Snowbird's mountain camp offers climbers a challenge

[Ski Monkey]

This sounds really cool, not sure I can shell out $8400 though.

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SNOWBIRD - A mountaineer at heart, Snowbird owner Dick Bass yearned to utilize the precipitous terrain around his resort for more than just skiing and snowboarding.

For years, he wanted to expand the resort's repertoire to include advanced climbing training. Honing the technical skills required to ascend a sheer rock face would be just part of the focus, however. Equal attention would be paid to developing an appropriate respect for the mountain, and acquiring a deeper understanding that the process of getting to the top is as important as standing on the summit.

That dream has come to fruition.

Snowbird has assembled a team of world-famous mountaineering guides, directed by filmmaker and adventurer David Breashears, to organize an intense five-day clinic this August that will elevate participants' skills so that they are truly prepared to attempt Everest or Denali, if they so desire.

The cost: $8,400.

"Many of the people who will be interested want to go into a life of mountaineering and adventure but don't know how," said Breashears, most famous for filming IMAX movies about ascents of Mounts Everest and Kilimanjaro. "They will leave here with skills, with philosophy, with an idea how to continue that journey the right way, knowing you don't just 'grab a summit.' "

Snowbird Expeditions, as the venture is known, will give personalized attention to the people willing to shell out big bucks for this type of experience. There will be one guide for each participant. The pairings will vary throughout, with Breashears' team constantly making adjustments to a rigorous daily schedule to ensure that each participant is pushed to get the most out of every moment.

"Afterward, we want these people to go out with guides all over the world and climb mountains," said Roger Kehr, director of Snowbird Expeditions and the behind-the-scenes guy who arranges all the details so Breashears and his guides can focus on the clients. "This is a chance for people to start mountaineering careers and to build relationships that will last a lifetime."

Kehr is confident a market exists for this high-end adventure program.

"Fifty years ago, corporate executives smoked cigars and drank," he said. "But now there is a group of corporate executives who are both physically fit and looking for a challenge. Men and women who are marathoners or are out running at 5 a.m., getting their six miles in before work, or who travel with their bikes. They know that to be strong in mind you have to be strong in body.

In the first clinic, scheduled Aug. 12-16, participants will be based at the Cliff Lodge for the initial two days. They will be put through intense training on a sloped climbing wall that demands proper footwork before moving on to the vertical wall on the lodge's exterior. Breashears and the guides also will provide instruction on skills advanced and basic, from setting up a tent and high-altitude nutrition to climbing with crampons and using oxygen. And they will emphasize mountain ethics, leaving the participants to ponder their attitudes toward the environment and other climbers during rejuvenating treatments in Snowbird's spa.

"We're not selling this as action only," said Breashears. "We want smart people who want to learn."

Days three and four will be in the field. Participants will be flown by helicopter to a base camp on the American Fork Canyon side of Snowbird to tackle the cracks, overhangs and faces that abound along the rugged ridge. The grand finale on day five is a climb to the summit of Mount Superior via the south ridge.

"Five days is the minimum number needed to inform someone about everything from rope handling, wax, belaying, camping right," Breashears said. "Just knowing how to stay warm has to do with nutrition, hydration, how you lace your boots. Staying warm is an art that requires diligence and attention."

Kehr and Breashears assembled part of their team last week for a reconnaissance tour of Snowbird's high-altitude terrain and to fine tune their plan of action for August's clinic. "We're working backward. We know what we want to give them in the end and we're working back through it to figure out how we do it."

The get-together also gave some of the guides a chance to become better acquainted (although some know each other fairly well already) and to grasp better how their particular expertise will fit into the grand scheme.

Damian Benegas, an Argentinian who has climbed all over the world, has figured prominently in selecting guides and will be responsible, along with his twin brother Willie, in determining the overall daily plans. They will be assisted by Amy Bullard, a guide in Wyoming's Teton Mountains, who will choreograph a sequence of activities for individuals based on their skill level and rate of improvement.

Bullard jumped at the chance to be involved.

"You learn so much about yourself, the way the mountains push you," she said. "It makes daily living so much easier."

Specialists such as "big wall" climber Cedar Wright, Telemark skier and climber Kasha Rigby, and climber and amateur naturalist Joey Papazian will bounce between clients, sharing their knowledge about approaches to problems.

