Operational Changes for COVID-19

Update on Vaccination and Testing Policies

October 7, 2022

From the fall of 2021 through the fall of 2022, American Alpine Institute required that all participants on AAI trips be fully vaccinated for COVID-19.  Vaccination has been a condition of employment for all Institute employees since May 1, 2021, and remains so.

For participants in trips beginning after October 6, 2022, the vaccination requirement has been suspended. AAI will not require proof of vaccination to be submitted with registrations through the upcoming fall, winter, and spring seasons at least through April 30, 2023, except in cases where local governments or land managers require vaccination. AAI reserves the right to reinstate a vaccination requirement for new registrations in case of emergency.

AAI’s decision to suspend the vaccination requirement follows the observations that, first, the overwhelming majority of our clients are already vaccinated when they register; and second, reporting on the pandemic suggests that a majority of those who are unvaccinated may have already contracted Covid and developed a natural immune response.

AAI continues to believe strongly in the efficacy and safety of the Covid vaccines and strongly recommends vaccination, including booster shots. The continued emergence of new Covid variants is an ever-evolving threat to all populations, especially the most vulnerable, and vaccination continues to be the single best thing people can do to protect themselves and their loved ones.

AAI’s pre-trip Covid testing policy remains in effect. Participants in AAI trips that include overnight camping or in-person classroom time are asked to take a rapid Covid test within 24 hours of the start of their trip, unless they have recovered from a case of Covid-19 within the previous 90 days. Participants are asked to bring documentation of their negative test result (paper or digital image) to the Rendezvous. Those who have not tested will be asked to test at Rendezvous before departure. AAI reserves the right to require participants to take a rapid Covid test before or during any trip in order to respond effectively to new symptoms, cases, and outbreaks.

Rapid Covid antigen tests are typically packaged two to a kit and can be bought at most drug stores. AAI recommends that participants take both tests in the kit, the first during the two days before the trip and the second on the morning the trip starts, immediately before the Rendezvous.
 
In addition, all trip participants are encouraged to wear N-95 masks at all times when indoors or in close proximity to others.

 

Update on Testing and Mask Use

June 7, 2022

Following the recent rise in Covid cases nationwide, AAI has adopted new policies and procedures to help protect our trips from disease outbreaks.

Effective immediately, participants in AAI trips are asked to take a rapid Covid test within 24 hours of the start of their trip, unless they have recovered from a case of Covid-19 within the previous 90 days. Participants are asked to bring documentation of their negative test result (paper or digital image) to the Rendezvous. Those who have not tested will be asked to test at Rendezvous before departure.

Rapid Covid antigen tests are typically packaged two to a kit and can be bought at most drug stores. AAI recommends that participants take both tests in the kit, the first during the two days before the trip and the second on the morning the trip starts, immediately before the Rendezvous.

In addition, all trip participants are encouraged to wear N-95 masks at all times, and are required to mask indoors and while riding in company vans.

Update on Vaccination Policy

February 18, 2022

On October 1, 2021, American Alpine Institute began requiring that all participants on AAI trips be fully vaccinated.  Vaccination has been a condition of employment for all Institute employees since May 1, 2021.

The vaccination requirement will remain in force at least through the 2022 summer season, which ends September 30, 2022.

AAI’s decision to require vaccination followed announcements by public health authorities that the Delta variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus was significantly more transmissible than earlier strains, was spreading rapidly worldwide, and was increasing the risks of infection, severe illness, and death in all populations. 

Since then, the Omicron variant has emerged as the driver of new infections, with all the same accompanying risks, and much higher transmissibility.

To mitigate the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, AAI recommends  mask use in all company vans and other shared enclosed spaces in which participants can not maintain six feet of separation and adequate ventilation. In addition, AAI recommends  use of separate tents for all participants who are not from the same family or household.

Please check this page regularly for updates.

Reopening and Continuous Improvement

Updated October 7, 2022

As the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to take lives and endanger the health and economic vitality of the planet, American Alpine Institute has worked hard to find ways in which we can continue to pursue the mountain recreation we love while minimizing the risk of spreading the infection.  Like society’s larger effort to grapple with the disease, this is a work in progress.  By following the latest news and recommendations for best practices from the CDC and other public health authorities, we have adapted our operations to the changing needs of the moment, keeping our participants and employees as safe as possible, arresting avoidable spread of the disease, and continuing to lead trips into the mountains that build climbing skills and rejuvenate the spirit.

