5 tips to get into backcountry ski touring Get out there. Training and Mentorship Start a conversation with someone that has the experience to get an idea if touring is in your realm of possibilities in the backcountry and get the scoop on the challenges that come with it.  Experienced friends can be helpful in…

Sky Pilot Climb – West Ridge (May 26, 2019) May 26, 2019 Climbed the West Ridge of Sky Pilot today in great conditions. Trail The trail in is snow free to the end of the old FSR. Where the road ends and the single track weaves up the forest we chose to kick up the…

Top 5 Beginner Trad Climbs in Squamish Get it going. Are you just discovering traditional climbing? Is your idea of fun plugging in your own protection whilst ascending granite splitter perfection?  Do you dream of being able to do find classic trad climbs all within a short stroll from your car?  Well then we’ve put…

18/19 Ski Season – Day 1 November 16, 2018 With unusually dry and warm weather on the coast, ski season is a bit delayed. It took some driving and some walking, but we found winter hiding up high in the coast range…in a narrow band above 1700/1800m. Despite the slim snow depth, the skiing was…

Its no secret, the ski resorts are busy. The lift lines are long, the chairlift is cold and the fresh tracks don’t last as long as they used to. I will let you in on a secret, the ski resorts comprise of less than 0.01% percent of mountains to ski on, and that just around…

After last weeks social media bombardment, it won’t come as a surprise that the early season conditions in Whistler Blackcomb have been pretty spectacular. Deep turns and face shots have filled my Instagram feed and for once, none of it was exaggerated. It really has been that good! Moisture from the south combined with cold…

Joined up with Altus Mountain Guides partner and guide Paul McSorley and Helen B to film a lap up the most traveled multi pitch climb on the Squamish Chief. The Squamish Buttress via Banana peel. 12 pitches of climbing up to 5.10c.

Mt. Clemenceau Ski Tour:                                                                 Scott Thumbler and I just returned from a wonderful spring ski touring trip from May 11th to the 15th…

What a fun day out today on the Grand Wall in Squamish BC! Such a great route. Thanks for the day Eric! Was dry other than the step over to the start of the 5,10b traverse pitch and the upper 5.10a slab pitch had one wet foot hold. Other than that the rest of the route was totally dry even the word. It’s good to go!

Spring is coming.. well it might feel like it has been here all winter down in the valley. The bikes are out, and the rock climbing is prime.   However up high in the mountains, up higher above the ski lifts its still winter. With a good looking snowpack in the alpine with a snow…

Fun day out instructing some students from the University of Victoria!

Last week I (Ross) wrapped up an excellent alpine blast far east of my Coastal town. First stop was the Bugaboos for 5 days of alpine rock with Cheryl from California (see previous blog), A lap of Mount Temple with Shannon from Vancouver and to finish off an ascent of Mount Assiniboine North Ridge with Lance from Calgary/UK.

Earlier this week myself and fellow guide Brent Phillips climbed Mount Tricouni via the North Ridge. I have climbed this route and a few other feature a couple times now and I really recommend visiting this peak, the access is great, beautiful setting and the north ridge is interesting and challenging on good rock. A great day trip.

What a wonderful week of guiding with perfect weather! Starting off at the Abbot Hut with a summit of Mount Victoria and Finishing in the Bugaboos. What more could one ask for in a week of mountaineering. We climbed over 12000’ feet in 5 days and enjoyed 4 beautiful summits. With the porters taking our stuff to the hut and having all the food made by Rosie it all came together to become a fun trip. Look forward to next year with the same guys on another adventure into the mountains.

Just returned from a 3 day trip in the Tantalus range mountaineering (Jim Haberl hut) teaching a course. Conditions are pretty excellent right now but changing rapidly with the very hot temperatures!
Of interest we climbed Mount Dione SE face and Mount Serratus North face.

The Mount Gimli SW ridge is straight up world class. 5.9 steep, juggy climbing on perfect interesting rock. Pretty crazy really how with such a good route there is really no one in the area! …except lots of friendly goats!.

