When Do You Need To Take Mountain Climbing Courses?

If you are looking to take up mountaineering, you are probably wondering where and how to get started. Do you need to sign up for a climbing course? And is it dangerous to climb a mountain without taking any courses?

So when exactly do you need to take mountain climbing courses? You need mountain climbing courses when you are looking to go on solo climbs or climbs that do not involve guides or large groups of porters. You also need mountain climbing courses when you are planning to take technical routes that involve the use of specialized tools and skills.

Ultimately, it depends on your objective for mountaineering. With the popularity of guided expeditions these days, it is probably possible to conquer the seven summits of the world without taking up any mountain climbing courses. But if you would like to consider yourself a true mountaineer, mountain climbing courses are a good way to start for any beginner.

Know Your Objective For Taking Up Mountain Climbing

As with everything in life, knowing your purpose and objective for doing something will help guide a lot of your decisions along the way.

Ask yourself:

• Am I taking up mountain climbing because I want to conquer the seven summits?
• Am I taking up mountain climbing because I want to challenge myself to survive independently in extreme conditions?
• Am I taking up mountain climbing because I want to climb up frozen waterfalls and glaciers?
• Am I taking up mountain climbing because I love adrenaline rushes?
• Am I taking up mountain climbing as a fun and healthy way to spend time with my family or friends?
• Am I taking up mountain climbing to motivate myself to get in shape?

There are a million other reasons why someone would want to take up mountain climbing. And each of these different reasons will also mean the type of mountain you are going to choose to climb is going to be very different.

If you see mountain climbing as a leisure activity to spend time with family and friends, or simply as an alternative form of exercise, there are plenty of non-technical mountains to climb around the world. There are countless mountains where you can reach the summit simply by walking to the top. Besides some basic knowledge of survival skills and first aid, you certainly do no need any other mountain climbing courses.

What Types Of Courses Are There?

Now, if you are keen on becoming a serious mountaineer, there are many schools and types of courses out there to get you started.

Here are some basic courses you can start with:

• How to Start Mountaineering and/or Alpine Climbing

This course will be useful for high mountains or glaciers.

What a typical course would cover:

• • Basics tools and their usage, e.g. knots, ropes and hardware
  • How to walk on ice, glacier travel
  • How to protect yourself e.g. self-arrest with an ice-axe
  • How to protect others e.g. crevasse rescue
  • Usually include hands-on climbing practice

• How to Start Rock Climbing

This course will be useful for high mountain climbs. It is an entire climbing genre by itself which can be done indoors and outdoors.

What a typical course would cover:

• • How to climb and maneuver across different rocky surfaces and terrains
  • Rope-work
  • Basics equipment and their usage, e.g. knots, ropes and hardware
  • Usually include hands-on climbing practice

• How to Start Ice Climbing

This course will be useful for climbing glaciers and frozen waterfalls.

What a typical course would cover:

• • • How to climb and maneuver across different icy and snowy surfaces and terrains
    • Walking with Crampons
    • Use of ice axe
    • Glacier safety e.g. how to choose a safe route, rope use
    • Basics equipment and their usage, e.g. ropes, anchors and hardware
    • Usually include hands-on climbing practice

• How to Start High-Altitude/ Expedition Climbing

This course will be useful to long expedition treks or hikes at high altitude.

What a typical course would cover:

• • Basics tools and their usage, e.g. knots, ropes and hardware
  • Basic survival skills such as starting a fire, first aid, pitching a tent
  • Basic navigation skills e.g. how to use map and compass, how to plan routes

• How to Start Backpacking

  This course will be an introductory course that will be useful if you have very limited experience and knowledge on wilderness survival, and especially good for families who are bringing your kids out for their first outdoor experience.

  What a typical course would cover:

  • Basic survival skills such as starting a fire, first aid, pitching a tent
  • Basic navigation skills e.g. how to use map and compass, how to plan routes

How Much Are These Courses?

Here is a rough overview of cost for the various climbing courses. The costs will of course vary depending on the length, proficiency level and location of the courses. Private courses might also be considerably more expensive.

How To Pick A Climbing School

There are plenty of climbing schools around the world.

For rock climbing and backpacking courses, the easiest and most cost effective would be to pick a climbing school near you.

For high altitude or ice climbing courses, you might find yourself needing to travel further out if there are no mountains with the suitable altitude or icy conditions near you. Since these courses usually have an actual hands-on component, you can check around and find a mountain or route that would enjoy climbing, and see if there are climbing schools offering specific courses for that.

What If You Don’t Want To Take A Course

Courses are of course not the only option to acquire climbing knowledge and skills. In this information age, we are spoilt for choices.

Read Climbing Books

Though nothing beats hands on experience, books can be a good starting point. A classic text is Mountaineering: The Freedom Of The Hills. It is written by over 40 experts and is considered the standard textbook for mountaineering and climbing.

The latest edition of the book is split into 6 sections and 27 chapters covering a comprehensive range of topics:

Sections:

• Part One: Outdoor Fundamentals
• Part Two: Climbing Fundamentals
• Part Three: Rock Climbing
• Part Four: Snow, Ice, and Alpine Climbing
• Part Five: Emergency Prevention and Response
• Part Six: The Mountain Environment

Chapters:

Watch Climbing Videos

YouTube is filled with hundreds of videos on climbing, and i’m sure eveyrthing you wish to learn can be easily found with a few clicks. How to put on a crampon, how to tie 8 different types of knots, how to pitch a tent… Any question you have, it’s likely someone has made a video about it.

And to get a better feel of climbing a mountain without actually climbing one, there’s nothing more helpful than watching some documentaries.

• Free Solo (2018)
• Meru (2015)
• The Summit (2012)
• North Face (2008)
• Touching The Void (2003)

Check Out Climbing Discussion Boards and Forums

There are many online climbing communities on Reddit, Quora and climbing forums. Users there can be a wealth of knowledge to tap into.

Here are some of the online communities:

• Reddit Climbing Subreddit
• Reddit Mountaineering Subreddit
• Quora Mountain Climbing Topic
• SummitPost Forum
• Mountain Project Forum
• UK Climbing Forum

Climb With Someone Experienced

If you know some experienced climbers or have a local climbing group who are happy to show you the ropes (pun!), it can be a much cheaper alternative to acquire skills and hands-on experience than courses.

Related Questions

What are climbing grades? The difficulty of a mountain climb is typically indicated by a grade. The United States uses the Yosemite Decimal System and mountain climbs are graded from Class 1 to Class 5.

• Class 1: A walking or hike. You don’t need to use your hands for climbing.
• Class 2: An easy scramble. You need to use your hands occasionally for climbing.
• Class 3: A tough scramble. You need to use your hands for climbing.
• Class 4: An easy technical climb. You need to use your hands and specialized tools and equipment for climbing on a vertical surface.
• Class 5: A technical climb. You need to use your hands and specialized tools and equipment for climbing on a vertical surface.

When do you need climbing permits? Not every mountain require climbing permits. Permits are sometimes required for safety reasons (to track the number of climbers and if anyone is missing). Other times, permits are used to limit traffic on popular routes. Be sure to check with the relevant agencies or authorities prior to making a climb.