Mountain Operations

Monte Difensa, Italy 1943; Mount Logan, Yukon Territory, 1999; Aconcagua, The Andes, 2006; Mount Denali, Alaska, 2016.

Mountains which gave us birth, grew us, and pushed us out of our comfort, all to lead excellence in Military Mountaineering.

1976 was our defining year. It was the first year of Mountain Warfare Instructor (MWI), and the chrysalis of an organic Canadian Military Mountaineering Capability. Canadian Mountain Warfare has its roots from working with our allied British and American forces (select Canadian soldiers attending their respective Mountain schools) combining the disciplines of Cliff Assault (personnel movement) and Mountain Installations (equipment movement), and local civilian experts harnessing the regional expertise in the vast Canadian ranges north, west and east of our country, and a massive months long joint exercise spanning the Canadian eastern and western mountain ranges with British forces in 1975. With Best Practices taken, the Canadian Mountain Warfare, and MWI programs were born. 

From the early days of Manila rope and manufacturing our own removable protection out of twine and old machine nuts, to using some of the most technically advanced equipment and procedures of today, our capabilities have grown and evolved to much more than just mountains. The Rock of the Eastern Laurentides. The Alpine of the Western Rockies. The Skyscrapers and Sub terrain of Urban Centres. Our domain is complex, and if there is an any angle past horizontal, up or down, confined or exposed, it is the Mountain and Complex Terrain Operators who are relied upon to move those bodies and equipment as to accomplish the mission.

Mountain!