On Friday the birthday of America our guest from Chicago snuck in an Ascent of Mount Garibaldi via the NE face. Our original plan was to climb it in our normal fashion of 2 days. One day to the cam on the moraines just past brohm ridge and the second day climbing the peak and returning home. The weather forecast kept looking worse and worse for our summit days so we opted for an early start and going for the peak in one day before the weather came.

What a great day out on one of my favourite routes on the planet! University wall in Squamish. It was a battle but a pleasure to get to climb the University Wall in Squamish with my good friend Josh Lavigne. Other than the typical early season wet spots of the cracks it was a perfect day out. Finishing with the Roman Chimneys makes for one of the best classic long days of multi Squamish has to offer.

Rock climbing at almost 4000m high above broken expansive glaciers… in early June. Ill take it! Chamonix is really just unbelievable when it come to the access potential. A 1 hours walk from the Aiguille du midi life you have a life times worth of epic alpine rock climbing. From 5 to way to many pitchs. Yesterday I teamed up with American mountain guide Danny Ulhmann and bad ass alpine steep skier Gulia Monego to climb the Pointe Lachenal

What a fun day out on Mt Habrich! Looks like we may have been the first to summit Mt Habrich this season. There is still lots of early season snow around on the approach and some of the ledges on the west face. We acceded the south face mostly following the route Life on Earth at 5.10c.

Finished up our first guiding week in Chamonix France with Jasmin and Christina by skiing Mont Blanc du Tacul. The Mont Blanc du Tacul is the first section to the “Trois monts” route to the Mont Blanc summit and on it own still at righteous peak at 4260m.

Snuck in a lap on the Cosmiques Couloir off the Aiguille du Midi yesterday. 40cm of new snow in the high mountains around Chamonix made for pretty good skiing.

Rain in Chamonix… Well lets just go Rock climbing in Italy!! Amazing how with a 20 minutes drive you can get to Italy where it is generally much sunnier and warmer than in Chamonix.

Really no better way to starting a mountaineering week in Chamonix than with the Cosmiques Arete. Normally when you think of mountaineering you would think of a long walk from the valley, climbing the mountain then finally and long knee bashing decent back home. Not the Cosmiques Arete.

Last night the peaks recieved some much need snow with the snow line coming down past the Aigulle du plan (2000m). Our objective of the Mont Blanc north face should be coming into shape nicely for next week.

Paul McSorley is at it again showing us some climbing skillz. “How to belay with a Munter Hitch”. A crucial skill to have in case you ever drop or forget your belay device on a multi pitch climb. Dont forget to turn up the video quality to HD. Paul looks good in HD!

IFMGA mountain guide Crosby Johnston talks about one of his favorite Squamish 5.10 rock climbs the “Exasperator Crack”
One of the best single pitch routes in Squamish located at the Grand wall base. 45m of technical finger crack climbing.

As the summer climbing season quickly approaches we want to start posting weekly climbing tip videos to help you make this the best season ever!!! Keep your eyes peeled as we have topics from intro to advanced. If there is a skill you want to see give us an email!

  We’ve been getting tons of fresh powder here on the Coast from the Duffey Lake to the Whistler backcountry.  The tree skiing is all time right now so come join us for a ride you will never forget!    

While we wait for this next storm to come in tonight we took the oppertunity to head to Squamish for a route on the might Squamish Chief!! Pretty wild right now how dry the peak is. Normally only a few select route with the right sun and wind exposrue would be possible to climb during the winter month but with this prolonged dry spell and warm temps it has opened the door to to soo many others.

We climbed one of the more classic moderate long routes Angles Crest. 13 pitches of up to 5.10c climbing up alpine like ridges and faces.

Not bad for January 27th!

Avalanche Training Course. AST 2 Course Whistler / Duffy Lake Road. Warming up in the sun at the top of the run “Honey Bronzed and Very Desirable” Duffy Lake area, this past weekend on our first AST 2 course of the season.

