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Whether a recreational enthusiast, a professional in the canyoneering industry or one with an interested in becoming an industry professional, you've come to the right spot. Alpine Training Services (ATS) leads the industry in cross-discipline training and course protocols. Through it's innovative development of the West Coast Canyoneering Method (WCCM) with it's techniques and founding philosophy, ATS has created an incredible learning platform. ATS instructors are some of the most qualified and experienced canyoneering instructors in the country. Through their risk management methods, ATS empowers students to enjoy the canyoneering routes of the world. No prior experience is necessary for the ATS beginner courses or the three day school. ATS is the founder of the West Coast Canyoneering Method - a Methodology for Canyoneering. See the WCCM details below. The Only Canyoneering School in the U.S. to offer free Course Shadowing.

Alpine Training Services | Canyoneering School See Courses Below

Alpine Training Services | Canyoneering Three Day School ATSC3DS Price: $405 - $495 Days: 3 Activity Level - ••• ATS's most popular program takes the novice all the way from an intro of the sport to covering self-rescue. During this three day school, you'll have the chance to learn the basics of technically descending a canyon with a focus on learning Anchor Building and Self-Rescue skills. Come rappel huge waterfalls while learning this amazing sport. You will complete three separate canyon descents over the three days. This is the equivalent of taking our Canyoneering I, II, and III courses. Price varies upon course location between $405-$495 and includes all technical gear, course instruction, and textbook.

