Cumbre

Cumbre offers financially accessible guided mountaineering trips and skills clinics as well as club-only organized mountain climbs, hikes, and community events. The name “Cumbre” is the word “summit” in Spanish, and honors its inception as a bi-lingual Spanish/English climb of Tahoma/Mt. Rainier. Since its initial organization, Cumbre has become a welcoming adventure community with members focused on learning technical skills, increasing their physical conditioning, and challenging themselves to achieve objectives.

Cumbre is organized as a club with different opportunities for members based on skill level. There is no cost of membership either initially or yearly. While we do charge at-cost for some climbs and clinics, scholarships or sliding scale pricing are always available, and proceeds from Cumbre events go directly to covering the costs of events or towards gear acquisition for members’ use.

Some Cumbre events may be opened to the public once the Cumbre community has had the opportunity to sign up.

Skill Levels

Skill levels are organized into five tiers as follows:

Level 1: Hiker

Hiker level Cumbre members include those who have not completed their first skills checklist, as well as those who are involved for hiking and backpacking opportunities within the community but are not currently pursuing mountaineering.

Level 2: Alpine

The first checklist covers the skills needed to climb non-glaciated mountains, or to be on a rope team for a technical mountaineering climb, such as snow and glacier travel, ice-ax arrest, and rope management. Guided mountaineering trips and some non-guided climbs are open to Alpine Cumbre members and above.

Level 3: Glacier

Cumbre members who have completed their second checklist have demonstrated the skills needed to climb glaciated peaks including rescue systems, avalanche awareness, and risk management. Glacier team members can assist in teaching skills clinics for Alpine skills. Non-guided organized mountain climbs are open to Rope Leaders and above.

Level 4: Assistant Team Leader

Assistant Team Leaders are proficient in Glacier technical skills, have personal mountaineering experience, and have the organization and teaching skills to lead Alpine clinics. They can assist in teaching Glacier skills clinics. At Level 4, members can be paid by Sahale Outdoors to teach Alpine clinics, and can begin to build a teaching and climbing resume for pursuing further involvement in the mountaineering industry.

Level 5: Team Leader/Guide

Cumbre Guides have the certifications or equivalent experience to guide mountaineering trips on technical mountains like Kulshan/Mt. Baker, and Tahoma/Mt. Rainier. They can be paid to guide Cumbre climbs as well as to lead Alpine and Glacier clinics.