Now, with the arrival of vaccines and boosters that protect against recent variants, and an ever-greater share of the population enjoying the benefits of their protection, AAI has resumed normal operations, while maintaining compliance with good public health practices and remaining vigilant for signs of new risks from variant strains of the virus.

During the “lockdown” phase of COVID control measures in the spring of 2020, we worked with our office and shop staff, guides, and medical advisers to re-examine every aspect of our operations in light of the “new normal” in which we all now live, producing in the end twenty-some odd pages of concrete instructions and guidelines dictating how we will operate in every situation we might encounter.  From the rental department in the basement of our Equipment Shop to belay ledges high in Washington Pass, and from our registration form to our guides’ personal notebooks, we’ve analyzed patterns of activity, contact, and communication, looking for ways to stop the spread of the virus.

Throughout this intensive process, we’ve been guided by a few fundamental rules and principles.  Some of them are concrete and lead to clear directives; others are more abstract, and help us see the forest through the trees.  Taken together, we believe they constitute a workable strategy to enable us to keep doing the work we love.

The Prime Directive: Stay Home if You Have Symptoms – and Get Vaccinated

Because of the nature of COVID-19, it’s hard to know for sure if you have it.  We can’t get a COVID-19 test every day, but one thing we can do is listen to our bodies and pay attention – and get tested – when we feel unwell.  In the pre-COVID era, many of us went out to work or play in the mountains despite having cold symptoms and that nagging sense that we might be getting sick.  In the COVID era, that kind of wishful thinking is finished.  It could cost lives.

• Vaccination Policy: AAI continues to strongly recommend vaccination for COVID-19. However, our vaccination requirement has been suspended. AAI will not require proof of vaccination to be submitted with registrations through the upcoming fall, winter, and spring seasons at least through April 30, 2023, except where local governments or land managers require it.  For staff, vaccination for COVID has been a condition of employment at AAI since May 1, 2021, and remains so.
• Sickness policy:  Our policy is that any appearance of cold or flu symptoms must be treated as a presumed case of Covid until CDC guidelines for isolation and testing have been followed. Persons who have new symptoms will not be allowed to work at AAI or participate in an AAI trip until they have followed the CDC recommendations. The standard we use is that even a single, distinct principal symptom, reported with confidence and not obviously explained by other causes, justifies replacement of staff or postponement of that client’s trip. Managers and guides will, as always, exercise their judgment, but they are directed to err on the side of caution.
• COVID-19 testing for staff:  All our staff underwent proactive testing for current infection on state-of-the-art PCR equipment prior to or during the first two weeks of their active season in 2020. Thereafter, we have ordered ad hoc testing in all cases in which staff reported symptoms or possible exposure.
• New employee sick time policies encourage conscientiousness and compliance on the part of staff.
• Pre-Trip COVID Screening:  We’ve added screening questions to our registration form to help us determine if participants will present a risk of bringing COVID-19 to their trip, to inform them of our vaccination requirement, and to collect information regarding their vaccination status.
• Pre-Trip COVID Antigen Test:  All participants in trips that involve overnight camping or in-person classroom time are asked to self-administer a Covid antigen test before the start of their trips.
• First Day COVID Screening:  We conduct a health screening on the first day of each program, thoroughly surveying participants about their contact history and any possible symptoms.
• Daily AM/PM COVID Health Checks, conducted at least once each day in either morning or evening, provide a framework in which participants and guides can pause and quickly self-evaluate for symptoms, noting trends and other diagnostic signs.
• Acknowledgement of Additional Risks and Responsibilities:  A new addendum to our regular waiver outlines our new operating practices and helps ensure that all participants share the same understanding of our mutual responsibilities.

Principles of Mutual Protection: Requirements for Staff and Participants

The biggest improvements in public health have often come about from simple changes in habits, not from new scientific innovations or technology. Most major advances have come from small adjustments to reflexive behavior like boiling water before drinking, emptying standing water, trapping rodents, and washing hands. COVID-19 is no different. Even now that vaccines are available, stemming the spread of variant strains, especially among those who are still unvaccinated, will boil down to a few simple measures.

1. Limit Personal Contacts – Number, Time, and Proximity

This principle is universally understood to be the linchpin of all efforts to tackle the COVID pandemic worldwide – the foundation of “lockdowns”, but also of more modest forms of contact reduction, such as limiting business hours and room capacity.