Back to Top The West Coast Canyoneering Methodology (WCCM) was developed by Alpine Training Services in response to the growing need to collaborate innovative and proven technical safety systems with progressive industry related psychological training protocols. ATS combined these elements to create the safest & most effective canyoneering training protocol in the world. Technical canyoneering originally began in Europe, but has quickly caught on in the U.S. By taking a close look at every known teaching style and safety record, one thing became inherently obvious -- there had to be a better way! Understanding the multiple variables of technical canyoneering was key -- the equipment, the technical applications that all lead to similar margins of safety, etc… The founders of the WCCM set out to look at the sport under a completely different light. Psychological points of interest were the first issue to visit. We realized once the psychology of the sport was understood, the world’s technical rope and equipment systems would be subject to a new point of view. The next step was to create a system of measurement against every known existing aspect of risk management in the sport itself and related outdoor discilines such as creek boating and rock climbing. The acronym T.E.R.M. was created and became the foundation for this fresh new hybrid theory. Looking at the sport from all viewpoints objectively allowed ATS to create a fair assessment of what systems were well designed and needed no adjustments versus systems which did not stand up to the new style(s) delineated by T.E.R.M. Through this review process gaps became apparent where both psychology and technology had not yet bridged in this outdoor vertical and adventure risk activity. Designing methods to bridge these literal and theoretical gaps became the next step in the process. In the late 90's, ATS began contacting manufacturers for product development towards the sport and working with groups of outdoor professionals from other rope related & rescue disciplines. The final element of development towards the WCCM was to engage groups of outdoor professionals including psychologists, rope rescue instructors, government search & rescue training officers, swiftwater technicians and professional climbing instructors. We worked to expose them to our methods for canyoneering and engage ourselves in this final process of discovery. The combined published results became the foundation for the final step -- creating a flow chart of both technical and psychological training milestones embedded in our instructional training curriculum. This program is designed to enable a WCCM student to go from Canyoneering I: “The Beginning” to the empowered point of “Recreational Canyon Leader” or "Professional Canyoneering Gudie", proving to be both technically and psychologically competent and accountable for themselves and for others, including other beginners. The final result was the creation of our training course program designed to move our clients along at their own pace, including free class shadowing for students of the WCCM as a form of C.E. (Continued Education). ATS is the first company to offer a continued education based program. Our accomplished training methods have raised the industry standard in the U.S. which all other canyoneering schools now seek to achieve. The end result -- a higher level of efficency and effectiveness towards safety in canyoneering. Safety for the instructors, clients and end users after training including a platform for CE in similar sports. Since ATS also provides an industry standardized full service Kayaking School, Rock Climbing School and Mountaineering School each of these established disciplines now add value to the canyoneering curriculum to be known as the WCCM. The founder of ATS, Darren Jeffrey comments on the innovative process: The lack of thought and continuity between the technical and psychological training methods, especially in Europe, always fascinated me. With well over 20 years of personal climbing and canyoneering experiences, and hundreds of hours of professional training from various organizations, canyoneering continues to impress me as the most technically challenging vertical adventure risk sport. That being said, the physical limitations are much less than the limitations of other vertical adventure sports such as mountaineering or rock climbing. Coupled with the internet and real time information that the climbing world did not have in its' beginning, we have a "super nuke" of a sport on our hands. In the end, this means more people can and will get the training and be out there on their own. Which in a short time has created a sport that has potential to grow larger and faster than climbing could or did. Canyoneering faces the same issues as climbing does. Access being of top concern, anchors, styles and ethics etc. If we are wise we will learn the short cuts through these issues and not have to relive the pains of the past! Here is a simple outline covering a few of the psychological safety points of the West Coast Canyoneering Methodology. Safety: Understanding T.E.R.M. and its’ dynamic applications. Accountability: Understanding personal motive. Awareness: Understanding what is happening with you and with others. Communication: Learning the value of effective and efficient communication. Control: Identifying and utilizing the proper technical systems for each obstacle. e.g. short roping and setting a tagline in deepwater or currents. Training: Creating a venue for existing skillsets to be expanded including C.E. e.g. we offer free course shadowing for all canyon classes. Teaching: Empowering WCCM students to pass on this methodology to others. e.g. part of our Recreational Trip Leader class is to have C-VI students work with actual beginners under close ATS supervision as guest helpers for C-I programs. Becoming trained in the WCCM will build technical competency and core mental confidence, creating a well rounded canyoneer capable of having a knowledgeable response to any situation as it arises. Alpine Training Services has a dedicated instructional canyoneering program which includes direct training, written field evaluations, a student text book, dozens of tracked “homework” based canyon days all undercut with our industry leading free class shadowing program, innnovate video podcasts, and assigned mentor training. All of these features are designed to empower our clients to get trained, and be out there enjoying the canyons of the world as often as possible. Back to Top Get WCCM Certification with Alpine Training Services Individual: Perhaps one of the most valuable certifications for a canyoneering professional is to achieve the WCCM certification. No easy task, this certification has only been acquired by a few individuals since inception. This certification is a multi-stage process that involves attending each ATS canyoneering course and then passing subsequent tests. These follow-up tests must be spaced out and take place at least one month after taking any specific course. We want the skillsets to be ingrained in your methods, not just hanging out in your short term memory. Currently, each lead instructor at ATS posesses the WCCM certification as well as several outdoor staff at UC Santa Barbara, University School of Colorado Springs, Cal State University San Marcos, 360 Adventures - Arizona, Caribe Rush - Dominican Republic, along with several others in the pipeline for the final training certification. Company: As a business owner you may schedule a WCCM Training/Certification series at your location for your Instructors and/or Guides, or you can fit your staff into one of our existing training course dates set annually across the West Coast. You may also choose to hire a person who has been certified in the WCCM giving them a solid head start on your company's standards and practices for becoming either an assistant guide or a lead guide. The benefit of hiring a WCCM trained guide is the peace of mind and third party technical training documentation helping to ensure professional quality assurance. Companies may wish to advertise their WCCM relationship and will be encouraged to do so but this point is secondary to the main WCCM objective - safety and proper technical training in canyoneering. In addition, ATS also offers a Canyoneering Rescue course for companies wishing to support their local first responders and SAR teams by providing more in-depth training for them so they can be ready when it matters. The curriculum for this training course comes from hours of work with leading SAR teams from around the country including Zion SAR, Maui FD/SAR, San Bernardino SAR, Los Angeles SAR, REVAC-USA, San Diego Lifeguard Cliff and River Rescue instructors, Pacific Rescue Systems, Rescue 3 International, members of the Peak Rescue Institute, certain units within USSOCOM and many other related industry professionals and equipment makers.

Courses and curriculums providing training for technical rope rescue, canyoneering rope access, mountaineering, rock climbing, kayaking and wilderness medicine.