The Mountaineers?

[Dave_Schuldt]

Depends on your personality. If your good with groups and ok with rules that you don't agree with then you will do well. I wouldn't do well in and organization like the mounties so I stay away. There not for everybody.

[kklimber]

The Mountaineers can be a very good way to go if you are not in a hurry - it will be February (or so) when the classes/field trips start to early summer by the time you do crevasse rescue. Mt Hood and Olympus are not particularly representative of some of the routes on the volcanos around here (assuming you did the "tourist" route on Hood and the Blue on Oly) in terms of skill levels one might hope to have. The Mountaineers do an admirable job of moving a lot of people through a learning experience, not unlike the army. Some of the same drawbacks also. You'll learn basic navigation, crevasse rescue, and a little about handling gear/what to take with you (which you will "personalize" over time). This would be the Basic course. You will meet a lot of people. Just as if you went into Vertical World on a busy night, there will be a large cross section of people there in terms of personalities and abilities. Although on "club climbs", you will not have complete control over who is on the climb, you can pick which leaders you climb with, and as you meet people, you can to some extent "pack" a climb with your buddies to ensure speed and competency. It's not a bad organization, there are some very good, accomplished climbers that have gone through the Mounties. I went through their courses and I've seen plenty of slow, incompetents on climbs who were not in the Mountaineers. Some of them in other states/countries even. (They use to offer Cruiser on a regular basis as a Basic climb, too. Don't know what happened on that one. The N. Chute on Constance was also offered (my first Basic Climb), I think that one was dropped due to rock fall issues in the chute. It was a fun little trip. I don't think the "college route" is considered enough of a route to qualify as a climb.)

[catbirdseat]

Dave_Schuldt said:

Depends on your personality. If your good with groups and ok with rules that you don't agree with then you will do well. I wouldn't do well in and organization like the mounties so I stay away. There not for everybody.

Must have something to do with the rule against smoking weed in class.

[pzack]

olyclimber said:

Thanks fenderfour, I'll see if I can dig up their website and take a look....

 

http://www.boealps.org/intermed.html

 

I took the intermediate class through boealps this summer. I would recommend it if you would like to learn about trad leading, and if you would like to meet a lot of experienced climbers.

 

Climbs that the class did last summer:

WR of Stuart, WR of Sherpa, NFNWR of Adams, NWF of Slesse, WR of Forbidden, NR of Forbidden, WF Sloan Pk, WR Thompson, NF of Shuksan, NF of Buckner, Brother's Traverse, Twin Sister's Traverse among others... (not everyone does every climb)

 

This is an organized course, so it won't be for everyone. But I found them to be very flexible and laid back.

You can expect :

a basic rock review

a basic snow review

a trad leading introduction

an ice climbing introduction

2 rock climbing outings (smith and squamish)

5 alpine outings

 

 

I've heard very good things about the Mountaineer's course ... it is more structured and more time consuming but some people want that.

 

 

 

[Pencil_Pusher]

I didn't have any funky cold medina, so I figured the next best way to get more chicks would be to join the Mountaineers. Unfortunately, I never did a single thing with that club in the one year I was a member. Anyhow, the hardest part about the equivalency test was keeping my mouth shut while getting the encyclopedia lecture on whatever/nothing.

"Self, you want to get this equivalency so stay quiet."

"But this is a crock of shit!"

"Be quiet, get the equivalency."

Be quiet, nod and agree and it's a cakewalk. I've heard good things of the Mounties Intermediate course too. My preference is boealps, but that's not an objective opinion. Boealps population: 300, Seattle Mounties: 9000... that was my math reasoning for single women odds.

For this thread, yeah, hire a guide. It may cost more but it's quick and you can do it now versus waiting for whenever these classes start through the various clubs. Whichever guide you hire, make sure she has pretty eyes