What a fantastic day out on Mount Tricouni! Just a short drive from Whistler it makes a great hike and a fun day of Mountaineering. After the drive up the access road it is only about 30min to Tricouni Lake.

Last week got to go up onto Mt Garibaldi again but in a bit of a storm…..did snow good old Crevasse Camping!
Our clients Doug and Tom didn’t bail just because of a little poor weather. Gotta like the spirit! Only snow 40cm on us overnight. Was a joy getting up in the night twice to clean the snow off our collapsing tent… The crevasse was the best place to camp out of the howling wind.

Fun trip to be out in a real storm.

One of our last trips to Mt. Garibaldi. Still managed to get out on the Mountain in September. With 50 to 80cm of new snow fall on the mountain it made it difficult travel on the glacier. Especially with all the crevasses just covered up on the glacier. With the owner of Summit Co in Oklahoma,

http://edmondsummitco.com

we still managed to have a great time and see some fantastic views!

Was fun to get out with two clients on a Trad Lead Climbing Course in Squamish.
We started with just leading and then we progressed into leading on gear. Good job Jodie and Drew! Great to see people on their first Rock climbing leads and first traditional lead climbing climbs!

Keep it up!

What a fun day on Star Chek! Star Chek being on of the only bolted Multi Pitch Rock climbs in Squamish is a gem o a climb right above the Chek River!

Glacier National Park Travel Guide – Altus Mountain Guides
Warriors, unite!

This week we honor the diversity of our fellow Weekend Warriors. I’m talking about all the different kinds of adventurers and explorers out there who tackle the same mountains, trails, ice walls, and boulders with the same unbreakable will and indescribable joy. Students, tour guides, scientists, and even dogs–all Warriors and all to be celebrated!

Check out their pics below and then hit the jump to their blogs for more awesome photos and stories!

Bugaboo Climbing. !!! Again we got to do a trip to the fabulous Bugaboo Mountains! On or trip we got to climb East Post Spire, Bugaboo Spire, Pidgeon Spire, Pidgeon Feathers and Crescent Towers! The weather was great for us except for one day where the rocks started buzzing and it rained on us. Thankfully we still managed to climb a route on Snowpatch Spire. The quality of Bugaboo climbing is a place that truly has top be visited to believed. Every-time I go it never ceases to amaze…!

Pipeline Squamish climbing. What a day to get out and take photos of the infamous Pipeline in Squamish BC! A truly amazing line! Hard to believe it was soloed. – Altus Mountain Guides.

What a week of climbing in the Bugaboos! Bugaboo rock climbing – Altus Mountain Guides

July 16th was a great day to Summit Mt. Garibaldi!! Perfect weather and great travel conditions made for a fantastic summit. We hung out for almost an hour enjoying the sun and views from the top. We even had the Jet boil along to make coffee on the top of the mountain. Both Frank and Jeff did a great job for being beginner mountaineers.

Great Drain to the Great Game – Squamish Rock Climb What a fun link up.  Makes for a 5 star classic route going at 5.10d!  

The Widow Maker Arete – Vancouver Alpine Climbing. This is one of the hidden secrets of Coastal Alpine climbing in Vancouver. Just a short hike from the Grouse Tram and can be done in a day! A must do for any Vancouver Alpine climber!  

Skywalker 5.8 – Shannon Falls Squamish
Classic Squamish multi-pitch rock climb.

This summer we have been lucky to have our 4th trip to the Haberl Hut in the Tantalus Range already. It is such a great place and a fantastic teaching venue. The access from the hut compares to the European access with climbing just steps from the hut. We got to climb Mt. Serratus, Mt. Alfa and Mt. Dione. Conditions were close to perfect with good overnight freezes and great travel on the snow and rock. The rock was free on snow and the weather was fantastic until the last day when a thunderstorm chased us out early. Thanks to all the guests and guides for making this trip happen!

