Recommended Trip Coordinator Skills

Below are recommended skills that a trip coordinator or someone in their group should have. These skills are recommended, but not necessarily required. They are also not exhaustive. Email the Safety Chair if you have questions about a trip that you want to put on the calendar and what skills may be needed. Skills also vary based on the type of trip. If you are going hiking then you don't need to have rock climbing skills, for example. If you are not going on a glacier then you don't need to know crevasse rescue, etc.

Having someone with first-aid training on the trip is a big asset.

Hiking/Backpacking

• Group management - eg, making sure the pace is ok for everyone, nobody is getting left behind, etc.

• Good sense of direction. Able to follow a trail without losing it.

• Bear avoidance - eg, comfortable carrying bear spray, recognizing signs of bear activity, knowing to make noise to alert bears of your presence.

• Knowledge of leave no trace principles.

• If camping in the backcountry, then comfortable filtering/purifying water, setting up tents, backcountry hygiene, etc.

• If going off trail, then able to navigate using GPS and a map and compass.

Scrambling

• Rockfall hazard management.

• Route finding and navigation.

• Group management - eg, making sure the pace is ok for everyone, nobody is getting left behind, etc.

• Able to read weather forecasts and note changing weather conditions in the field.

• Understand the difference between 3rd, 4th, and 5th class terrain.

Single pitch top rope walk-up 

• Rope management skills.

• Top rope anchor skills.

• Safety awareness skills.
  

• Group dynamics skills.

• Forecast skills.

• Climbing skills.

• Ice: Icefall hazard skills.

• Ice: Crampon skills.

• Ice: Avalanche awareness skills if traveling in avalanche terrain.

• Ice: May be useful - Ice screw skills.

Single pitch lead 

• All single pitch top rope skills.

• Bouldering spotting technique.

• Lead belay.

• Rack gear logically on harness, counting draws required, bring anchor/rappel gear if needed.

• Plan and communicate (e.g. I plan to build an anchor and have you lower me).

• Cleaning anchors and clearly communicate when doing so.

• Rappel skills.

• Ice: Ice screw skills.

• Ice: May be useful - V-thread.

• Ice: Competent lead climbing skillset - if you don't know you have this, you are likely not yet competent.

Multi-pitch 

• All single pitch lead skills.

• Rock rescue basic skills.

• Establish and use top managed belay using ATC guide mode.

• Secure self to anchor using clove-hitch (bonus functionality if you can clove-hitch one handed).

• Rope stacking during belay.

• Additional standard communication: That's me, secure, off-belay, on-belay, etc.

• Knowledge of standard sequence (e.g. lead, build anchor, take up slack, breakdown anchor, follow & collect gear, repeat).

• Communication: Consider use of radios and InReach.

• Knot - Figure 8 on a bite.

• Ice: V-thread.

• Knowledge of fall factors - highest risk fall is when leaving the anchor without much rope in system.

Avalanche awareness skills 

• Knowledge of which crags have avalanche hazard during approach or when climbing.

• Have attended AST1 course and field day.

• Understand how to access and read avalanche forecast avalanche.ca.

Ice screw skills 

• Evaluation of ice for suitable placement (seek concavities and avoid convexities) Monitor install for signs of air voids (drop in rotating resistance and/or reduction in central waste ice column).

• Monitor and replacement of long term screw placements (e.g. anchors and/or redirects).

Crampon skills 

• Adjustment and proper fit onto boot + how to use backup strap.

• Prove crampons on flat ground prior to use in inclined terrain.

• At what point to switch group into crampons (harness first!).

• French technique.

• Front point technique.

• Do not step on the rope technique.

• Footwork - do not cross one foot over the other and avoid high-steps if you like your pants.

Icefall hazard skills 

• Where to position belayer and non-climbers to mitigate ice-fall.

• Fall cone of ice starting at climber - increases in size with increasing climber height.

• Awareness that ice can bounce off angled surfaces and shoot outward.
• Standard communication: shout ice when climber is anticipating sizeable ice fall.

Climbing skills 

• Partner safety checks.

• Standard communications (on/off belay, climbing, take, secure, lower, lowering, rope).

• Knot - Figure 8.

• Knot - Barrel stopper.

• Top rope belay (ATC/Gri-Gri).

• Suitable belayer positioning to mitigate hazards of falling on, pendulum, upward pull etc.

Top rope anchor skills 

• Evaluate anchors (e.g. DARN - distribute, angle, redundant, no extension).

• How to evaluate which trees and bolts are suitable for use in an anchor.

• Build single tree anchor if needed.

• Build two-bolt anchor.

• Build three point anchor (e.g. 3 trees).

• Maybe useful: How to extend anchor out past a ledge using a spare rope.

• May be useful: Knot - bowline.

Multi-pitch anchor skills 

• All top rope anchor skills.

• Build and evaluate fixed point anchors.

• Knot - Munter (AKA Italian hitch).

Rope management skills 

• Coil rope for travel/storage.

• Flake a rope and check for soft points and abrasion.

• Leftover rope placement (avoid dirt/sand/water and sun if possible) Ice: suspend and dry ropes out over night prior to next climbing day.

Rappel skills 

• How to set up a 3rd hand backup.

• How to extend rappel out from harness to avoid binding 3rd hand into device How to use ATC in rappel mode.

• Established habit to tie knot at end of both rappel strands.

• How to load test a rappel & 3rd hand prior to disconnecting from anchor.

• How to evaluate existing anchor material and back up if necessary.

• Remember to always tie knots in rope ends prior to tossing rope down.

• May be useful: Back up plan if rope gets pulled with knot still in (e.g. lead on other end of rope or second rope).

• May be useful: Group sequence - heaviest member first.

• May be useful: how to set up a stacked rappel and check all setups prior to rappel.

• May be useful: Knot - overhand bend for double-rope rappel.

Safety awareness skills 

• When to put on helmets during approach.

• Where to place bags and where to stand to minimize falling on hazard.

• Who to contact in the event a group does not return by the agreed "return to base" time.

• Bring a headlamp on all trips all times of year - gives you options if you are delayed for some reason.

Group dynamics skills 

• Designate someone as caboose to ensure no one is left behind during hikes in/out Always have an alternate plan (even if that is head to the nearest indoor climbing gym).

• Set daily times for departure, turnaround, and return to base for each group Seek input from members and consider their feedback.

Forecast skills 

• Use of Spotwx.com and mountain-forecast.com.

• Follow forecast starting 2 days prior to trip and each day before heading out.

• Communicate forecast to members to ensure people have the opportunity to pack suitable gear.

• Able to recognize changing weather when in the mountains.

Rock rescue basic skills 

• Escape the belay (top managed belay).

• Lower from above.

• 3:1 pulley to raise victim to anchor.

• Knot - Munter (AKA Italian hitch).

• Knot - Munter mule overhand.

• Knot - Clove hitch.

• Knot - Prussik.