Alaska Prep: Skills Course

Required for the Alaska team. Five men. Four days, three nights. Hyalite Canyon, Montana.

Before we rope up in Alaska, we build the team at home. Alaska Prep is a four-day skills course in Hyalite Canyon outside Bozeman, home to world-renowned ice. We camp out for three nights in winter conditions and train the way we’ll operate on the Alaska Mountaineering Leadership & Logistics Course in May.

By Sunday you know your kit, your systems, and the men on your rope, and you know what’s waiting for you in Alaska.

What you’ll learn

• Cold-weather camping: building campsites on snow and protecting them from the elements.
• Snow travel: moving over snow, towing sleds, and rigging them right.
• Rope work and ice climbing on Hyalite’s ice.
• Based Adventures SOPs: the standard operating procedures we run on every expedition.
• What to expect in Alaska: what the mountains will ask of you, how the expedition runs, and time to get every question answered before May.

How it fits the season

Thursday, March 25 through Sunday, March 28, 2027. It starts three days after Spring Break-out wraps and about eight weeks before we stage in Anchorage on May 20.

Who it’s for

Every man going on the Alaska course. It’s required. No technical mountaineering experience needed, because that’s what this course is for. You should have multi-day backpacking experience and be training toward the Alaska standard.

What’s covered

Four days of hands-on instruction and three nights of winter camping in Hyalite, with one instructor for every five men. Price: $1,000.

Gear

Bring the personal kit you plan to carry in Alaska, because Prep is where we shake it down. The full gear list comes with your invitation.

How to get in

Apply and tell us you’re on the Alaska team. Nothing is due until you’re accepted. Deposit details and Venmo come with your invitation.