“ We spent two fabulous days on the wall with Crosby. We had zero multi pitch experience prior, but we were comfortable with single pitch and really, really wanted to get on the Chief. Crosby was very patient and taught us everything on our first day together, and we tackled the Chief on the second day. It was AMAZING! Thank you so very much!! “

This past weekend we got out to Castle Mountain located between Banff and Lake Louise in the Canadian Rockies. A 4 hour hike/sramble leads to the Castle Mountain Hut high on the goat plateau. This was my first trip to this hut and was soo impressed! The hut it self is nothing more than a…

Fred Beckey still continues to be an inspiration to the climbing world. At 90 something it is truly awesome to see the detection and love of climbing still alive. Gives us all something to look forward to. The grandfather of the first accent world on Granddaddy over hang why not! Always a pleasure to get out and climb with Fred Beckey!

What a great trip to one of the greatest destinations on the Coast Range of BC! The Tantalus Range and the Jim Haberl Hut is next to none for a mountaineering destination. One of the coast range’s best kept secrets!

Jim Haberl Hut Tantalus Range, what a place! Over the last two days we had the pleasure of guiding up in one of our favorite locations in Canada. For a first time mountain experience it was the perfect place to get out into the mountains, especially with the luxury of the lovely Jim Haberl Hut.…

A great instructional ski mountaineering day in the Blackcomb Backcountry! Ski touring Whistler Blackcomb can be a blast even in the spring. Last weekend we managed to get out for some ski mountaineering on Disease Ridge. With the spring conditions and 5 cm of new snow it still fun skiing. We didn’t get lot of vertical in but with the use of the rope we got to enter into some steep terrain!

Back up to Guides rock just outside of Banff in the Canadian Rockies this time of the 5.11a “Paper Chase”.  At 5.11a this route packs a punch with tricky gear, steep technical climbing and wild exposure.  The rock on this face never ceases to amaze!!  Absolutely world class rock. Never mind the ticket to France…

With tempertures pushing 30c my trip in the Canadian Rockies Mountains where amazing!! We managed to sneak in a late afternoon ascent of the Banff multi pitch classic “Sea of Dreams” 5.10d. The 6 pitch bolted sport route when down in a couple hours of beautiful lime stone climbing in the sun! Here are some pics.

Canadian Society of Mountain Medicine were with Altus Mountain Guides Crosby and Ross this week at the Callaghan Lodge. What a great place to spend the week with some top doctors for the completion of the Diploma In Mountain Medicine. All graduates of the winter program had already completed the summer module last September in…

The last three weeks in Squamish have been blessed with sunny skies and temperatures more typical of summer than early spring.  Climbs of all lengths and difficulties are getting done, from the boulders of the Grand Wall to the heights of the Angel’s Crest.  With such an early start to the rock climbing season, this…

  Rock Climbing Squamish Buttress. Squamish Rock Climbing season is here! Let Altus Mountain Guides local Squamish rock climbing guides show you and your friends the best areas and places to rock climb in Squamish. Sample the goods and follow our guides for a day to some of the many great single pitch rock climbing areas. No…

Here are some photos from this winter of our Ski Touring trips in the Backcountry near Whistler. What a winter! Link to Whistler Ski Touring: https://old.altusmountainguides.com/ski/backcountry-touring/whistler-3/   Whistler Backcountry Ski Touring. Go Whistler Backcountry Ski Touring and you will experience what Whistler really has to offer. Regardless of your experience, if you desire a more remote and rewarding ski…

    2013 Squamish Mountain Festival July 11-15th A Celebration of Climbing Culture July 19th, 2013 – 12:00am – July 21st, 2013 – 11:59pm When it comes to gravity-defying climbing, bouldering and huge mountain culture, no-where delivers it better than Squamish, British Columbia. The sixth-annual event, highlighting the world-famous climbing culture and all those who are on…

There is still lots of skiing left this winter! Check out these videos. Whistler Backcountry Couloir Skiing Mount Curry – Pencil Couloir…. on a snowboard

  Helmcken Falls!!! Words videos or photos do NOT come close to justifying this place!  

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.…