Training

Training and Leadership Committee

As a participant on section trips and camps we all have the responsibility to be educated in mountain safety and proper climbing/skiing techniques. The section wants to promote safe and enjoyable mountain experiences for all members and has therefore put together an assortment of courses this season. The Calgary Section has the Training and Leadership Committee (T&L) headed by the T&L Chair person (training.leadership@acccalgary.ca) which is dedicated in putting on as many courses as there is demand. Courses are typically posted on the Event Schedule.

The section has also a few course providers that offer their regularly scheduled courses at a discounted rate for section members. A variety of courses are offered through Custom Outdoor Experience Guiding, Rocky Mountain Adventure Medicineand Yamnuska Mountain Adventures. Take advantage of the savings and the opportunity to develop your skills on a course with like minded people in the Calgary Section. You register directly through the respective companies, but will be asked for your membership number, so ensure that you have it handy.

In addition there are several opportunities for active section leaders to apply to participate in unique Alpine Club of Canada leadership courses. If you have been active as a leader and/or volunteer in the Alpine Club then this is your chance to hone your skills with the help of world-class guides in a world-class setting! See below for more details.

Be more confident and competent in the mountains, take a course!

Alpine Club Leadership Courses

The North Face – ACC Winter and Summer Leadership Training Courses 

For details go to: alpineclubofcanada.ca –> Adventures –> Skills Courses 
Deadline to apply to the Calgary Section for endorsement and/or funding is shown in the event listing on the Event Calendar. Please email the Training and Leadership Chair with your submission of the completed application.  
 
Amateur Leaders are the backbone of the Alpine Club – providing beginner, intermediate, and advanced trips to other members, and helping Sections to host broad and varied trip schedules. 
 
With the support of The North Face, each year we run summer and winter training courses for amateur leaders from across the country in recognition of the tireless work these volunteers do and their need for high quality training. 
  
The main goal of the course is to help members who are already leading trips become better, stronger, and safer leaders for the Sections and for National Camps. The course will cover a broad range of hard and soft leadership skills including but not limited to the following:
 
  • planning and management of ski trips and traverses;
  • snow safety and terrain evaluation;
  • route planning, selection and finding;
  • decision making in avalanche terrain;
  • glacier travel and navigation;
  • crevasse rescue systems;
  • group dynamics, interaction and management; and
  • emergency situation management.

The goals of this course will be to identify and exercise key skill sets for summer and winter mountain leadership situations. This course is set in the midst of one of the most demanding places amateur leaders can find themselves. Seven days of adventure, planning, and practice will develop each individual’s capabilities covering a broad range of hard and soft leadership skills.  

Participant fees are subsidized by The North Face and the Alpine Club of Canada and a commitment for a return to the Club in volunteer energy will be sought from all members who attend.  Participants are required to be endorsed by their ACC Section. In addition, the Calgary Section provides a subsidy of half of the TNF course fees to selected participants resulting in truly exceptional value for such a first rate course. 

The TNF Winter Course is usually based out of the Lake Louise Alpine Centre, whereas the Summer TNF Course is run from the ACC’s General Mountaineering Camp (GMC).