Stories
Mountain adventures create the best stories, and we want to share some of ours with you. Dive into Alpenglow Stories to stay up to date on expeditions in the field, read blogs, and get tips and tricks from guides.
Field Mag: Guide Adrian Ballinger on How Expedition Travel Changed the World
Alpenglow Expeditions’ founder shares archival photos and stories about near-death experiences on Everest, basecamp snacks, and the evolution of alpine guiding.
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Wall Street Journal: The Tiny Western Town That’s Quietly Become the Coolest Place to Ski
Once a frontier town for loggers and cowboys, Truckee, near Lake Tahoe, has quickly grown into a hub of winter adventure—not to mention hip coffee shops and new restaurants.
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Everest North Side 2025: A Season of Patience, Precision, and Perfect Timing
This spring, our Alpenglow Expeditions team returned to the North Side of Mount Everest with a small crew and a big plan. After months of preparation, pre-acclimatization, and weather watching, our Everest expedition 2025 culminated in an incredibly rare summit day—blue skies, no wind, and a quiet mountain.
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Climb Cho Oyu Before Climbing Everest
When it comes to climbing Everest, experience matters. Not just general mountain experience, but specific, targeted exposure to what it actually feels like to live and perform above 7,000 meters. That’s why Adrian Ballinger—founder of Alpenglow Expeditions and veteran of 14 Everest seasons—encourages nearly every aspiring Everest climber to summit an 8,000-meter peak first.
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Peak Lenin vs. Aconcagua
We guide both Aconcagua and Peak Lenin, and while they’re similar in height—Aconcagua at 6,962m (22,841’) and Lenin at 7,134m (23,406’)—the experience on each mountain couldn’t be more different. Both trips use our Rapid Ascent approach, which means you show up pre-acclimatized and we move efficiently through the mountain. But what those days look like, how technical the terrain is, and what you’re training for down the line—all of that changes depending on where you go.
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Patagonia Bound: Skiing with Adrian Ballinger and Emily Harrington
Ski with Adrian Ballinger & Emily Harrington in Patagonia’s stunning Cerro Castillo. Big lines, spring corn, world-class terrain.
Read the storyHow to Climb Mt. Everest
Climbing Everest doesn’t start in the Himalaya. It starts with basic skills, local mountains, and building experience one step at a time. If you’re asking how to climb Everest the right way — safely, successfully, and confidently — this is the path we recommend.
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In Northern California, the Natural Landscape Lures Outdoor Lovers With a Wide Variety of Recreational Activities
At Palisades in Olympic Valley, between Truckee and Tahoe’s North Shore, Tahoe Via Ferrata (operated by Alpenglow Expeditions) brings an exhilarating combination of hiking and rock climbing high above the valley floor.
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Opening Doors in the Backcountry: BIPOC Scholarship Recap
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Climbing Aconcagua the Smart Way
Learn how pre-acclimatization, expert guides, and smart logistics makes South America’s highest peak more accessible—without cutting corners.
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Ski the Ring of Fire!
Ever wondered what skiing a volcano is like? Come put your backcountry skills to the test on some of the tallest volcanoes in the world!
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Skiing Patagonia: Steep Lines, Wild Terrain, and a Unique, Remote Basecamp
Our Patagonia Backcountry Ski Expedition isn’t just about skiing big lines—it’s about getting far off the grid and into one of the most remote and dramatic mountain zones in South America. For eight days, we operate out of the small village of Cerro Castillo, Chile, surrounded by glaciated peaks, steep couloirs, and untouched terrain.
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