NOLS Alumni Trip. Climb Mount Rainier FEATURES OF THIS TRIP CONTACT: July 3-7, Cost: $1,695. Minimum Age: 17. Difficulty Rating: 5

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1 NOLS Alumni Trip Climb Mount Rainier FEATURES OF THIS TRIP 5 days and 4 nights on the mountain Glacier travel and snow mountaineering Elevations up to 14,410 ft. Group size: up to 9 NOLS graduate participants and three instructors Attempt to summit Mt. Rainier Average pack weight: up to 40% of body weight and days are long and strenuous; physical fitness is essential. Primary focus will be guiding participants towards a summit attempt, NOT teaching and practicing mountaineering skills. July 3-7, 2017 Cost: $1,695 Minimum Age: 17 Difficulty Rating: 5 CONTACT: NOLS Alumni alumni@nols.edu

2 The Team Why NOLS? By definition, NOLS alumni trips are composed of folks who have a connection to wilderness, experience caring for themselves and others in sometimes harsh outdoor environments, and a demonstrated willingness to contribute to team success. Even non-grad family members and guests are typically aligned with NOLS basic ethos and sensibilities. Practically speaking, this means teams on NOLS alumni trips are positive, hard working, flexible, and fun. As recent and seasoned grads come together and collaborate on a new adventure, you can count on an incredible experience. Adventure Learning NOLS alumni trips travel through amazing wild places and iconic landscapes. The scenery is coupled with the opportunity to learn new skills or polish old ones taught by experienced and welltrained NOLS instructors. Alumni trips are not guided experiences- participants are expected to join in with all aspects of the expedition and some days can be physically demanding. Join us for the invigorating challenge of learning in the outdoors. Reconnection Alumni trips are the perfect place to reconnect with the NOLS community and many trips can introduce friends and family to their first NOLS experience. Whether young or old, avid outdoor adventurer or casual admirer of wild places, or new to it all, NOLS alumni trip participants engage in challenges with grace, enjoy great community, and find a renewed sense of inspiration among their expedition team. 2

3 Trip Format At 14,410 feet, Mount Rainier covers 35 square miles of ice and glaciers, making it one of the most extensive snow/ice mountaineering training grounds in the North Cascades. This expedition spends five days traveling and climbing on Mt. Rainier. You will be exposed to the skills needed to live and travel safely in a high-altitude mountain environment. If all goes well, we ll attempt the summit on the trip s fourth day. Please note, due to the fast pace and short amount of time we have on the mountain, this trip will feel more like a guided trip and less of an opportunity for participants to learn and practice mountaineering skills. Travel days will be long and strenuous with significant elevation gain and loss, heavy loads, potentially harsh weather conditions, and big exposure. This trip is open to NOLS graduates only. Training starts with the basics with equipment selection and packing. We ll progress through basic living and travel skills on our way to learning the climbing techniques needed to negotiate steep, exposed, and glaciated terrain associated with a summit attempt of Mount Rainier. Expect an environment where individuals work together towards expedition goals. We ll share in chores, learn and perform skills, and work as a team as we hike, camp, and climb our way up the mountain. The best expedition members have positive attitudes, apply new skills and ideas at the first opportunity, and come motivated to work hard with people they have never met before. They care about others, make the welfare of the group equal to their own, and understand that an expedition succeeds when all its members complete each day safely. The trip will feel more like a mini-nols course than a guided expedition. 3

