Hey guys, It look like im going to be taking the winter travel course from SMI.

Have any of you taken it, and if so, how was it?

-Jace

I took it from them a few years back, it is well worth it. Great guides and good course. Well worth the time and money. Kurt and his team do a great job.

Kurts actually in So Cal this week giving slideshows at A16 stores too. It looks like you just missed him in Oceanside according to the SMI blog but I hear the show is getting rave reviews. It is on climbing Mt. Kenya and Kilimanjaro plus a safari. I'm going to hit either the West LA show tonight or the Tarzana one tomorrow night.

climberslacker wrote:Hey guys, It look like im going to be taking the winter travel course from SMI.

I'll be in your class if you are doing the January course.

Jan 9th? Thats cool! Im actually relly excited for the course!

-Jace

If you're talking about the Basic Mountaineering Course that spans over 2 days, I've taken that one. I learned quite a bit from it, and it will give you a good, fundamental idea of traveling on snow. Depending on your group size, you can get more/less out of each separate part of the presentation. I was in a rather large group of people, so one-on-one stuff was pretty minimal, but I still learned none-the-less.

Be sure to ask different guides various questions. Some will have one way of doing something, and others will contribute different ideas. I found this was one of the best thing from the class, being able to get different viewpoints from different climbers.

Have fun!

Gusto

climberslacker wrote:Hey guys, It look like im going to be taking the winter travel course from SMI.

Have any of you taken it, and if so, how was it?

-Jace

Hey Jace (met you on the SJ tram last April or so), I took a 5-day mountaineering course with SMI back in March '06. The guides at SMI are great and the course was worth every penny. The owner (Kurt) is a standup guy and posts here on SP occasionally. One recommendation I have is do your homework before you go to get the most out of the instruction (from talking with you it seemed that you were pretty knowledgeable already). Read up in Freedom of the HIlls about the things that the course will cover. You'll pick up on things quicker, you'll be able to ask more specific questions, and overall just get more out of the course. Plus everyone else in the course will think you're awesome cause you know all this great stuff already. Have fun!

I took Avalanche Course Level I and II with SMI and I can attest the experience and professional attitutde of Kurt and his team. You won't be dissapointed.