Scrambling Skills and Safety

About this experience

Reach the summits of the Canadian Rockies with greater confidence. This region is home to hundreds of non-technical peaks that can be reached with strong movement skills, thoughtful route-finding, and sound mountain judgment-no advanced climbing background, technical mountaineering experience, or specialized climbing gear required. For many hikers, scrambling is the natural next step toward bigger mountain objectives. Scrambling involves hands-on travel over steep, rocky, or exposed terrain where you may use both your hands and feet for balance and upward movement. Routes are often less defined than hiking trails and may include ridges, slabs, loose rock, early-season snow, and uneven alpine terrain. Yamnuska’s Scrambling Skills course teaches the essential techniques needed to move more confidently and safely through non-technical alpine terrain. You will learn how to choose appropriate routes, recognize common mountain hazards, travel efficiently on loose or steep ground, and manage sections of snow or ice when conditions require it. This course is ideal for hikers who want to progress into scrambling, as well as recreational scramblers who want to improve their skills, decision-making, and confidence in the Canadian Rockies. While the focus is on non-technical scrambling, instructors may introduce basic rope use when extra security is helpful for the terrain. For those ready to take the next step, our “Plus” day scramble offers a more advanced outing with a lower guide-to-guest ratio. This option introduces fundamental rope techniques and basic belay methods, helping you prepare for more challenging, difficult-rated scrambles with greater confidence.

What to expect

1. Day 1: Meet at the Yamnuska Mountain Adventures classroom at 8:00 am Coffee and tea will be available. Review course introduction, goals and objectives and explanation of hazards and risk. Goals and Objectives: To be able to pick an appropriate scramble from the guidebook for skill level To be able to pack the correct and necessary gear for the day To be able to complete the scramble without environmental degradation of the area To be able to recognize the difference between class three and four terrain To effectively route find in class three terrain To recognize environmental hazards and how to deal with them To gain skills for movement in loose terrain and manage rock-fall issues Have fun and gain a summit or two! Course Curriculum: Equipment selection for scrambles Emergency gear Selecting proper footwear Dressing for the mountains Use of guidebooks Choosing peaks appropriate to experience levels Checking weather and conditions Environmental hazards: Lightning, animals, rockfall, snow and ice Environmental ethics Route finding skills Assessment of difficulty Movement skills during ascents and descents/scrambling skills Use of a trekking pole Spotting skills Pacing and rest stops Walking in balance Use of down pressure on handholds Waiver presentation and signing. (please see sample waiver) Head out and complete an easy to moderate scramble.
2. Day 2: Early departure from Canmore for a local scramble This day will focus on personal leadership and decision-making as well as further developing the skills learned on day one. We will also discuss terrain evaluation, route finding, and group management. The meeting time and place will be determined by your guide and will be based on the day’s objective. The course typically runs in the Canmore Kananaskis area. On occasion, we do travel as far west as Lake Louise. Typical scrambles on the course are Heart Mountain, Mt. Yamnuska, Mt. Baldy, and Loder Peak. If we do travel to Banff you will need to have a National Parks entry pass for your vehicle. Expect to be finished by 4:00 pm on the final day.
3. Plus Day Stay for an extra day and put your new skills into practice on a classic Canadian Rockies difficult scramble. The instructor-to-student ratio is 1:2. On this day we will cover advanced scrambling skills and how to manage more technical terrain. Typical scrambles may include Mt. Buller and Mt. Edith. $409 plus GST. Available the day following the ‘Scrambling Skills’ course.