Scrambling Skills and Safety

Course Agenda

Day 1: At our comfortable office, your guide will do a course briefing (intro, goals, objectives etc) followed by departure to a field location in the lower Bow Valley area. Terrain skills (evaluation, route finding, movement on rock and safety skills) will be our topic for the day while we enjoy scrambling a peak. We minimize our time in the classroom and get out in the field.

Day 2: Early departure from Canmore for a local scramble. We will discuss terrain evaluation, route finding, group management, and if possible we will cover snow skills, and basic technical equipment use. Meeting time and place will be determined by your guide and will be based on the day's objective.

Meeting Time & Place

The course begins at the Yamnuska office at 8:00am on the Saturday morning. The Yamnuska office is located at 200, 50 Lincoln Park, Canmore. See this map for location.

Be dressed ready for the outdoors.

Instructors & Group Size

Your instructors are certified by the internationally-recognized Association of Canadian Mountain Guides. There will be a maximum of 6 participants to one guide.

Transportation

To keep prices down participants are responsible for their own transport to Canmore and during the program. Canmore is a 1 hour (100km) drive west from Calgary.

If you are flying from afar for the program we suggest that you rent a car for your visit. In addition to getting you to the climbing locations it will allow you to explore our region a bit after program hours. For example you can visit Banff and enjoy the hot pools and sample the numerous restaurants.

Frequent shuttles connect Calgary International Airport and Canmore. Greyhound Bus Lines (1 800 661 8747) serves Canmore from points east and west along the Trans-Canada Highway. Call 609 0300, 609 1490 or 609 8897 for taxis in Canmore.

Accommodation & Meals

We do not provide accommodations or meals during this program but we can make arrangements for you. There are lots of options available including campgrounds, hostels, B'n'Bs, motels and hotels! We do suggest you stay in the Canmore area on Saturday night to reduce driving time on Sunday. Check our links page for some of the accommodations we use and recommend.

You will need to bring a packed lunch, snacks and plenty of liquids each day.

Equipment & Clothing

The equipment and clothing you bring to this course will play a large role in the quality of your experience. Read the following suggestions and list carefully. If you have any questions or need clarification, don't hesitate to call or email. There is room for substitution and changes but if you have any doubts, do contact us.

Clothing

You will need to bring:

• Sweater or fleece jacket
• Wool / fleece hat
• Rain pants & jacket with hood
• Wool / fleece mittens or mountaineering gloves, waterproof overmitts if necessary.
• Warm long pants to climb in. These should be wool/nylon or synthetic blend fabric, fleece pants, nylon exercise pants with light long johns or wool trousers.
• Warm shirt
• Light shirt or T-shirt
• Several sets of socks (wool/synthetic outers, polypro liners)
• Knee length gaiters
• Sunhat with wide brim
• polypro / fleece long underwear
• Extra sweater or fleece jacket or light down jacket or vest

Equipment List

You will need to bring:

• Boots: You need sturdy boots with plenty of ankle support. Best are leather mountaineering boots. Otherwise a really solid hiking boot will be OK.
• Helmet*
• Good sunglasses
• Sun block
• Water bottle (at least 1 liter)
• Large day pack (should be large enough to carry spare clothing and your lunch)

* Loaners available from Yamnuska, please let us know any gear requirements at the time of booking.

Please book as early as practical to avoid disappointment. We require full payment on booking.  We accept Visa, Mastercard, Canadian Cheques, Money Orders and Bank Drafts.  Credit card payments are easiest, especially for international travellers.

We ask that you familiarize yourself with our detailed booking instructions and conditions.

Please note that you will be required to sign our waiver before commencing the program. Please view our sample waiver copy.

There are two basic types of insurance that most travellers need to consider: Medical and Cancellation/Trip Interruption Insurance. We offer our guests coverage for both and highly recommend you purchase it.

Emergency Medical Expenses Insurance:

There is no charge for rescue/evacuation in National Parks so long as you have a valid National Park Entry Pass (available at the park gate). Some provincial parks do charge for rescue/evacuation so it is wise to ensure that your health plan will cover you in case of illness or accident while here.

Cancellation/Trip Interruption Insurance:

We recognize many of our guests are busy profesionals and their schedules can change without notice.  We strongly recommend the optional 'Cancel for any reason' insurance through our adventure insurance provider. Flight delays and other unplanned events are unfortunately a reality and it may not be possible for us to delay a trip departure for a guest(s).

Yamnuska offers an "Adventure Travel Protection Plan" through Travel Guard insurance. This plan offers comprehensive coverage for all your travel needs including trip cancellation/interruption, emergency medical expenses, and personal effects loss. For more information and to purchase this coverage visit Travel Guard's website.

For the convenience and peace of mind for our guests, we chose Travel Guard as a comprehensive insurance provider.  We highly recommend purchasing this insurance and ask that you familiarize yourself with their program and our cancellation policies (available under the Booking Info tab).