3-Month Mountain Skills Semester
The Mountain Skills Semester is designed from the cumulative experience of over 40 years as Canada’s top mountaineering school. In our outdoor leadership training program, we have focused on the most important skills required to travel safely and confidently in the mountains. These skills are presented in a logical progression from basic safety protocols and mountaineering gear handling to intermediate and advanced techniques. The MSS program is almost entirely a hands-on technical skills outdoor and leadership training course in Canada. Unlike other similar gap year programs, over 90 percent of our outdoor leadership training program is spent outdoors learning the skills and techniques to make you a competent mountaineer and backcountry skier. We believe this is the most comprehensive mountaineering semester program in the world and is dedicated solely to developing mountain skills.
1-Month Summer Rock and Mountaineering Semester
This condensed and intensive high-end mountaineering training course is designed for those who cannot take three months off to do our full Mountain Skills Semester & Outdoor Leadership Program. The mountaineering training course focuses on sports climbing skills required of the summer mountaineer: climbing alpine rock, travel on snow and ice, glacier travel, crevasse rescue, technical rock climbing, mountain living, navigation, and route finding. These skills are presented in a logical progression from basic safety protocols and technical gear handling to intermediate and advanced techniques that are constantly being reviewed and updated by our professional guides.
1-Month Backcountry Ski & Splitboard Semester
Dial-in your skillset as a backcountry traveller through our one-month winter ski or splitboard program. Over the course of a month, you will complete an AST1 and 2 as well as travel to several classic areas in Banff and Glacier National Parks on skis or splitboard. You will travel to Rogers Pass and complete an expedition in a remote, world-renowned ski mountaineering area where our experienced ACMG guides will show you what they have to offer.
Over the course of one month of intensive high-end ski touring and ski mountaineering, we will cover all the essential skills to help you take your backcountry riding skills to the next level. The one-month ski program training focuses on travel in avalanche terrain, crevasse rescue, avalanche education, planning and completing a ski traverse, tackling steeper terrain with strategies for success, winter camping skills, navigation, and route finding. These skills are presented in a logical progression from basic safety protocols to intermediate and advanced techniques that are constantly being reviewed and updated by our professional guides.