the skills of mountaincraft. Our programs are regularly taught by resources from within the club and occasionally experts from afar. We are constantly learning and perfecting our craft in an effort to try a harder route (mentally or physically), or to create an opportunity for a future adventure.
Our members have been involved in numerous situations where clear thinking and appropriate planning meant they succeeded where other teams did not. Or their knowledge about the conditions made them turn back at the appropriate time. We strive to provide programs that prepare our members for the not so friendly environment they are entering. When possible our climbers provide aid to those who may have had some unfortunate turn of events, while maintaining the knowledge that this could have been them.
Our instructional programs include the following areas:
Rock:
We provide youth, basic rock, and lead rock seminars for those interested in top rope, sport, and traditional rock climbing. Our lead school provides opportunities for those who want to learn to create anchors or follow a leader as well as those who want to be out on the sharp end of the rope.
Apline/Glacier:
We provide basic as well as advanced levels of mountaineering skills for our members. Annually we teach Mountain School and Mountain School II. Both are designed to increase our member's skills beyond what they have already obtained in hiking or backpacking. Most of our program focuses on roped travel, but you do not always need a rope to get to the base of a climb and scrambling and rough terrain travel is important. Weather, medicine, trip planning, leadership, gear, self arrest, glacier travel, crevasse rescue, the psychology of a climber and the climbing objective are all addressed by these programs. Additional advanced seminars in crack climbing, aid climbing, and self rescue are also taught annually.
Ice:
We provide a top roped ice climbing seminar to give our members a taste of the sport and improve their knowledge of ice they may encounter on a mixed alpine climb. Some of our members also lead ice and provide informal opportunities to learn more. The region is blessed with some great opportunities to climb some frozen water when the weather gets real cold.
A detailed description for our schedule of classes, seminars, and schools is available on this web site by clicking on Schools & Clinics.
Interested?
Current members and newcomers to the club are encouraged to talk with members of the climbing committee and the directors of our schools to learn more about what the club has to offer. Our success in the mountains as a team or as individuals is adirect result of how well our pro... less