Mountaineering Program

Trip Highlights

• Orientation, pack shakedown and one full day of technical skills & ropes training to prepare for the climb. This will be the day you arrive at our staging location in Puyallup, Washington. 
• Set up team camp near Camp Muir and learn the skills of camping on a glacier at an elevation of 10,060', with views that you will never forget. 
• Spend an entire day in Mountain Training School learning essential skills from our experienced team leaders. This includes self-arrest drills, crevasse rescue techniques, and rope team travel.
• Experience the classic Mt. Rainier climb, ascending over 9,000 feet from the alpine meadows over glaciated slopes to the summit on Columbia Crest.

The primary goal of this event is to provide veterans with quality mountaineering instruction, a chance to be a part of a team, and learn from the experience of our team leads. An attempt to summit one of America's greatest mountaineering challenges is just a bonus! 

Your preparation for this climb will start well before you arrive in Puyallup, Washington. Climbing Rainier's Disappointment Cleaver is not only a very physically intensive feat but also one that requires knowledge of glacier travel and technical ability. Everyone joining us will need to spend time researching the climb and practicing the skills necessary to do it safely - showing up for the event confident in basic knots and systems used in glacier travel is a requirement! We will provide you with all the guidance, resources and support you need in order to prepare properly at home but you must commit to doing this important prep work.

All our instructors are teachers, trainers, climbers and veterans themselves, known for their leadership and character. They remember their own first steps into the mountains, and they volunteer their time every year in the hope that they will help other veterans to safely and confidently begin their own mountaineering journey. This enthusiasm, compassion, and ability to inspire other veterans forward to reach new heights will make this event one you'll never forget. 

Veterans Adventure Group is not a commercial operation and our Team Leaders are not guides. 

Mountaineering is an inherently dangerous activity and you are ultimately responsible for his/her own safety. Each participant is expected to have a working understanding of the technical skills, be an active team member and understand the risk involved through research. We operate using shared decision-making and the team leads are simply there to teach, share knowledge, and provide guidance to the participants. 

It is the mission, duty, and purpose of Veterans Adventure Group to restore teamwork and purpose, provide support, guidance, and a strong network by building, training, and equipping teams of Veterans to thrive in extreme environments. We hope you will be a part of our team!

Resources

- Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills by Mountaineers Books

- https://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/upload/Disappointment-Cleaver-Routebrief-2017_FINAL.pdf