"Not only are all of our guides accomplished in their fields, they're also great teachers," said Kehr. "Usually, the two are not combined in the same person, but in this case they are."

Snowbird President Bob Bonar said he hopes to expand the program to include a winter version.

"This is really the type of thing I'd like to see our company get involved in, to help the company be more diverse," he said.

Snowbird Expeditions

Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort owner and mountain climber Dick Bass is taking advantage of the resort's rugged terrain to teach mountaineering skills, wilderness ethics, high-altitude nutrition and mental toughness to aspiring adventurers.

What: Participants receive one-on-one direction from world renowned guides, plus sustenance from nutrition oriented chefs and restorative spa treatments.

When: The first camp is scheduled for Aug. 12-16.

Cost: $8,400 per person.

The Guides
Snowbird has brought in program directors and guides with various areas of expertise to work with participants to hone their physical and mental skills and to prepare them for whatever mountaineering challenges they hope to challenge in the future.

Snowbird Expeditions staff:

David Breashears, program designer - The first person to transmit live television pictures from the summit of Mount Everest (1983), which he has reached five times, he photographed IMAX movies on Everest and Kilimanjaro.

Damian and Guillermo (Willie) Benegas - Twins who nurtured their climbing skills in the Northern Patagonian Mountains of their native Argentina, Willie just completed his fifth ascent of Mount Everest while Damian has climbed Yosemite's El Capitan 85 times.

Apa Sherpa - Considered "the greatest living climber of our time," he holds the world record for summits of Everest, he has stood on top 15 times since 1990 - once a year with the exception of 1996.

Pemba Doma Sherpa - One of the first two women to climb Everest's north and south faces, she learned climbing from her mountain guide grandfather in Nepal.

Amy Bullard - A guide for nine years, the last six with Exum Mountain Guides in Wyoming's Teton Mountains, she is an ice climbing specialist and an expert skier.

Cedar Wright - The "big wall" expert noted for his solos and speed climbs on sheer rock faces around Yosemite, he also will offer instruction in the ethics of mountaineering.

Kasha Rigby - Known primarily for her Telemark skiing skills and a competent rock climber, her skills as a yoga instructor will be called on to advance cerebral aspects of mountaineering.

Joey Papazian - At age 26, the "apprentice," skilled in all aspects of mountaineering but too young to be considered a full-fledged guide.

[Trackhead]

It's being discussed on T-tips.

[Stoysluttie1]

I bet TH can teach us for less money..say a few beers?

[Will]

For half that you can spend a month in Patagonia with NOLS. Which do you think is the better deal?

[Sphinx]

Hey Breashears! Yeah, can I get a hand here? Yeah, I can't figure out how to lace my boots. Do you have some with Velcro?

Bwaaaaahahahahaha.

[Powder Seeker]

Damn, it would be a neat experience, but 8,400 dollars

[mojorisin]

Puhlease! I piss $8400. Move over rover, it's time to get me a mountaineerin' degree.

Actually, I already have velcro strapped boots, so I might want to sit this one out. Take it straight to Everest next spring instead.

[365wp]

Wow, for that much $$$ you could fly to Seattle and do both of these RMI programs.

[Trackhead]

You could send two people to Cho Oyu in the Himalaya for that kind of dough. Maybe we should loiter and divert some clients.

[Ski Monkey]

You could send two people to Cho Oyu in the Himalaya for that kind of dough. Maybe we should loiter and divert some clients.

Only if we get a referral fee.

[cj001f]

For half that you can spend a month in Patagonia with NOLS. Which do you think is the better deal?

For 1/2 what NOLS charges you can spend the season in Patagonia.

[Will]

For 1/2 what NOLS charges you can spend the season in Patagonia.

The target market for this sort of experience is people who want a structured environment in which to learn mountaineering skills. If you have the skills to head to Patagonia solo for the season, maybe you don't need to take any sort of mountaineering course? Be it one offered by NOLS (30 days), RMI (6 days), or Dick Bass (5 days).

[cj001f]

The target market for this sort of experience is people who want a structured environment in which to learn mountaineering skills. If you have the skills to head to Patagonia solo for the season

That was including local guides in Patagonia. If you had the skills you camp in El Chalten for free. The target market for most of those programs seems to be for totemic vacations.