Who are we?

The WAC Backcountry Travel program is entirely volunteer based.  All of our chairs and instructors are WAC members who either helped start the class, took the the Backcountry Travel course themselves, or are part of the larger PNW backcountry travel community, and includes folks that are seasoned guides, Mountain Rescue, Search and Rescue, SPART, NWAC, patrollers, or members of the larger community.  All instructors have been vetted to ensure that their knowledge and skills meet modern safety criteria for exploring the backcountry and align with the broader values of safety, inclusivity, and environmental stewardship of the Washington Alpine Club.

We regularly host training events to on-board prospective new instructors, ensure that we maintain consistency and standardization of knowledge across our instructor pool, and make sure that we're keeping up to date with modern AIARE teaching standards.