Our Mission
Our mission is to provide the highest level of mountaineering, trekking, climbing, and skiing expeditions through trips with small teams, certified guides who have a passion for education, and unparalleled local logistics.
About Alpenglow Expeditions
Alpenglow Expeditions was founded in 2004 by Adrian Ballinger after working for a decade as a guide and directing one of the largest international guide services in the USA. Adrian found that many guide services in the industry were more focused on tagging summits than teaching mountaineering skills. The groups were too big and the guides too inexperienced to allow for success, safety, and education in the big mountains. Our core values were created out of this experience, and they form the backbone of all of our expeditions and programs.
Certified Guides
All of our expeditions and climbs are led by AMGA/IFMGA certified guides. While this certification has long been essential for guides working in Europe, Canada, and New Zealand, Alpenglow is the first major guide service in the USA to require this certification from our lead guides. To earn AMGA certification that is recognized internationally, a guide must succeed in completing all of the exams in all three disciplines: rock, alpine, and ski mountaineering. This achievement is the highest level of credential attainable by a mountain guide and takes years of full-time guiding and climbing to attain. There are currently only approximately 50 IFMGA certified guides in the USA and they represent the pinnacle of American mountain guiding. To learn more about the AMGA or IFMGA, click on their logos at the bottom of the page.
Team Size
Our teams and client to guide ratios are kept small. This enables us to focus on each team member’s goals for the trip, while also maximizing success and safety. Conditions in the mountains are constantly changing. Small teams can adjust while big teams are often stuck within their fixed logistics. Small teams enable the members and guides to have a much more personal experience with the environments they are in, with the local people, and amongst each other.
Local Logistics
Our guide and office team have spent over a decade working in each of the locations we offer trips. Through this time we have made incredible friends and local partners, ensuring that our logistics are at the highest level offered in the industry. You will immediately notice the difference between our services and others teams’, whether by our food in basecamp, our local, family-run hotel in town, or our friendly and knowledgeable local support staff. When climbing big mountains in foreign countries, the quality of these services is essential. It allows us to focus our strength and resources on climbing, knowing we have fantastic support.
Education
Our expeditions and treks were created to combine our guides’ passion for climbing big mountains with their desire to teach others. Our expeditions challenge team members to expand their decision-making and leadership skills and become more efficient and competent in the mountains. Every one of our expeditions is run as a partnership between the guide and you, ensuring your maximum learning, enjoyment, safety, and success.
