Back in July of 2005, I climbed Muir. I enjoyed the climb a lot but I also realized if I was to do anything much higher or more technical I would need to learn quite a bit more. Back in January of 2006, I went on a hike with Bob R and a friend of his, and told them of my desire to increase my mountaineering knowledge so that I could safely climb the more technical peaks. They both recommended the CLMRG summer course. CLMRG stands for China Lake Mountain Rescue Group. This summer I had the pleasure of taking the course. The course is a seven week course that meets twice weekly in Ridgecrest, CA. The first night of each week consists of lectures and demos (2-2.5 hours) while the second night is field practice (3-3.5 hours) of the learned skills. The teachers which are all members of the rescue group are very knowledgeable, patient, and helpful. As I recall all but two had in excess of ten years of mountaineering experience. There were even a few such as Bob R that had over forty years of mountaineering experience. The text that was used in the class, about half of the chapters were thoroughly covered, was Mountaineering, Freedom of the Hills. Among the skills that were taught and discussed on and off the field were, Navigation with a compass, Routefinding, climbing technique, gear selection, belaying and rappelling, and first-aid. Multiple knots were also taught that are used in mountaineering. One of the first field lessons was on bouldering, but most of the field lessons were roped climbs ranging in difficulty from class 4 all the way to class 5-5.8. There was also a day hike one weekend and an overnight trip. The options given for the dayhikes were Trail peak, Thor, or Dragon peak. The overnight trip consisted of hiking up to Robinson lake out of Onion Valley and climbing Independence peak on the first day and climbing University peak on the second day. On both the day hike and the overnight trip, the teachers were mindful to stick with the students even when we split into groups as tends to happen when people find their own pace wether fast, slow, or somewhere in between. No student was ever left to hike alone. This class was an absolute blast. My only regret is that it wasn't longer and more detailed, but it was a basic level or intro to mountaineering class. This class was so good in my opinion that I made the drive to Ridgecrest from Bakersfield twice and sometimes 3 times a week at the height of the Summer gasoline prices. I hope this helps anyone out there who is curious about taking hiking to the next level.
Rafael...
Last edited by rafael; 05/01/07 09:59 PM.
