Crevasse Rescue 101 Course

Want to learn glacier travel and crevasse rescue from someone who literally wrote the book on the subject? Washington Alpine Guides owner and IFMGA Mountain Guide Ian Nicholson is the author of Glacier Climbing & Crevasse Rescue: Essential Skills for Snow Travel and has spent decades teaching glacier travel, climbing self-rescue, and technical mountain skills to recreational climbers, professional guides, and instructors. Whether you're preparing for your first glaciated climb or want to refresh your skills and learn the latest crevasse rescue techniques, our Crevasse Rescue 101 course is one of our most popular and practical climbing programs.

This one-day crevasse rescue course focuses on the essential systems needed to travel safely on glaciers and respond effectively to a crevasse fall. We cover glacier rope-team setup and rope spacing, knots and hitches, snow anchors, self-rescue, and multiple hauling systems, including New Strand 3:1 and 6:1 systems, original-line hauling systems, and drop-loop techniques. Rather than simply memorizing one rescue system, the goal is to understand how these systems work so you can choose and build the right solution for different rope-team sizes and real-world situations.

Crevasse Rescue 101 is available as a convenient one-day course at several training venues closer to Seattle and the road, allowing us to spend as much time as possible practicing rescue systems. For climbers who want an even more realistic experience, we can also teach glacier travel and crevasse rescue on an actual glacier as part of a variety of overnight Cascade climbing trips. Whether your goals include climbing Mt. Rainier, Mt. Baker, Glacier Peak, or other glaciated objectives in Washington and the North Cascades, this course provides a strong foundation for safer, more confident glacier travel.

1-day cost

1:1 $650

2:1 $375

3:1 $250

4:1 $200