Mountaineering 101: Best Guides to Learn How to Climb
Mountaineering ranks high among the most satisfying and spectacular ways to experience the great outdoors, but moving from easily accessed boulders, single-pitch rock climbs, and/or the climbing gym to ascending actual mountains is a big step.
The former are useful in introducing you to some of the primary skills of mountaineering, but when you head to those looming peaks and glaciers, you’ll need a much broader skill set to have fun and stay safe up there.
What Is Mountaineering?
Mountaineering is used interchangeably with mountain climbing, alpine climbing, and alpinism. It's the sport of hiking and climbing summits or high points in mountainous regions. Some have turned the act into a more competitive sport known as peak bagging, where mountaineers attempt to reach the top of a series of summits. This can include Colorado's 14ers (14,000-foot peaks) and even comprise Alps mountaineering.
Summit attempts on even the most moderate peaks can go south in a hurry without the right basic know-how. Add route finding, loose rock, unsurmountable cliff bands, snow, glaciers, and fast-changing weather, and things get extra complicated. That’s why it’s important to use the proper mountaineering gear and go with professional training when you’re moving into the realm of mountaineering.
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How to Get Into Mountaineering
While mountaineering books can be informative and your alpinist friends may know their stuff, ideally you’ll take a course—or two or three—before forging out on your own.
Taking a guided excursion and a mountaineering course will greatly increase your safety factor in the mountains. “Every climb is a constant assessment of risks,” explains Jonathon Spitzer, director of programs at Alpine Ascents International. “The more skilled the climber—or guide—the greater the opportunity to manage risks and learn about managing risks for the future.”
Related: How to Climb Everest: A Three-Year Gameplan
That brings us to a great point: Make sure your instructors are certified mountain guides.
The IFMGA/UIAGM (International Federation of Mountain Guides) and its affiliates are the gold standard—and for mountaineering you’ll need someone certified for alpine climbing and not just single pitch routes. The right guides will teach you important skills along the way, from tying proper knots and setting anchors to crevasse rescue and reading the weather and terrain. Even more important, they’ll keep you safe and stoked during one of the greatest challenges of your life.
Where to Go Mountaineering
There are so many perfect spots to begin your journey into mountaineering, both in the U.S. and abroad.
Domestically, the North Cascades and Washington’s Mt. Rainier are the quintessential training grounds with the greatest concentration of glaciated peaks outside of Alaska. There’s also the Sierra Nevada in California, and those numerous 14ers in Colorado.
In the Canadian Rockies, Banff remains one of the finest spots for summer alpinism.
Farther south, there’s Mexico’s volcanoes, Peru’s Cordillera Blanc, and a ton of opportunities in between.
Beyond all those places, there’s a good argument that mountaineering originated in the European Alps. You can head to favorite hot spots like Chamonix and La Grave, or to literally thousands of peaks that offer a wide range of opportunities throughout France, Switzerland, and northern Italy.
The following 12 mountaineering schools, services, and guides are as qualified and reliable as they come.
Best Mountaineering Guides and Outfitters in the World
Courtesy Alpine Ascents International
The Seattle, WA-based program has been providing mountain guiding and training for nearly 40 years. AAI offers more than 30 expeditions and 50 training courses in 14 countries. You can take a one-day mountaineering course on the slopes of Mt. Rainier, which fulfills the prerequisites for a 4-day climb of the mountain via Emmons Glacier.
Courtesy of American Alpine Institute
Founded in the mid ‘70s and now with operations in six different states, the Bellingham, WA-headquartered American Alpine Institute remains one of the top climbing schools in the U.S. Rather than focusing on guided climbs, AAI concentrates on teaching the technical skills and judgment that allow people to climb on their own. In addition to courses from Alpine Climbing and Technical Leadership to winter mountaineering, they run numerous guided expeditions and treks worldwide for everyone from beginners to experts.
Courtesy of Colorado Mountain School
Colorado Mountain School is the state’s largest guiding company, running expeditions all over the globe on top of several Colorado classics like Eldorado Canyon, The Flatirons, Longs Peak, and Hallet Peak. You can sign up for a wide variety of instructional mountaineering courses with CMS, most of which are taught in the field in Rocky Mountain National Park. The school specializes in courses designed to prepare climbers for any objective, big or small. Courses like "Intro to Mountaineering" teach beginners how to approach climbing mountains while more advanced courses, such as “Crevasse Rescue” and “Expedition Prep Course,” are designed for skilled climbers with peaks like Denali or a “Seven Summit” in mind. The Boulder-based school has a hostel in Estes Park, CO, where you can stay for just $40 per night while taking classes.
