The group had great weather for the most part. "We were able to summit Mt. Baker in four hours roundtrip from our High Camp on Baker at 7,600 feet. That was pretty phenomenal." Stephen said. "We had a bit of an epic experience when we were on Forbidden, however." The group climbed the West Ridge of Forbidden Peak and was caught in a lightening storm on the descent that moved in surprisingly quickly. "It was wild how fast the weather moved in," said climber Eric Skidmore. "We were rappeling down the mountain in 70 degree weather and the sky was completely blue, and then within fifteen minutes a full-blown lightening storm had moved over us. Our pickets and ice axes started to buzz, and we really pushed it hard to get down off the peak. It was quite an adrenaline rush!" Justin agreed, "Yeah, luckily we weren't far from the col when it really started to hammer on us. We just had two double-rope rappels, and then we were down."

On a climb of South Early Winter Spire the group had nice weather, but the route was snowy and very wet. "We decided to keep our plastic boots on for the entire climb so our feet would stay warm and dry," Eric said. "I never knew I could climb a rock route in plastic boots!" The entire group completed the 5.6 climb in their plastics, making the climb much more challenging but providing a perfect practice opportunity for this important alpine skill.

In addition, the group climbed Colfax Peak, a rarely climbed mixed snow and ice summit adjoining Mt. Baker, practiced ice skills on the north side of Baker, did several alpine rock climbs from Washington Pass, and enjoyed the dry warmth of Leavenworth while working on rock skills. In Leavenworth the climbers learned and worked on leading pitches, and Justin said the entire R&D route was sucessfully student-led. "That's really what we try to focus on in these courses," Justin said. "We're not just guiding the climbers up and down the mountains, but we're teaching them how to negotiate the routes themselves as safe and strong leaders." Students also became proficient at various rescue skills on rock and practiced belay exchanges and other specialized alpine climbing techniques.

The final days were spent on the slopes of Mt. Shuksan. This climb was also entirely student-led and demanded that climbers use the full range of skills they'd learned over the past weeks. Eric said, "Leading a rope team on Shuksan was an immensely engaging experience. You're out in front using the full capacity of your skill and intuition to get the team safely up the glacier. In a way, you feel like you're putting yourself in the most danger for the best safety of others...and that is somehow highly rewarding."