This one-day Intro to Mountaineering course in Tahoe is perfect for outdoor enthusiasts ready to build foundational alpine skills before tackling bigger objectives. Led by AMGA-trained instructors, you’ll get practical experience in snow field travel, efficient crampon and ice axe use, rope-team movement, route-finding, terrain assessment, and layer management. Set in the Tahoe backcountry, the course emphasizes safe, confident movement in steep and snow-covered terrain—no summit commitment required. You’ll also learn energy management and backcountry decision-making. Ideal as a stepping stone toward future climbs on peaks like Mt. Shasta, Mt. Baker, or beyond California’s Sierra Nevada, this seminar equips you with the essential skills and judgment to move safely and responsibly in mountainous environments.

We'll cover the following topics and skills:

• The Rest Step: the Foundation of Mountaineering


• Crampons Types and pros and cons of each How to put them on Techniques: flat footing, duck step, pied a troisieme, front pointing, plunge stepping


• Ice Axes Types of axes and pros and cons of each Anatomy of the axe and how to hold it


• Ice Axe Arrest: Rope Team Arrest (to stop a partner who has fallen into a crevasse in glaciated terrain) Self Arrest (to stop yourself from falling)


• Rope Travel For glaciated terrain For steep technical terrain with a guide
• Transitions - Hiking to Climbing Crampons

This program requires at least 3 participants to run.

At Blackbird Mountain Guides, we offer mountaineering courses in Truckee, Tahoe, Northern California, and the Sierra Nevada region. Whether you're preparing for Mt Shasta, Mt Rainier, or international climbs, our local mountaineering courses give you the hands-on skills to climb safely and confidently.

Here's the schedule for your course:

• 8:00 am - Meet your guide at the trailhead


• 8:30 am - We'll spend the day demonstrating and coaching while you practice mountaineering skills


• 12:00pm - Lunch on the go


• 3:00pm - Course ends

Here are the skills and fitness you'll need for your course:

• This is an introductory program - No mountaineering experience is required!


• Basic Fitness - Able to spend an active day outside, moving uphill at 1,000’ per hour for durations of roughly 1 hour between breaks. Participants should be able to hike 3-5 miles and climb 1,000-1,500 vertical feet throughout the course of the day.

Here's what's included with your trip:

• Experienced AMGA Trained Guide
• Tahoe National Forest Permit
• Ropes & Group Gear
• Group Safety Gear - your guide will be equipped with snow science tools and a first aid kit
• Wag Bags - for human waste disposal in with compliance 'Leave No Trace' principles

• Meals
• Transportation
• Mountaineering Gear - ice axe, crampons, climbing harness
• Guide Gratuities

Intro to Mountaineering Gear List

• Mountaineering Gear (ice ax, crampon, harness) - Come prepared with your own gear or rent from Blackbird