Phone: 403 678 4164 - 1 866 678 4164
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Dates and Prices

Price

$1450 Canadian includes instruction, hut accommodation, Park Permits, out-trip meals, local transfer to trailhead and use of technical gear.

Not included: Canmore accommodation, boot rentals (if required), Gratuities & 5% GST.

Trip Cancellation Insurance is available through the Simpson Group.

Is it for you?

The peaks attempted on this course are of easy to moderate difficulty and where appropriate we may let students lead. We ask that parents be pragmatic about their child's fitness level. We do modify the itinerary for youth participants but we will do long days with a pack on. We pre place food and equipment in Bow Hut to minimize the potential first day's heavy load. Any training your child can do in advance, particularly that involving hiking up steep terrain, will really enhance their enjoyment of this program. No prior mountaineering experience is needed. Leave that to us!

Although we recognize the positive impact programs like this can have on young people, this program is not suited for teens with behavioral or motivation challenges. Other organizations such as Outward Bound have very good programs to better suit the needs of these teens.

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Home >> Mountaineering >> Beginner Programs >> Youth Mountaineering Course

Youth Mountaineering Course

Our extensive experience training youth and Army Cadets is applied to this fun and challenging week of mountaineering instruction for 15 - 17 year olds. Being exposed to the mountain environment at a young age typically instills a lifelong love of the outdoors. Our instructional approach is tailored to the learning styles and needs of active and motivated teens. Our guides are excellent mentors and personal coaches who present mountaineering skills in a fun and interactive manner. This is hands down the most amazing summer camp program any teen could attend. 

We welcome parents to attend the program.

Children's Fitness Tax Credit

The Canadian Governement offers a federal non-refundable tax credit available to individuals for registration and membership costs of up to $500 per child for prescribed programs of physical activity for their children who are under 16 at the beginning of the taxation year.  A prescribed program of physical activity includes a program of 5 or more consescutive days, if more than 50% of the daily activities include a significant amount of physical activity.  Click here or contact us for more details. 

Course Agenda

Day 1: We meet at the Yamnuska Office in Canmore at 8:30am for introductions, a review of course goals and itinerary and an equipment check. After packing up, it's an hour and a half drive north to Bow Lake where we commence the hike to Bow Hut, which is located at 2350m on a shoulder adjacent to the snout of the Bow Glacier. This will take us between 3 and 5 hours. We travel 6km and climb 610m.

Day 2 - 5: The Bow Hut is our base for the week. Its proximity to the glacier and to several peaks makes it easy for us to get out on to suitable instruction terrain every day. It's a perfect area for instruction. We may spend nights in one of the other huts in the region. Peaks often climbed on the course include Mt. Olive (3110m.), Mt. St. Nicholas (2900m.), Mt. Gordon (3200m.), Mt. Thompson (3050m.), Mt. Balfour (3230m.) & Mt. Rhondda (3110m.)

Note: From Day 2 the course agenda and the amount of time spent on each subject will depend upon conditions in the program area, the weather, group and individual abilities and learning speeds.

Day 6: Final day. A last chance to review techniques before we hike back down to Bow Lake and return to Canmore in the late afternoon.

Curriculum

There is considerable flexibility built into the delivery of this course, no course is exactly the same. Snow and weather conditions will dictate the order of presentation to some degree given we are based on a glacier for the week. The course may also move over to other huts. Key topics will be constantly revisited during the program.

Topics include:

  • Snow School: Movement on snow - Use of Ice Axe - Self Arrests - Snow Anchors
  • Ice School: Walking with Crampons - Ice Anchors
  • Glacier Safety: Glacier Morphology - Choosing a Safe Route - Rope Use for Glaciers - Crevasse Rescue
  • Navigation: Map and Compass Use - Whiteout Procedures - Route Planning
  • Safe Movement: Trail Techniques and Pacing - Use of Rope on Snow, Ice and Mixed Terrain
  • Accident and Emergency Procedures
  • CLIMBS!!! 'Introduction to Mountaineering' is a 'hands-on' course. Skills are explained, demonstrated in the field and then put into practice by participants during glacier crossings and peak ascents. Expect to be sharing the lead, solving route finding problems and fully involved in decision making.
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