Alaska 8 Day Intermediate Mountaineering Course Itinerary

Day 1 — Talkeetna to Kahiltna Base Camp

Your Alaska adventure begins in Talkeetna with a gear check and orientation at the Alpine Ascents hangar. Developing strong mountaineering skills starts with having the proper equipment, clothing, and nutrition for a safe and successful expedition. After lunch, we board a ski-equipped aircraft for one of the world’s most spectacular mountain flights into the Alaska Range. Upon landing on the Kahiltna Glacier, students receive a review of roped glacier travel before hiking to camp. Together, we’ll build a storm-resistant expedition camp and settle into life on the glacier, surrounded by towering peaks and one of the most awe-inspiring mountain landscapes on Earth.

Skills Covered:

• Equipment selection and preparation
• Expedition packing
• Glacier travel fundamentals
• Camp setup and organization
• Expedition living

Please note: Inclement weather can cause flight and program delay.

Day 2 — Glacier Travel & Crevasse Rescue

We spend today reviewing and sharpening skills from your prior training. Roping up for glacier travel, we practice classical and echelon formations on a tour up the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna before scouting the right spot for crevasse rescue practice. Thanks to our small group size, everyone gets hands-on time running a real rescue scenario — including the 3:1 Z-pulley and 2:1 Drop-C haul systems. We’ll also review knots, rope management, snow anchor construction, and mechanical advantage systems, integrating load-releasable hitches if time allows. That evening, we prepare for a moderate climb the following day.

Skills Covered:

• Glacier travel: classical and echelon rope formations
• Crevasse rescue: 3:1 Z-pulley and 2:1 Drop-C systems
• Knots, rope management, and snow anchor construction
• Mechanical advantage systems and load-releasable hitches

Day 3 — Mount Frances

Guides use today’s climb on nearby Mount Frances to assess each climber’s skill level and tailor the rest of the course to the group’s needs. Centered among Denali, Foraker, and Hunter, Frances offers arguably the best summit view in North America. The standard route climbs a steep snow and mixed couloir before easing onto the more moderate, heavily crevassed East Ridge — a route that calls for both belayed climbing and rappelling to ascend and descend safely.

Skills Covered:

• Steep snow and mixed climbing
• Belayed climbing and rappelling technique
• Team communication
• Hazard assessment & Risk Management
• Summit planning and execution

Day 4 — Moving to the SW Fork

We break down camp and relocate to a remote site on the main Kahiltna Glacier — a clean slate with untracked terrain and challenging peaks for developing more advanced mountaineering skills. The move is great training for pulling heavy sleds while executing our route plan and navigation. Once we reach the SW Fork, we build a bomber wilderness glacier camp, constructing snow walls, tent platforms, a cook shelter, and a privy, all with incredible views of Denali. We spend the evening preparing for a morning summit attempt.

Skills Covered:

• Sled-hauling technique on glaciated terrain
• Route planning and glacier navigation
• Camp construction
• Expedition organization
• Logistics and planning for a summit push

Day 5 — Gateway II

Today’s objective is Gateway II, reached by weaving through a beautifully complex glacier to a short, steep headwall below an impressive summit overlooking the Kahiltna Ice Fall. We descend the same route and prepare for a more challenging objective tomorrow. One of the biggest advantages of an Alaska course is the chance to climb multiple peaks — repetition that’s key to truly internalizing mountain skills. As an intermediate-level group, you’ll take the lead on the rope team as much as possible throughout the climb.

Skills you’ll build:

• Route-finding through complex glaciated terrain
• Steep snow & ice climbing technique
• Leading a rope team
• Repetition-based skill-building across multiple summits

Day 6 — Peak 8610 via the North Arête

Today is a long, demanding day to one of the range’s finest moderate climbs. We traverse the full SW Fork to the base of Mount Foraker’s great French Ridge, then work through a crevassed pocket glacier to the steep North Arête of Peak 8610. Depending on conditions, this striking feature — visible from high on Denali itself — offers either exposed snow climbing or a tougher pitch of hard ice, both leading to exciting belayed climbing up to the summit ridge. From there, we traverse to a remote, exceptional summit before retracing our steps back to camp to prepare for yet another Alaskan summit attempt.

Skills you’ll build:

• Route-finding through complex glaciated terrain
• Steep snow and ice climbing

Day 7 — Cats Ear Spire, Mount Hunter

We shift camp slightly closer to base camp and climb the ultra-classic Cats Ear Spire on Mount Hunter’s West Ridge. The route climbs steeply through a side glacier that skirts a small ice fall — a great opportunity to see how route choice, conditions, and timing reduce objective hazard. Beyond the steep section, the climbing cruises up to the base of the spire, where two short pitches of steep snow and ice put you on top of this striking feature.

Skills you’ll build:

• Objective hazard mitigation: route, conditions, and timing
• Steep snow and ice climbing
• Route finding
• Camp relocation logistics mid-expedition

Day 8 — Flying Out

On our final day in the range, we shore up remaining skills with instruction on advanced cramponing, ice climbing, climbing at altitude, and advanced rescue systems. We break down camp in line with Leave No Trace principles, rope up, and travel back to Kahiltna Base Camp for our afternoon flight to Talkeetna — bringing your Alaska Range expedition to a close.

Skills you’ll build:

• Advanced cramponing and ice climbing technique
• Considerations for climbing at altitude
• Advanced crevasse rescue system review
• Leave No Trace camp breakdown

Other peaks climbed on this course may include Control Tower, Annie’s Ridge, Peak 12,200, Mount Crosson, Kahiltna Dome, Mount Capps, Point Ferine, Pizza Point, Gateway I, and Thunder Mountain.

Note: Due to the nature of climbing in the Alaska Range, there may be delays or accelerations based on weather and guide decision-making. Schedules stay flexible — we may take extra days or combine days to give everyone the best possible chance of success. Please plan on a minimum of eight days in the field and consider the possibility of weather delays flying out of the Alaska Range. Our staff works closely with all Alaska students to accommodate these changes.