4 Environment Mountaineering in the Pacific Northwest is a challenging and rewarding endeavor. You will travel off-trail, mostly above timberline, over steep slopes of vegetation, snow, rock, and ice. You ll negotiate glaciers with crevasses and icefalls, and walk on loose, shifting boulders. Some of the travel on steep terrain requires precise movement. Carrying a backpack over steep terrain can be challenging and hard on your body if you re not used to this type of travel. NOLS encourages cardio and core body strength and endurance training. You ll be miles away from the amenities of civilization: telephones, ambulances, and hospitals may be a day or more away. Identifying and managing mountain hazards that could result in injury or death falling rock, seracs, crevasses, ice-falls, weather, moving water, and steep terrain is a constant theme of our instruction. Mountain weather is fickle. On any given day, temperatures may range from below freezing to T-shirt conditions. Snowfall is possible. Curriculum This trip s curriculum focuses on the glacier mountaineering skills necessary to attempt a summit like Mount Rainier, including ice axe use for self-belay and self-arrest techniques, rope handling and management incorporating useful mountaineering knots, snow and ice anchor systems, and crevasse rescue and rope ascension techniques. Your instructor will model mountain hazard evaluation and risk management. These elements will play a significant role in decision-making as you participate in rope team travel while practicing crampon use as you ascend and descend steep snow and ice fields. The may also be opportunities to practice some ice climbing if time and conditions allow but keep in mind that the Mount Rainier Expedition is fast-paced, compressing rigorous physical activity and substantial elevation gain and loss into less than 5 days of climbing. The culminating experience will be putting all your newly acquired (or refreshed!) skills together as you make a summit attempt on this iconic American peak! Medical All participants will complete and submit application materials, including a medical history form/exam either reviewed by a medical professional. These forms highlight the intersection of your trip s anticipated physical rigor and your current health and fitness status. Your forthright and timely completion and submission of the forms sets you and your trip up for success in the outdoors. 4

5 Travel Details and Itinerary Trip Logistics You are responsible for making your own hotel reservations for the nights of July 2 at the Best Western/ Skagit Valley Cotton Tree Inn located in Mt. Vernon, Washington and July 7 at the Clarion Hotel in Renton. NOLS rates have been arranged at the Cotton Tree Inn so mention the school when making reservations. There is a room block and special rate at the Clarion as well under the name Travis Welch. Best Western / Cotton Tree Inn 2300 Market Place Mount Vernon, WA (360) Clarion Hotel 3700 E Valley Rd Renton, WA (room block under Travis Welch) Airport Shuttle to Mt. Vernon: The Bell Air Airporter Shuttle ( ) offers van service from Seattle-Tacoma Airport to the Cotton Tree Inn in Mt. Vernon for about $30 one way. Reservations are necessary. See: < shuttle for reservations and detailed schedules. The best stop is Burlington. A taxi drive of $7-$10 will deliver you to the hotel from this stop. A courtesy taxi may be provided by Better Cab at (360) necessary. Return to SeaTac: The Clarion Hotel has an airport shuttle and is a short distance from SeaTac. Reservations are Driving: Vehicles are best stored at the NOLS Pacific Northwest (PNW) facility. Since we won t return to NOLS PNW as a group, it will be difficult for you to retrieve a vehicle on July 7. If you plan on driving and not utilizing the shuttle, we will not be able to get back to the NOLS base to pick up your vehicle until the morning of July 8. First Day to the Last Day: July 3, the first day of the expedition, is busy. Attend to all phone calls and personal matters the evening before. From the meeting location in Mt. Vernon, we will drive to our headquarters in Conway for breakfast, followed by getting acquainted, checking personal gear, issuing NOLS equipment, and finally packing up for the drive to Rainier. On the last day, July 7, we ll hike to the road, drive to our hotel near the airport, de-issue equipment, and then check in for showers and free time. After getting cleaned up, we ll have an opportunity for a no-host dinner together. Please set your return flights for July 8 AT THE EARLIEST; this gives us some logistical wiggle room in case we run late getting out of the mountains. 5

6 Telephone: You will be out of telephone contact for the duration of the trip. Please don t carry a cellular telephone into the backcountry the odds of it being effective are very rare and everyone attending will be looking forward to leaving work behind. NOLS provides necessary emergency communications. Storing Personal Belongings: Any non-field personal gear will be stored in the NOLS trailer or van at the trailhead. Since this course does not return to the NOLS base, please do not plan on bringing equipment that cannot be stored in the vehicle at the trailhead. Questions: Please contact the NOLS Alumni office at (800) if you have any questions. If you encounter travel delays, please call NOLS Pacific Northwest Branch at (360) as soon as possible. 6

