The American Alpine Institute Alpine Mountaineering and Technical Leadership program is the premiere program of its type in the United States. It is the only program that takes a person from being a rank beginner and turns them into a well-rounded alpinist.
The program is broken into three twelve day parts. The first part covers the fundamentals of mountaineering and rock climbing. In the second part people begin leading on rock, snow and ice. And in the third part there is additional skill building and leadership opportunities.
In Part III, students have four choices. First, they may choose to work on aid climbing/big wall skills and then do a mini-expedition into a remote part of the Cascades. Second, they may go to the Bugaboos of British Columbia for a speed and efficiency seminar and high end alpine rock climbing. Third, they may study ski mountaineering. Or fourth, they may choose to go to Mount Waddington for a real expedition...
AAI guide and photographer, Alasdair Turner, just returned from a Part III that focused on aid climbing, went to the remote Picket Range in the Cascades and then finished with an ascent of Mount Baker's North Ridge. Following is a photo essay of his trip:
The program is broken into three twelve day parts. The first part covers the fundamentals of mountaineering and rock climbing. In the second part people begin leading on rock, snow and ice. And in the third part there is additional skill building and leadership opportunities.
In Part III, students have four choices. First, they may choose to work on aid climbing/big wall skills and then do a mini-expedition into a remote part of the Cascades. Second, they may go to the Bugaboos of British Columbia for a speed and efficiency seminar and high end alpine rock climbing. Third, they may study ski mountaineering. Or fourth, they may choose to go to Mount Waddington for a real expedition...
AAI guide and photographer, Alasdair Turner, just returned from a Part III that focused on aid climbing, went to the remote Picket Range in the Cascades and then finished with an ascent of Mount Baker's North Ridge. Following is a photo essay of his trip:
