Blackcomb Backcountry Touring! For Christmas all the good backcountry skiers received 2 weeks of mind blowing conditions and weather. Good stability, blower powder and blue skies. Its doesn’t get much better!!! December 24 Tim W and I got out into the Whistler Backcountry for a day of ski touring. We headed off the Blackcomb mountain, first…

Every year when the temperature starts to drop all the ice climber start looking around to see if ice has started to form up on the cliff faces. Some years the ice hardly forms and other you can find beautiful climbable blue ice everywhere!! This year is one of those. Conditions are amazing, ice is everywhere.

What a fun day out on Mount Rohr south face.  Mt. Rohr is a great day tour off of the Duffy Lake Road. It is one of many ski tours from the Duffy that can be done in a day. The south facing slide paths on Mt Rohr as you can see are in great…

Check out this quick edit from our day out in the Whistler Backcountry last weekend. The Stairmaster Couloir on Phalanx Mountain and the well known Corona Bowl to take it back into the boundry of Blackcoumb Mountain.

Despite some nasty white weather we snuck out to the Whistler backcountry to ski the Stairmaster Couloir on Phalanx and the Corona bowl.

Got out today skiing today in the Cariboo Mountains of BC Canada. What a place. Great terrain and snow.

  We were in Banff last week for the Mountain Film Festival and managed to sneak out for a few pitches of Ice climbing.  Conditions were quite mild owing to a Chinook passing along the front ranges but we headed up to the Stanley Headwall, finding tons of climbable ice in this refrigerator box of…

Here is a little teaser from last winter at Mike Wiegele Heli Skiing. Video of Crosby Johnston Heli Skiing

Earlier this spring I had this fun day of climbing on Diedre with Kendall and Nikki.  Was the perfect Squamish climbing day on the Apron.  Long friendly corners on splitter granite stone for 7 pitches. First climbed in 1962 by the Squamish local Jim Sinclair and the late Jim Baldwin. A truly lovely rock climb…

On October 9 th I had the pleasure to get in one of the last days of guiding before the rain. Angeles Crest is one of the well know Squamish classic multi pitch rock climbs.  Angel’s Crest rock climb is one of my favourite climbs in Squamish.  It is one of the best positions you…

This was a magic night up at the Albert Premier Hut Chamonix, France. Everyone else seemed to be sleeping and it was a full moon!  Very beautiful night to be outside for some cool photos. photos: Crosby Johnston

Just got back from a two day trip up to the Summit of Mt. Garibaldi via the North East face from Brohm Ridge. What a treat to get into the high alpine in OCTOBER! Conditions on Garibaldi where next to perfect for a guided trip to 2670m or 8760ft. Last night on Mt. Garibaldi there…

An outing on Showcase Spire off of Blackcomb Mountain is one of the best mini adventures imaginable!  With a civilized approach and an ambiance that makes you wonder where this beauty has been hiding all your life, Showcase Spire is not to be missed!  I had the pleasure of climbing this gem on the weekend…

  Yet another great day of climbing here in Squamish.  I joined forces with Rockies crushers Josh Lavigne, Simon Meiss and Chris Brazeau to throw a lap on Teddy Bear’s Picnic.  First established by Jeremy Blumel and Adam Diamond and climbed integral a few years back by Will Standhope, Teddy Bear’s hosts some of the…

A day out rock climbing in Squamish. More photos: Altus Mountain Guides Facebook photo: Crosby Johnston

Over the last two day I had the pleasure to rock guide the Classic 5.10c Squamish Buttress rock climb and in the Smoke Bluffs. The splitter granite stone and Howe Sound vistas are still as stunning as ever. The love of Squamish rock climbing is never ending. What a treat to do some rock guiding…

Today I had the pleasure to guide the sea cliffs of Howe Sound. Like waking up from a dream the view around us at the Squamish Spit was pristine and misty. Garibaldi Mountain and the Chief gave us alpine glow and magic vistas first thing in the morning. This was the environment we paddled in,…

Tony Richardson and I profited from this bombastic high pressure system and managed to tick a wold class climb and flight right above the village of Squamish. Our friend Nathan dropped us of at the boulders on the Stawamus Forest Service road and after a three hour approach we locked horns with Mt. Habrich’s west…

What a beautiful day to be rock climbing and guiding the ultra classic Squamish Buttress! The day was perfect. Endless splitter cracks to the top of the Squamish Chief.  Rock climbing at it’s finest and only 5.10c.   photos by: Crosby Johnston

Had an amazing trip up to The Wedge with Helen Beynon, we climbed the uber classic NE Arete.  The route was in fine condition and the day was sublime.  I can’t think of a better way to spend a couple days mountaineering in Whistler! Wedge Mountain 2892 m (9488 ft) photos: Paul McSorley

We just finished up a fantastic week with the Canadian Society of Mountain Medicine working as instructors and evaluators for this fledgeling program.  Spending four days in Whistler and one rockclimbing in Squamish we capped the week off with two days mountaineering in the unforgettable Tantalus Range.  The weather was impeccable and the doctors got…

Mt. Robson 3,954m , 12,972ft, Grade IV Kain Face. Mt Robson Kain Face Attempt.

On August 27th Ross Berg, Paul McSorley and I used Yellowhead Helicopters to fly into the Dome of Mt. Robson with five clients. Yellowhead Helicopter’s 206 Pilot did a great job flying us into the 3150m Dome landing in 4 flights. What a great place to be flown into to start a guided trip. We were hoping to guide the trip from the highway, however there was poor weather in the forecast so we decided to just fly everyone into the Dome bellow the Kain Face of Mt Robson. We were not able to sneak up to the summit before the poor weather started. The winds increased to over 100km per hour and it ended up snowing about 40cm. All and all it turned out to be a fantastic guided trip with some inspirational guests

Last week I (Crosby Johnston) had the pleasure to guide the Frendo Spur on the Aiguille du Midi in Chamonix Mont Blanc. The Frendo Spur is rated (D+ / III 4 1200m) and is on the North Face Aiguille du Midi. However it totals 1600m of elevation from hut to the Aiguille du Midi Telepherique. A perfect day of…

Ross Berg and I (Crosby Johnston) had a great day out guiding the Point Lachenal and the Cosmiques Arete in Chamonix just steps away from the Aiguille du Midi Chamonix Mont Blanc: 3842m above sea level.  Both climbs are ultra classic route in a stunning location.  Photos don’t justify or come anywhere close to capturing the…

Here are some photos from the summer in the mountains around Chamonix. What a fun place! (click for larger high res photos)

Yesterday Altus Mountain Guides Guided Mont Blanc. We got to the Summit at 930 am July 4th. The conditions on the mountain were near perfect. One day earlier people had to turn around because of Avalanche hazard on the Mountain.  Today the weather is poor with rain in the Valley and clouds covering the Summit.…

Yesterday I got to get out and do some climbing in the morning at Chech Canyon Squamish BC.  It was a busy day as you can see.  Took a bunch of photos with my new camera for the people at the crag.  Another day climbing in Squamish even though it slashed rain the day before.…

80cm’s of new snow in the past week we decided to give the biggest peaks another day to settle so we set our sights on the Gervassutti couloir on the Tour Ronde.  This 1500 foot 50 degree couloir has been on my personal ski list for some years.  A beautiful peak with an esthetic sustained…

Here is a quick video from our day on the Cosmiques Arete

Last week was the grand finally of the ski season for us.  Finished with a bit of bang!  Had the pleasure of guiding returning client Carsten Kulche in Chamonix France. The week started with terrible weather so we opted for a quick lap up the Cosmiques arete for some acclimatization.   After leaving the coffee shop…

This spring Altus’s IFMGA Mountain Guide Ross Berg guided the Wapta Traverse.  Weather and snow conditions cooperated and everyone had a great time.  Altus Mountain Guides gives a big thanks to the clients for being in such good shape and choosing to ski with us!  Hope to see you again.    

  As of last week the climb is completely dry thanks to the strong Howe Sound winds and the sunny skies of spring. Few climbs in Squamish serve up the zesty taste of alpine justice like the Angels Crest Arete.  Several steep pitches punctuate a half kilometer of ridgework with showstopping positions along the serrated spine…

  Last week, I had a chance to get out on the cliffs of Squamish with a man who needs no introduction to the area: Fred Beckey.  In fact Fred is largely responsible for introducing the rest of the world to Squamish.  Since the late fifties, when the Sea to Sky highway was just a…

Last week in the Whistler area was all time!! One of the best weeks of skiing i personally have ever had! Great snow, good stability, perfect weather (except the few times we got stuck in a cloud on a summit…) It cant really get much better.

This year we donated 2 days of ski guiding to the Whistler Ski Club fundraiser. Brain and Christy from Vancouver where the lucky purchasees of the trip! After an almost 2 meter storm we headed up to the “Keith Hut” at the toe of the Anniversary Glacier for 2 days of skiing. With marginal weather but perfect snow we managed to sneak in some terrific runs off Vantage Peak.

Ill admit it im a bit of a creature of habit. I often like to ski the same old circuits out ski touring. I like to see the same terrain in different conditions through the season and years, i find you have a greater appreciation for the terrain. You get to know it intimately.
I had a client this week for a day of ski touring, it was his first time ever in the backcountry but said he was an “expert” skier, conditions where pretty much perfect so i was hoping we could manage a big day touring into the Blackcomb backcountry. We ended up skiing about 2000m over 4 outstanding runs.

Yesterday myself (ross) and ski partner Paul Cordy took this quick video of skiing a couple couloir in the backcountry of the Blackcomb mountain in Whistler BC. Always blown away how accessible the backcountry is from the Whistler resort. We didnt start the day until 10am, and hour later we are skiing awesome couloirs and big glaciers. I love this place.

Came across an old video Ross made of one of his favorite Chamonix rock ridges. This video was shot out on a personal day with another IFMGA mountain guide Mike Bromberg.
The Traverse d’entreves is often done as a warm up climb during our Mont Blanc weeks. Wild exposure right on the France/Italian border. Not to be missed

Every so often the Ice Goblins visit the fjordlands of the Pacific Northwest and desperado ice climbers in Squamish get a little taste of the goodies.  The early weeks of the month graced us with an arctic outflow that served up a sweet four day window of ice climbing at the Pet Wall, Smoke Bluffs…

Altus Guide Paul McSorley just returned from a great session down in the Mexican Big Wall mecca of El Gran Trono Blanco last week. The team consisted of ace photographer Andrew Burr and young rock masters Will Stanhope and Alex Honnold. Our crew managed three ascents of the highly featured granite monolith with Will and Alex freeing the Pan Am and El Giraffe routes at V 5.12+ and V 5.13 respectively.

Recently was contracted out by the Revelstoke Mountain Resort to guide a day of backcountry touring off the hill. It had been a few years since i explored the resort and i will admit what i had stuck in my head was that it with out question was no match to the Mighty Whistler. But after 2 excellent lattes and a couple croissants at the conveniently located coffee shop at the foot of the lifts i was starting to believe this might just be a more frequent destination for me.