7 Planned Itinerary July 2 July 3 July 4 July 5 July 6 July 7 Travel to Mt. Vernon, Washington. Lodging on your own at the Best Western/ Skagit Valley Cotton Tree Inn. There will be an orientation meeting at 7:00 pm in the lobby of the Best Western/Cotton Tree Inn. Pick up at the Best Western/Skagit Valley Cotton Tree Inn by NOLS at 7:00 a.m. Drive to NOLS PNW base, eat breakfast, check gear and issue equipment, pack and drive to trailhead (4,300 ). Work on basic camp and travel skills. Hike to Upper Inter Glacier (8,900 ). Practice basic mountaineering skills. Move to Emmons Flats, acclimatize, and exposure to more skills. Summit day, return to Camp Schurman. Descend to trailhead, transport to Clarion Hotel. De-issue, shower, and enjoy a few hours of downtime before a no-host dinner in town with expedition mates. Plan to depart SeaTac NO EARLIER than the morning of JULY 8. Registration and Payment Registration and Payment: To reserve a space on this trip, please submit a $200 non-refundable deposit to the NOLS Alumni Department. We take MasterCard or Visa via phone at (800) , or mail a check to NOLS Alumni Department, 284 Lincoln Street, Lander, WY The remainder of the tuition and all application forms are due on May 19. The trip price includes all meals starting with breakfast on July 3 through lunch on July 7, all group equipment, instruction, and shuttles to and from the trailhead. Lodging the night before the trip and the last night of the trip, meals not indicated, any personal equipment that is rented or purchased, and any costs incurred by evacuations are the responsibility of trip participants. The NOLS Alumni Office is located at the NOLS Headquarters, 284 Lincoln St, in Lander, WY, We can be reached at (800) , or via alumni@nols.edu. 7

8 Equipment Please review this equipment list thoroughly. Most everything you need for your trip is listed along with its availability from NOLS. We recommend that you use this list to help you pack. Please read the item descriptions carefully before making your equipment purchasing and packing decisions. Don t hesitate to call NOLS Pacific Northwest at or us at pnw_outfitting@nols.edu if you have ANY questions about gear for your upcoming Mount Rainier trip! Group Equipment All items listed in this section are provided by NOLS and are shared among all expedition members. Group equipment is included as part of the trip tuition, although participants will be charged for any lost or damaged group equipment. Please note that rental and purchase prices are subject to change. Tents or Shelters Camp Stoves & Fuel Climbing Gear Maps and Compass Cooking Gear & Food Water Treatment First Aid Kits & Emergency Communication Trowels 8

9 Personal Equipment List Upper Body Layers We layer our clothing, combining different garments to achieve optimum insulation and protection from wind, rain and snow. We use either synthetic or wool fibers, which insulate when wet. We avoid cotton, which is poor insulation when wet. It is common to use 3 insulating layers. Equipment Rental Price Purchase Price Quantity Base Layer (Mid-Weight Synthetic) Purchase at NOLS $ Middle Layer (Fleece Pullover) Purchase at NOLS $60-$155 1 Top Layer (Synthetic Puff Jacket) $9.00 $170-$200 1 Wind Shirt $7 $55 1 Rain Jacket Purchase at NOLS $100-$150 1 T-shirt Purchase at NOLS $28- $35 1 Lower Body Layers You will need 1-2 synthetic insulating layers (usually a base layer and a pair of fleece pants). All must fit comfortably over each other so that they can be worn at the same time. If you tend to get cold easily, add a layer of mid-weight bottoms to the base layer and fleece pants. Base Layer (Mid-Weight Synthetic) Purchase at NOLS $ pair Middle Layer (Exp-Weight Synthetic) Purchase at NOLS $40-$60 1 pair Fleece Pants $7 $60 1 pair Wind Pants $7 $60 1 pair Rain Pants Purchase at NOLS $90-$150 1 pair Nylon Shorts Purchase at NOLS $40-$60 1 pair Briefs/Sports Bras Purchase at NOLS $18-$32 1 pair Sleeping Gear Sleeping Bag $10 $160 1 Compression Stuff Sack $2 $ Plastic Trash Bags Purchase at NOLS $1-$ or 3 Sleeping Pad $5.00 $10-$