When you’re standing near a person with an infection – an infection of which that person may be unaware, even when they’re highly contagious – the simple acts of speaking and breathing the same air can transfer small amounts of virus through minuscule droplets suspended in the air (aerosols).  Small amounts, transferred over time, can add up to an infectious “dose” that overwhelms the immune system’s first line of defense.  But by the same token, limiting the possible intake of individual virus particles at every opportunity limits that total dose and can help you avoid infection.

Each minute of close contact with a new person presents a new risk of infection – a new spin of the roulette wheel, so to speak.  So the number of people you see affects your chances of infection, as well as how close you come to them and how long you spend in their company.

At AAI, we are limiting contact in many ways, including:

• Reduced Group Size and Ratios:  During initial reopening under Washington's Phase 2 guidelines, maximum group size was reduced to five persons total, including participants and guides, for a  maximum ratio of 4:1. Update for January 2022: Our normal group sizes and ratios are in effect, barring new information and/or new government-imposed limits.
• Social distancing:  We'll maintain at least six feet of distance in all settings where practicable, with greater tolerance for close contact when all participants are vaccinated.
• New solo rental tents to allow every participant personal sleeping and cooking space.  Participants and guides are required to refrain from sharing camping space with others who are not members of their household.
• Company passenger vans: As of October 7, 2021, participants  may ride in company vans on programs for which AAI normally provides transportation. Use of masks is strongly recommended in the vans. On occasional trips, guides may spot-check air exchange in the vans using a carbon dioxide monitor.
• Personal vehicle use: Participants who so desire may drive themselves in their own personal vehicles to campgrounds and trailheads.
• Changes to traffic patterns: During the initial lockdown, we conducted time-and-motion studies to determine which areas of our shop and office would see the most incidental contact. Now, with vaccination rates high and cases declining, we have eased most limits on traffic patterns.
• Occupancy signs and traffic control for the bathrooms have been improved to help prevent accidental contact.

2. Keep Air, Hands, and Surfaces Clean

This principle is behind a number of new practices at AAI that are intended to remove virus particles from media of transfer – the air, skin, shared objects, and surfaces – thus reducing the number that could contribute to an infectious dose for any given staff member or trip participant. 

• Face-covering requirement: All participants are encouraged to wear cloth masks or face coverings at all times when they cannot maintain a six-foot personal distance or when they are in enclosed spaces.  For example, climbers sharing a small belay ledge may choose to "mask up" upon arrival.  Some climbing situations will allow sufficient social distancing to obviate mask use, but many will not. All participants are required to have masks handy and to don masks if instructed by the guide in situations where close contact is unavoidable.
• High-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters have been installed in common areas of the office and Equipment Shop to limit the danger of aerosol transmission from a sick occupant to a subsequent user, and cleaning schedules have been stepped up.
• Hand Sanitizer is now required equipment on all trips. We require each participant to bring adequate quantities to allow use before meals and snack breaks and at various times before touching shared equipment or other items throughout the day. Though contact with surfaces is not the primary mode of transmission for Covid, the use of hand sanitizer has long been recommended to reduce the spread of colds and flu in our expedition programs.
• Rental equipment and vehicles will be cleaned scrupulously after every return. During the early phase of the pandemic, we placed rental gear in a 72-hour quarantine to ensure that any virus particles that remained after cleaning had disintegrated, but research now indicates this procedure is unnecessary.

 

Risk Mitigation, Not Elimination

Though entailing many changes, both large and small, our risk management approach for COVID-19, at a high level, is much the same as the one we have always used on our climbing trips.  Since mountaineering has many inherent risks that cannot be eliminated entirely, our job as guides is to keep track of the risks, limit them as much as possible, and work within the probabilities. We do what we can, within reason, to reduce the hazards in each domain of risk, be it weather conditions, team cohesion, movement errors, or many others.  Infectious disease, in the form of COVID-19, has simply become one more domain of risk to be managed – albeit a risk that has greater implications for the wider community. Lessening the probability of accidents and errors in each of these domains lessens them for the whole trip, reduces the cascading effects of chance events, and allows us to proceed with confidence, even if not with perfect certainty.

 

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If you have any questions about our COVID-19 Risk Management Plan, please don’t hesitate to call our office at (360) 671-1505.