Requirements and Training
42-Day Mountaineering Course in Patagonia

Skills Required

No experience is necessary for this course as it starts at the beginning, teaching you day-to-day skills of mountain life: moving with a heavy backpack, selecting and securing a campsite, and staying warm and dry in inclement weather. You will take on more responsibility as the course progresses, to develop your own leadership skills.

Training and Qualifications

During the expedition you will receive formal qualifications in the following:

• “Outdoor Leader” Certification &“Wilderness First Aid” Practitioner

This course which is a base qualification for any type of guiding work will give you a solid grounding in looking after people in a remote environment, where an ambulance may be days and not minutes away. The emphasis is on long term care and improvisation with the resources that you will have when in the backcountry.

• Leave No Trace Practitioner

The principles of Leave No Trace will be an integral part of how the expedition is run, from camp site selection to waste disposal.

• Avalanche Level 1

This will involve about 16 hrs of classes, some practical, and some theory. You will learn how to use an avalanche transceiver to find a buried victim and how to do grid searches. The course will also cover avalanche theory, snow metamorphism and snowpack analysis. As well as these formal qualifications you will receive a solid foundation in the wide range of skills needed, both hard and soft to be a competent and valuable team member. You will be awarded a certificate with these skills detailed.