Advanced Winter Rope Techniques – Lightweight Rope Kits for Winter Ski Touring

This is a new and unique proprietary course created by Cyril Shokoples and brought to you by the Training and Leadership Committee – first time being offered!

The trend towards lightweight rope kits for ski touring and glacier travel is here. Do you know the options available and limits of each system? Are you considering a new rope for winter touring? Are you amazed and yet a little confused by the many options? Can I lead on it? How do I rappel on it? How about on a single strand? How would I ever ascend it if I had to? How about crevasse rescue with it? What about my toothy Tibloc™ or a camming Ropeman™? This course will help answer your winter rope questions and perhaps answer a few questions you probably didn’t know you had.

Itinerary

This 2-day Advanced Winter Rope Techniques Course will be offered by professional guide Cyril Shokoples ACMG IFMGA UIAGM. The course will be based from Lake Louise.

The ropes that will be used on the course will be: Sterling® TRC™, Edelrid® Rap Line 2™, Petzl® RAD™, Mammut® 6.0 Glacier Cord Dry™ and small diameter half and twin rated dynamic ropes.

Areas we will explore, and practice include: • When and how to use toothed devices (i.e. Petzl® Tibloc™ and Microtraxion™, Edelrid® Spoc ™) and equally important, when not to.
• When and how to use the force limiting Rock Exotica® Quickie Ascender™ and Descender™.
• What accessory cord to use for what purpose (diameter, pinch test).
• What about brake knots?
• Should I get static or dynamic cord for my next ski touring rope?
• When and how to use (or avoid) which ropes for glacier travel, shortroping and lead climbing.
• Rappelling & ascending on the lightweight ropes listed above.

This is meant to be a very hands on course with lots of field work to put your skills into practice. The first morning will be spent in theory getting familiar with all of the specialized new cords and the devices that are used with them.

This course is arranged through Rescue Dynamics and is taught by Cyril Shokoples, an internationally certified mountain guide and Past President of the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides. Cyril has received the Distinguished Service Award from both the ACC and the ACMG. In 2013, Cyril was inducted as an honorary member of the ACC. He has taught the ACC's North Face National Leadership Courses for the past 20 years and has a long history of instruction with the Calgary Section.

•Appropriate clothing for standing around in frigid winter conditions
•Food and drinks (thermos?) for eating lunch outside
•skis or splitboard with boots, poles and skins
•Ski straps (2)
•Harness in good condition – that you would use for glacier travel
•Ice screw – 1
•Non-locking carabiners – 4
•Locking carabiners – 2 standard style (see also the HMS carabiners below)
•One triple action auto-locking carabiner (mandatory) [Ideal is a triple action carabiner with captive eye such as the Black Diamond Magnetron Gridlock biner or the Edelrid HMS Strike FG Triple Locking Biner, available from MEC)
•TWO matching HMS or Pear Shaped locking carabiners with I-beam style construction (mandatory) such as the following (many available from MEC): Petzl® Attache Screw-Lock Carabiner or HERA Attache Screw Lock Carabiner, Petzl® William Screw Lock Biner, DMM® Phantom HMS Locksafe Carabiner, Edelrid® HMS Strike Screwgate Biner, Black Diamond® Vaporlock Screwgate Carabiner •Rope – half or twin rated climbing rope less than 9mm diameter (1 for every 2 participants)
•Rappel ring with 20 kN or higher rated strength (mandatory)
•Sewn sling / runner (mandatory – one 120cm and one 180cm sewn sling and one 240cm sewn sling. Must be Dyneema or Spectra. MEC does not currently carry the 180cm length but they’re available online from https://www.monodsports.com or from stores that sell Mammut® Contact™ or Petzl® Pur'Anneau sewn slings. Contact Cyril if you can’t get the 180cm length.)
•5m or 6m length of 7mm accessory cord – one
•10m of soft, supple 6mm cord [ideal is Sterling cord - online or from Atmosphere]
•3m of 5mm cord. (mandatory) It must be very soft and very supple as it will be used on ropes as thin as 6mm in diameter. Cordage typically sold at MEC is too stiff and does not work properly. [Ideal is 5mm Sterling cord - online or from Atmosphere or from Vertical Addition in Canmore]
•Sterling® 6.8mm X 13.5” Hollow Block™ sewn loop
•Black Diamond® ATC Alpine Guide™ Belay Device (mandatory) for small diameter ropes
•Pulley (mandatory) - one lightweight pulley [Preferably of the Prusik minding type – Prusik minding pulleys sold by MEC function very, very, very poorly, or not at all, on small diameter ropes – best is the Prodigy PMP™ (24kN - nominally for ropes of <9mm but functions perfectly on ropes <10mm – online from https://ctoms.ca / a limited number can be obtained from Cyril]
•Ice axe

Register and place your name on the wait list.
Email a description of your experience to Rick Bennett, Chair T&L Committee at rickbennett28@gmail.com with the following words in the subject line "Application - Lightweight Rope Kits Course"
Upon acceptance to the course, make your payment within 2 days by clicking the Buy Now button below.
You do not need a PayPal account. You can pay with a credit card.
Once you have paid, take a screenshot of the receipt PayPal displays and send it to the to the trip coordinator who will put you on the registered list
Course fee $305.00 inclusive of GST