Alpine Scrambling Course

COURSE SUMMARY

Alpine scrambling is non-technical climbing that involves off-trail travel over rock and snow.  Most Colorado summits are accessible by scramble routes.  You can use the skills acquired in this course to reach the summits of hundreds of Colorado 14ers and 13ers.  The course requires good physical conditioning, a moderate commitment of time and energy, appropriate outdoor gear and clothing, a few items of technical climbing gear and a positive attitude.  You should have some prior hiking experience in mountain terrain on trails and off-trail on moderate angle broken rock, talus, scree, and soft snow. Basic map reading and interpretation skills are also prerequisites.  These skills can be acquired in basic hiking courses such as the Colorado Mountain Club (CMC) Mountain Hiking Course or Wilderness Trekking School.  The Alpine Scrambling Course (ASC) is a good choice for those interested in climbing non-technical peaks in Colorado, that is, peaks where the easiest route does not, except under unusual conditions, require the use of technical gear such as ropes, protection gear, and the accompanying knowledge and skills.  Those who complete this course will have acquired the skills to confidently climb most Colorado peaks, including 14ers and 13ers, under normal conditions and be able participate on most CMC scrambling trips.  The ASC is also excellent preparation for more technical climbing courses such as the CMC Basic Mountaineering Course for those who wish to acquire technical climbing skills.

WHAT IS SCRAMBLING?

Alpine scrambles are off-trail trips, often on snow or rock, with a ‘non-technical’ summit as a destination that is usually reached without the sustained use of technical climbing gear and does not involve travel on extremely steep rock, snow, or ice.  In the Colorado mountains, scrambling includes much of the realm between off-trail hiking and technical climbing.  It involves moving over challenging and sometimes exposed terrain without the need to rope up as a climbing team for sustained sections of the route, although ropes and minimal protection gear are occasionally advised for short portions of scrambling routes.  This can mean negotiating low and moderate angle rock, travelling through extensive talus and scree, crossing streams, bushwhacking, and climbing snow-covered slopes.  Scrambling is a mountaineering skill.  This skill can be learned but takes time, practice, and experience to develop.

Scrambling involves varied terrain that is differentiated according to climbing difficulty: 

• Class 2 – Off-trail hiking or easy scrambling
• Class 3 – Intermediate scrambling
• Class 4 – Difficult scrambling or simple climbing

Colorado mountain guidebook author and CMC member Gerry Roach provides a descriptive definition.  “Class 3 is the easiest climbing category, and people usually call it ‘scrambling.’  You are beginning to look for and use handholds for upward movement. You are now using basic climbing, not walking, movements.  Although you are using handholds, you don’t have to look very hard to find them.  Occasionally putting your hand down for balance while crossing a talus slope does not qualify as Class 3.  That is still Class 2.”

Leaders of scrambling trips often carry a rope and some protection gear, especially on harder scrambles, which may be used for security on exposed sections, to assist less confident members of the party, or to facilitate retreat in case of difficulty.   Sustained use of a rope and belays counts as technical climbing and is not taught in this course.  Irrespective of whether one uses a rope to climb up scrambling terrain, one will occasionally want the security of a rope when descending the same terrain.  Inexperienced climbers may feel more secure when roped on short portions of the ascent as well.  While much of the enjoyment of scrambling depends on the freedom from technical gear, un-roped scrambling in exposed situations is potentially one of the most dangerous of mountaineering activities.  For this reason, education and training specific to scrambling are important components of the preparation for Colorado climbers. 

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THE COURSE

The aim of the ASC is to provide a framework for learning that will allow you to acquire the skills and experience to more safely and confidently climb Colorado peaks.  In particular:

• Improve your personal ability to move more securely and efficiently in scrambling terrain.
• Improve your personal ability to manage exposure.
• Improve your ability to plan and execute scrambles within a team framework.

 In this course, you will learn:

• Review of appropriate clothing, gear, and equipment,
• Planning a climb,
• Awareness of mountain terrain and weather conditions,
• Interpreting and following route descriptions,
• Recognizing mountain hazards,
• Recognizing human caused hazards,
• Route finding in scrambling terrain,
• Distinguishing scrambling terrain from terrain that requires technical gear,
• Techniques for climbing and descending moderate rock,
• Techniques for ascending and descending moderate snow,
• Becoming familiar with technical gear to improve safety,
• Work within a team framework to accomplish personal goals,
• Wilderness and climbing ethics,
• Emergency procedures.

GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS:

To graduate this course, students must attend the two scheduled workshops and one scheduled group field days.