10 ` Head, Neck & Hand Layers Baseball Cap or Wide Brim Hat Purchase at NOLS $ Balaclava $1 $17 1 Wool/ Fleece Hat Purchase at NOLS $ Mosquito Headnet $0.50 $6 1 Liner Gloves Purchase at NOLS $11-$22 1 pair Mitten Shells $3 $21-$38 1 pair Footwear ** Traveling and camping almost exclusively on snow and ice, the Mount Rainier trip requires the use of quality mountaineering boots. Plastic, double leather, or high quality synthetic mountaineering boots are designed for extreme conditions and are appropriate for this trip. They perform well in rocky terrain, snow, extreme cold and wet conditions. Some examples of acceptable boots are: Scarpa: Omega; Phantom 6000; Phantom Guide La Sportiva: Buruntse; Spantik; Batura Asolo: AFS Evoluzione Mountaineering Boots** $20 $250-$400 1 pair Wool Socks Purchase at NOLS $15-$19 3 pairs Liner Socks Purchase at NOLS $6 1 or 2 pairs Gaiters Purchase at NOLS $75 1 pair Camp Shoes Must Bring Purchase at NOLS $ pair Optional Items Prescription Glasses And Contact Lenses Must Bring Must Bring 2 pair Water Treatment No charge No charge 1 Trekking Poles Purchase at NOLS $ Camera Must Bring Must Bring 1 Hydration System Purchase at NOLS $

11 Miscellaneous Items Equipment Rental Price Purchase Price Quantity Harness $5 $70 1 Ice Axe $4.00 $96 1 Crampons $4.00 $150 1 set Helmet $2.00 $ Bowl Purchase at NOLS $ Spoon Purchase at NOLS $1 1 Water Bottle Purchase at NOLS $12-$ Lip Balm Purchase at NOLS $3 1 Sunscreen Purchase at NOLS $ Bandanas Purchase at NOLS $ Headlamp Purchase at NOLS $ Disposable Lighter Purchase at NOLS $ Insect Repellent Purchase at NOLS $ Toiletries Purchase at NOLS Varied 1 Watch Purchase at NOLS $ Notepad And Pencil Purchase at NOLS $10 1 Sunglass Retainers Purchase at NOLS $5 1 Sunglasses Purchase at NOLS $40-$70 1 pair 11

12 Alumni Benefits After an amazing NOLS adventure, you ve likely gained new perspectives, skills, strengths and poise. You are part of a unique family of over 250,000 NOLS graduates who can tap and share the educational benefits that a NOLS experience provides. Your NOLS alumni status gives you other benefits as well: we partner with a variety of companies and organizations to offer special discounts on gear, lodging, memberships and an evolving list of other rewards. NOLS EVENTS & REUNIONS NOLS reunions are a great way to connect and network with fellow NOLS grads in your area. Want to find a climbing or paddling partner, or connect with like-minded professionals? This is the place to do it. NOLS and WMI grads, friends, family, and everyone interested in the school are welcome to attend. Reunions happen all around the country, so be sure to check out reunions in your area: nols.edu/alumni/reunions Visit the NOLS Alumni Benefits page for an evolving list of your alumni benefits: < Lasting Connections Many NOLS graduates say the completion of their expedition was the beginning of their lifetime of adventure. You can continue learning with NOLS by staying connected with the school and networking with the large and interesting cadre of fellow alumni. Join the NOLS conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Instagram, Flickr, Tumblr and Pinterest. Subscribe to regional or topical NOLS lists and groups. Submit an article, artwork or update to our alumni publication the Leader. Comment on a NOLS video ( or review a NOLS publication online. Have a question? Think it s too random or obscure? Try us. The NOLS Alumni Department loves to help our NOLS alumni - new and old. We can get you the information you need about reconnecting with your course-mates, getting contact information, instructor names, and more. Reach us easily at alumni@nols.edu. 12