A couple of our guides, Jacob Schmitz and Josh Garner, are off on a personal adventure to climb the 5th highest peak in the world, Makalu (8481 meters/27,825 ft). They have arrived in base camp, and had their Puja and they are ready to climb! They are with a couple of climber/guides from Argentina and…
This summer, we underwent the long, detailed process of becoming an Accredited Program of the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA). Accreditation is granted to guide services that meet or exceed the high operational standards required by the American Mountain Guides Association during an extensive safety and business review of their operations. After submitting the lengthy…
Our friend Neal Beidleman wrote a great article about his return to Everest last year. Neal was a part of one of the fateful 1996 expedition made famous by the book Into Thin Air. He returned to Everest for the first time since that trip as part of the Mountain Trip team last year and…
It’s nice to have arrived home to some snow! While there was snow up high when I left, the lower elevations and most south faces were pretty darn dry. Now it feels like winter, and makes the temperate climate of Ecuador seem all the more appealing. The trip I helped out with had been…
Our Ecuador team took a couple of days to rest and enjoy the tropical lushness of Banos, Ecuador following an exciting and fun ascent of the 5897m volcano, Cotopaxi. We hiked up to the Jose Ribas hut in the mid afternoon of the 15th and ate an early dinner. After five hours of restless sleep…
The snow has been a bit slow in coming to our beloved San Juan mountains in SW Colorado this winter, but the ice climbing has been great. The crew in Alaska is experiencing a huge winter right now with record breaking snow fall, but down in Colorado we’re still waiting. The skiing has suffered from…
Panama is slipping past as our plane makes its way south towards our destination, the city “El Libertador,” Simon Bolivar called “a cathedral,” the capital city of Quito. There are four guides on board, eager to land and stretch our legs after hours of sitting in planes. Our first leg was delayed by severe thunderstorms…
The Elbrus region has been closed for tourist access from the South for most of the year due to militant attacks last February. This unrest and small scale terrorist activity has been going on in the region for many years and while it is certainly not over, it is good to see things return to…
Our entire Carstensz Pyramid team summitted on the 20th and 21st of the month. Congratulations to all including our guide Scott Woolums, who completed his 4th and 5th lap of the complete 7 summits by summiting twice on consecutive days! Here are the climbers: Summit Oct. 21st Alan Arnette. Colorado, USA Chuck Raper. California, USA…