Day 1: The Mountaineering Day School
8:15 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.	Meet at Rainier BaseCamp.

Final check-in at 8 a.m. Team assembles in preparation for the day. Please arrive dressed for hiking, packed with your Mountaineering Day School gear, and ready to go.

The Rainier BaseCamp facilities in Ashford open at 7:00 a.m. Climbers may register with Rainier Mountaineering, Inc., pick up rental equipment and purchase last minute items from Whittaker Mountaineering during this time. Pre-ordered trail lunches and meals may also be picked up.

 We begin the morning with a welcome and introduction of team members and guides. Guides will offer some final packing and clothing suggestions, and answer any questions.

We depart BaseCamp immediately following our initial preparation. Transportation is provided between BaseCamp and Paradise, where your training begins. The entire day is spent training on the lower snow slopes of Mt. Rainier, just above Paradise between 6,000 and 6,600 feet.

Our Mountaineering Day School offers participants an overview of various techniques which help meet the challenges set forth by this magnificent mountain. It serves as a great introduction or as a refresher if you haven’t been in the hills for a while. You should find that our guides are excellent teachers relaying this information to you in an easy to understand manner. On this day you will be introduced to a number of skills, from the basic techniques of efficient mountain travel (rest-stepping and pressure breathing) through cramponing, roped travel, and ice axe arrest practices.

Our first priority is the safety of our participants. Participation in the Mountaineering Day School within the current season is required for joining our Summit Climb. We will continue to assess each team member throughout the course of the training.

Following the day of training, the shuttle takes our group back to Rainier BaseCamp.