#AlpinePrinciples
Debriefing a complicated climbing day can be one of the best ways to learn and strengthen your climbing partnerships. This is something I adopted from the guide-training process I went through back in the 1990s. At Alpine Mentors, we debriefed every day of climbing, and all came away with a feeling that this process was the most valuable part of the Alpine Mentors experience—the place where the real learning happened.
Here are two tools to help you, first a video and then a printable checklist so you and your partners can conduct your own debriefs.
Here is the video, “Alpine Principles: Reflection and Debrief.” Scroll down for the checklist.
Click here for a PDF of the Alpine Mentors Debrief Criteria Checklist.
Alpine Mentors Debrief Checklist
Based on the American Mountain Guides Association evaluation form
Route Selection
- Conditions
- Internal (you)
- External (environmental)
- Season
- Amount of daylight
- Weather
- Team
Route Planning
- Rope and rock
- Technical equipment
- Bivy equipment
- Clothing
- Food
- Cooking
- Route/navigation planning (topos, photos, etc.)
- Descent
Risk Management
- Hazard Recognition
- Minimization of Risk
- Situational Awareness
- Belay/anchors are an island of safety
- Descent
Technical Systems
- Staying attached
- Belays/Protection/Anchors
- Rope Management
- Rappelling/Lowering
- Rescue Skills
- “Right techniques, right place, right time?”
Terrain Assessment
- Route Selection
- Routefinding
- Navigation
Movement
- Fitness/Stamina
- 3rd/4th Class Terrain
- Climbing Ability
Teamwork
- Communication
- Efficiency
- Systems
- Risk Management
Mountain Sense
- Decision-Making
- Stress Management
- Error Correction (My personal favorite and imho one of the most important skills.-Steve House)
- Disaster Prevention
Environmentalism
- Environmental Consciousness. Did we practice Leave No Trace Climbing Principles? How could we improve?
-by Steve House
You might also be interested in:
Training for Ice and Mixed Climbing
How to Locate a Belay When Ice Climbing