Chamonix, France, has long been the heart of mountaineering, and Compagnie des Guides de Chamonix is arguably the alpine standard by which every other mountaineering outfitter is measured in the Alps. You can do everything from basic rock climbing to the great north walls of the French Alps with their guides. Week-long courses are designed to seriously amp your skills and confidence before heading out on your own.
Sarah Grangeon
The amount of first-rate mountaineering in this “secret spot” in the southern French Alps is beyond stunning. La Grave is a much quieter, smaller village than its “big brother” of Chamonix, and a much calmer setting for those eager to learn alpinism basics, experience their first ascent up a crevassed glacier, or climb an airy rocky ridge to an incredible summit. La Grave guides like Erin Smart are internationally certified and can handle individual experiences, groups, and families. The service also offers some awesome mountaineering trips that include staying at small refuges (huts) where you’ll find great food, warm accommodations, and fine camaraderie. La Meije, first summited here in 1877, is one of the most classic climbs in all of the Alps.
Courtesy of Jackson Hole Mountain Guides/Mountain Hardwear
This hallowed Jackson, WY-based guiding company now has branches in Colorado, Nevada, Utah, and Montana. The best place to start though remains at its hub in Jackson or, more specifically, neighboring Grand Teton National Park—home to some of the most accessible and stunning mountain climbing experiences in the world. You can take a guided 2-3-day trip up the Grand Teton, head up Gannett and Granite Peaks, or opt for the Mount Moran ascent—a big mountain with good rock and lots of easy climbing to a classic summit. In addition to guided ski, mountain, snow, and ice climbing experiences for adults, Jackson Hole Mountain Guides also offers excellent courses for teens and younger kids.
Courtesy of ProVallone
Sometimes having personalized guiding and instruction is the best way to go. ProVallone is a small, independent international guide service owned and operated by UIAGM/IFMGA-licensed mountain guide Joe Vallone. Vallone, who is arguably one of the best big mountain ski guides in the world, also specializes in climbing and alpine mountaineering. He’ll customize training and trips according to your skill level and alpine ambitions, whether you’re interested in Colorado classics like Long’s Peak or big alpine routes with hut stays in France. You can arrange an individual trip, or, better yet, bring along friends and family.
Courtesy of Yamnuska Mountain Adventures
The Canadian West straddling the border between Alberta and British Columbia boasts some of the most beautiful alpine imagery in the world. But as far as mountaineering goes, the route finding can be difficult, the rock ranges widely from pristine to poor, there’s glacier travel to consider, and the weather can be fierce at any time of year. Based out of Canmore, Alberta, Yamnuska Mountain Adventures can get you climbing on ice, rock, and high into spectacular alpine terrain during everything from day-trip intro classes to (highly recommended) three-month mountain skills courses. Whatever you have time for, Yamnuska’s guides are a great bet for fast-tracking your experience, judgment, and wilderness skills in the spectacular Canadian Rockies.
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Known for having some of the best, and most experienced, mountain guides in the world, Rainier Mountaineering, Inc. (RMI) leads expeditions to just about every corner of the globe, including the Himalayas, Alaska, South America and beyond. But the company's Expedition Skills Seminars will be the one that is most interesting to beginning climbers. The company's Emmons seminar teaches crucial foundational skills you'll need for bigger peaks. You'll spend six days climbing Washington's 14,409-foot Mt. Rainer in an expedition-style climb that traverses Mt. Rainier's largest glacier. Challenging but approachable, Rainier is the perfect setting to pick up valuable experience.
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Founded in 2004 by Adrian Ballinger, Alpenglow Expeditions has built itself a reputation as an innovative mountaineering company that uses technology and new techniques to alter the traditional approach to climbing big mountains. The outfitter specializes in fast ascents on big Himalayan peaks, but there's plenty for burgeoning mountaineers, too.
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Adventure Consultants is famous for leading expeditions to remote corners of the globe, including taking clients to the summit of Everest and the South Pole. But the company also puts on excellent mountaineering clinics in Europe, North America, and its home country of New Zealand.
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One of the most experienced mountaineering companies in the world, Mountain Madness has been leading expeditions to far-flung places (including to each of the Seven Summits) for more than three decades. The company's Alpine Climbing Course is an eight-day mountaineering class designed to give students all the skills they'll need to climb just about anywhere on the planet.