North Cascades
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Supporting Documents
"Brian is solid on
hard skills and a very
competent guy to learn from.
He is a great motivator
and extremely thorough."
-Kristen L.
More Student Comments
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-Instructor Dave Sundnas getting after it on 'Uber'.
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North Cascades Rock Climbing; Leadership Course
(12 days)
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The North Cascades form an extremely rugged, remote, and exciting range of glaciated alpine mountains and offers world class climbing. The park is home to towering granite spires, extensive glaciers, and over 9,000 feet of vertical relief.
Imagine leading a day of top roping at a wilderness crag, routefinding up a rocky ridge with the clouds beneath your feet, or climbing multi-pitch routes in the dramatic peaks of the North Cascades. The sweeping granite shields and high quality rock make this area a world-class destination.
This comprehensive rock climbing course is the perfect setting to achieve your goals whether you are looking to become a professional guide, hone your technical abilities for personal adventures, or expand your leadership skills. It focuses on teaching students to be safe, efficient, knowledgeable and confident outdoor leaders on vertical rock.
Course Location North Cascades National Park is a relatively unknown gem of the National Park System and is a climber's dream. Known as the "American Alps" because of its combination of jagged peaks and glaciers, this park is situated in central Washington, just below the border with Canada. Over 75% of the glaciers in the continental United States are found in the North Cascades. The park abuts Alpine Lakes Wilderness, creating a protected area of a million acres, which offers great recreation in a variety of ecosystems.
Across this vast area, the park and wilderness stretch from the lush, wet environment influenced by the Pacific to the drier reaches east of the Cascade Mountains. A convergence of tectonic plates has created dome-shaped volcanic peaks and granite pinnacles. The variety of terrain in this region is a veritable playground and classroom for climbers.
The Instructors and Guides of IWLS are widely recognized as some of the very best in their field and have practical leadership experience from around the globe. They are well trained and have an uncommon enthusiasm for sharing their skill and knowledge, borne out of a passion for outdoor exploration.
The International Wilderness Leadership Schools' educational model nurtures leadership development and creates an awareness of the guiding mentality that is essential for leading safe, fun adventures in the mountains. The combination of technical skills training, experiential education and practical leadership experience make the IWLS curriculum world class.
The IWLS General Curriculum outlines the essential components for effective outdoor leadership. Here are a few points that your course will focus on.
Leadership: Opportunities to lead the group will be abundant and you'll have the time to learn and practice multiple styles of leadership.
Navigation: Learn how to take a bearing, read a topographical map, triangulate your position, and navigate in a whiteout.
Safety and Risk Management: Safety is always the #1 consideration. As the course progresses, you'll develop an awareness to appropriately asses risk and make safe decisions.
Teaching: You'll have the opportunity to develop lesson plans, teach in front of the group, and learn the importance of progressions for teaching technical skills and leadership.
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photo: Kevin Forster |
IWLS Rock Climbing Curriculum is designed to create safe and strong technical climbers. Below are some examples of what you'll learn:
Climbing Technique: Whether stemming an inside corner, jamming an off-width, or friction climbing on a blank slab, you'll learn the techniques to climb efficiently on a variety of different features.
Rappelling: Rappelling down a steep rock face is a thrilling moment and our team will learn how to do it safely. We'll also look at different methods for teaching rappelling and dealing with incapacitated climbers.
Route Selection: Where to set up the fixed belay? How to avoid objective hazards? How to select the most appropriate route from far below? You'll learn the answer to these questions and more as we climb a variety of established routes in addition to possible first ascents.
High Angle Rescue: What happens when things go bad? We'll practice escaping the belay and getting to the aid of an injured climber.
Experience Level: No previous experience is necessary for this course. However, with a desire to learn and an enthusiasm for adventure, you'll develop the skills necessary for a lifetime of wilderness exploration.
Certifications upon completion of the 12-day course participants may qualify for the following certifications:
 12 IWLS Certificate of Completion
International Wilderness Leadership School
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Click Here for all available certifications.
University credit is available for this and other IWLS courses.
Consider combining three 24-day courses for an IWLS semester!
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