Archive:2010 June 12-13 Beginner Friendly Mountaineering
Synopsis
There seems to have been some desire of late for a mountaineering trip where beginners are welcome. This is it! The plan is to take a small group (~10) to either Mount Matier (north of Pemberton) or Mount Garibaldi (near Squamish) spend a little time on Saturday practicing skills such as glacier walking, self arrest, and crevasse rescue then attempt to summit the mountain Sunday morning.
- Why is this Beginner Friendly? - this trip is beginner friendly in the sense that beginners to mountaineering are welcome and we will be happy to teach and wait for them, not in the sense that it is easy or safe. See the VOC definition of beginner friendly Here.
- I suggest reading (if you have it, or borrow it from the clubroom, a friend, whatever) Freedom of the Hills to brush up on you mountaineering know-how.
Skills Required
Someone who'd like to join this trip should have a few basic skills:
- Previous hiking and backpacking experience
- General fitness
- Previous camping experience
- Outdoor safety
Route
Either:
- Mount Matier Northeast Spur (pg. 226 Alpine Select) - accessed by the Cerise Creek Trail on the Duffy Lake Road north of Pemberton
- Mount Garibaldi East Face (pg 183 Alpine Select) - accessed by the Elfin Lakes trail from Squamish (the hike in here is very long)
Getting to the top is of course never a guarantee, but we will have a whole bunch of fun and learn a lot.
Gear Required
Check out the gear lists on the wiki for a mountaineering trip here: Gear lists
Remember, the VOC has lots of gear for rent in the clubroom. There are lots of crampons, ice axes, packs, harnesses, helmets, etc... available in the clubroom.
Clothes
- 1 set of non-cotton clothes (just the one set)
- 1 additional warm thing (fleece / down jacket)
- water proof pants and jacket (even if the weather is suppose to be good)
- toque (very important!!!)
- gloves
- boots
- sun hat
- gaiters
- an extra set of non-cotton clothes might be worth the weight if the weather is going to be bad
Shelter
- Tent (share with someone)
- sleeping bag (of appropriate warmth for you)
- sleeping pad
Miscellaneous
- Sunscreen
- Headlamp (very important!!!)
- lip balm
- sunglasses (very important!!!!)
- camera
- bug net (works way better than bug juice, plus it doesn't wreck the environment or your stuff)
- Toilet Paper
- Toothbrush
- Lighter
Gear
- ice axe (can borrow from club)
- crampons (which fit boots, can borrow from club, bring boots when you borrow!)
- climbing harness (can borrow from club)
- helmet (can borrow from club)
- prussiks (1x2m, 1x5m) (Ask to borrow from someone, ie: Geoff, or buy at MEC for ~a couple dollars)
- 1" webbing (2x3m) (Ask to borrow from someone, ie: Geoff, or buy at MEC for ~a couple dollars)
- 2 non-locking and 2 locking carabiners (Ask to borrow from someone, ie: Geoff, or buy at MEC)
Food
- stove + pot + fuel + lighter (or share with someone)
- Thing to eat out of
- spoon
- Lunch, Dinner, Breakfast, Lunch (or join a food group)
- Water
- Water purifier drops (optional)
Pack
And a pack to put it all in.