[pct-l] Re: Spring Mountaineering Training Clinics for PCT hikers

[Mtnned at aol.com (Mtnned@aol.com)]

Hi, Denise!
 
Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you about our Custom Crest  
Clinic.  We just got back from Tahoe on another trip and I'm trying to weed  
through my 800 emails and saw yours!
 
What we do here at Pacific Crest Custom Builders, Inc. (...of Homes and  
Men), is to provide regular weekend training clinics accomplishing the  following:
    - Preparing for Snow Camping: Clothing, Food &  Equipment (different from 
summer)
    - Dispelling the fears of the Cold and Wet
    - Over-snow transportation (snowshoes, skis,  crampons, or just boots?)
    - Winter-Spring Hazards (creek-crossings, in-tent  cooking, avalanche 
awareness & route   
       finding, icy climbs & descents  with packs, overexposure, dehydration, 
snow-blindness 
       and more)
    - Practical Dry Runs (testing your equipment and  yourself with 
supervision)
    - Optional Extended Tours (a week out): not a base  camp trip.  Designed 
to simulate the 
       daily trials of a thru hike over the  snow.
 
We have been doing this since '84 and are now running trips once a month  
during the winter.  We work with boys and girls, men and women, from  11 to 70 
years old, associated with schools, clubs, Scouts or not. The cost  is minimal.  
You provide everything you'll need as if you were going out  without us 
(after some pre-trip education). We serve as Guide, Counselor,  Mentor, Instructor, 
etc..  We walk you through the practical hands-on  demands of snow camping 
and winter backcountry travel, showing you how to do  what works best through 
each of your daily challenges. 
 
The object is to teach you what you need to know to travel in the Winter  
Backcountry safely and enjoyably with many happy trips of your own in the  
future!  We do not teach advanced technical aids for mountaineering; you'll  need to 
go to a climbing school for that.
 
If you're still interested, pick a weekend that works best for you and let  
us know via email.  If you are a group that will be doing the Crest this  
summer and wish to train for the snow, reserve together.  We know you have  limited 
time left before your "big trip" starts with many decisions yet to be  made, 
thus, your schedule is the priority.
 
Lady J, my wife, and I were at Donna's humble home recently where she  
expressed the desire to attend a clinic in preparation for her own Crest trip  this 
year, but when, I do not know yet.
 
At Your Service,
 
Mtnned & Lady J