Want to try mountaineering? Read this.

THE AMCI MOUNTAINEERING Club, Inc. (AMCI) is once again opening its doors to those who wish to hit the trails and make the most out of every hike by again holding its Basic Mountaineering Course (BMC), a program that seeks to promote outdoor safety, camaraderie, and love for the environment.

The four- month BMC includes lectures, seminars, and other activities aimed at knowledge and skills building; a workout regimen aimed at endurance, strength, and flexibility building; and a series of climbs in varying terrain and weather conditions. All this translates to more than 120 hours of group physical training, 60 hours of skills building, and four training climbs.

Basic modules include: Leave No Trace principles, trail movement, gear and equipment, mountain cooking, shelters, high-altitude mountaineering, ropesmanship, basic first aid and basic life support. At the end of the course, trainees are also expected to become certified responders.

“Every year since we started running this program in 1980s, we see people transform from average trainees to triathletes, mountain runners, to straight-up mountaineers who scale summits outside of this continent. What’s amazing is that when they started the BMC, some [people] could not even run five kilometers. The program has enabled a lot of people to discover their personal summits,” said Hadjie Tecson, 2017 BMC Director. “We hope that this also becomes the story of the 2017 batch.”

AMCI was founded in 1983 by a group of friends who climbed Mt. Banahaw with very little knowledge of mountaineering — wearing jeans, bringing just a tarp for shelter and not today’s $400 ultra-light tents. As membership grew, so did the pool of skills and information. Today, AMCI is home to more than a thousand outdoor enthusiasts.

Those interested in the course can join the AMCI BMC Orientation Night on June 1, 7 p.m., at Session Hall, 2F Glorietta 5. Diagnostics Day is on June 3, 6 a.m., venue TBD, while regular training sessions will take place every Wednesday, 7 p.m., at the Ayala Triangle in Makati City, and Sundays, 6 a.m., at Circuit Makati. The course fee is P4,800.

The 2017 AMCI BMC Program is done in partnership with Osprey Packs Philippines, Ahon, and BeNuts.

For more information, like AMCI Mountaineering Club, Inc. on Facebook and follow @amcimountaineers on Instagram.