American Alpine Institute - Alpinism 1 - Intro to Mountaineering (6 day)
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Hello everyone, I'm looking to take AAI's 6 day mountaineering course this coming summer. I'm new to mountaineering/alpinism and so I'm looking to start off with some solid training. I've heard good things about the AMTL but that's not going to be feasible this summer due to time and money. |
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I took this as a private course for my introduction to climbing in 1998. It looks like it's offered at Mt. Baker in Washington. Is that the course you're looking at? (I took it in the Sierra in February) |
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Thanks for the reply, FrankPS. Yes, I'm looking at the Mount Baker course. I forgot to clarify that I was referring to the American Alpine Institute. However, I've been reading that Alpine Ascents International also offers a similar 6 day course. From what I can tell those are both good companies to go through. Any thoughts? |
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I took it from the American Alpine Institute, although they're both well-known companies (I have no experience with Alpine Ascents, though). |
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Ah cool. I haven't looked at them before. From their site, it looks like they offer some great courses. What has your experience been like with them? What sets them apart? |
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Private instruction is awesome if you can afford it. |
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AAI is awesome, and that course is pretty much their flagship. Go for it! |
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Joe FIshel wrote:Ah cool. I haven't looked at them before. From their site, it looks like they offer some great courses. What has your experience been like with them? What sets them apart?Knowledge and experience set them apart. Although AAI is fine, it's somewhat of a "guide mill." Meaning, a lot of newer guides, lower pay and higher turnover. That was my understanding back when I used them a few times. I use NCMG, to this day. |
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As a guide of the Alpine Institute, I'd like to offer my thoughts. I got my start through the AMTL Part 1 course as a climber, so you can either look at me as in-bred, or proof that the courses are incredible building blocks to a long and fruitful climbing career. I felt like the courses were almost like 'cheating,' in that I had such a jump start over most other climbers, seeing as I learned from guides who had years of experience and could pass that down to me in a concise and clear way. Having a great mentor is awesome if you can find one, but having a guide who's sole job is to stay up to date on the most current systems and techniques is pretty awesome too. |
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I took AMTL 1 with the American Alpine Institute this past summer, late July to early August. Our instructors were fantastic, and I learned a lot and had a great time. The weather was perfect the whole time, and every one of our summit attempts was successful. (Baker during week 1/Alpinism 1, the course you're looking at, plus three objectives in the WA Pass area during week 2/Alpinism.) I have a friend who took AMTL 1 in mid-June several years ago and they got shut down on every summit bid because of bad weather. So that's a sample size of two, for what it's worth, that backs up Andrew and Frank's comments about the weather being more stable in July/August than June. By late July of this year the crevasses had not opened up too much on Baker and there was still enough snow to camp high on the (Easton) glacier and go over all the skills for safe glacier travel. But the snow was melting fast by late July, and of course, conditions may vary year to year. |