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The beautiful Mojanda volcanic lakes in the foothills of Fuya Fuya

On Tuesday our Ecuador Climbing School arrived in Ortavalo to begin their expedition. This season’s team is led by Ignacio Espinosa, more affectionately known by our team as “Nacho.” A local Ecuadorian, Nacho is an IFMGA guide and has been guiding in the Ecuadorian Andes and the Cordillera Blanca range of the Peruvian Andes for the last 15 years. When he isn’t out in the mountains, Nacho plays in a local punk band.

Topping out Fuya Fuya, our first acclimatization hike.…

We caught up with local Squaw legend, Glen Poulsen, to ask him about his favorite spots to ski guide in Lake Tahoe.

Glen leading a group in Nat Geo Bowl last spring. The couloir he took the group through can only be skied during big snow seasons.

Q: Hey Glen, what is your background? What drew you towards ski guiding?

Glen: My parents were ski pioneers in the area, backcountry skiing in Squaw Valley in the 1930s. I have been a skier based in Squaw Valley since the age of 2. I was competing from age 4 or…

Photo: Logan Talbott. Morning alpenglow in the Cordillera Blanca, Peru. Halfway up the mighty fluted face of Alpamayo.

Q: What’s it like to climb in the Cordillera Blanca? Describe the variety of terrain and range of skill level of the climbs.

Logan: Imagine walking along a small footpath winding through a huge green valley, with crystal clear water flowing down the middle and wildflowers here and there. Above you and surrounding you are immense, towering snow-capped peaks that rise almost 10,000 feet above. This is the Cordillera Blanca of Peru. The stunning scenery is among the most jaw-dropping…

Pro-skier & ski-mountaineer Caroline Gleich joins Alpenglow Expeditions for a day of backcountry skiing in Squaw Valley’s renowned “Nat Geo Bowl.” Join us!

$235
Book online by clicking here or please call the office to reserve your spot: 1-877-873-5376

Level: Advanced (experienced backcountry skiers/riders only)

About Caroline Gleich: Caroline Gleich is a professional ski mountaineer and adventurer based in Salt Lake City, UT. When she’s not on snow, she loves trail running, alpine climbing, ridge scrambling, biking and dreaming about her next human-powered adventure. In October, Caroline successfully climbed and skied Cho Oyu. You may have…

It’s handy to have a can of Hiball Energy on the table while packing 🙂

As part of the AIARE 1 Avalanche Course that he teaches, Tim always gives an overview of all the essentials that guides carry with them for a day in the field. With a little ingenuity and the right ingredients, a guide can build an emergency shelter or rescue sled with these must-have items.

Here’s the breakdown of what’s in the pack:

Rescue Sled: My favorite is the Alpine Threadworks Sled.…

We caught up with Sydney Duncan after a great day of powder skiing in Nat Geo Bowl this week. On Tuesday, Sydney, along with lead guide Logan Talbott, rode up the Granite Chief chair at Squaw Valley and left the boundary to head toward Granite Peak. They took their client to explore the terrain in Nat Geo Bowl and beyond to Needle Peak. With all the new snow this week, the coverage is great and the whole zone above 7,500′ is skiing well. Loving the 5″ inches of soft, light snow on top of a supportable layer, the group made smooth…

Aconcagua Rapid Ascent – Update From the Mountain

Alpenglow’s first Aconcagua Rapid Ascent team of the season is currently (December 29) at camp 2 on Aconcagua dealing with windy conditions but feeling strong and in good spirits. But first, a little recap of what’s happened so far…

Smooth Arrivals, Quickly into the Mountains

Bus ride to Penitentes.

Between Saturday (December 22) and Sunday (December 23), all 8 clients arrived safely in Mendoza and were picked up by guides Jaime Avila and Carla Perez. No missing baggage made the transition smooth and before we knew it the whole team was…

North Side of Castle Peak, photo: Brennan Lagasse

Tips and tricks from guide Jules Hanna.

We caught up with Jules while he was teaching an AIARE rescue course last weekend. Here’s his rundown beacon battery protocol.

Alkaline or Lithium?

Short answer: Alkaline. BUT, check your manufacturer, while it is likely that you should only be using alkaline batteries, some beacons accept lithium batteries. (Do not use rechargeable batteries though!) What’s the big deal? Alkaline batteries slowly discharge their power.  Lithium batteries will go…

Words and photos by lead guide Chad Peele

Arriving in the Chaos of Kathmandu

It’s been two years since I was last in Nepal. Arriving at the Kathmandu airport was the same uncontrolled chaos as always. Confusion surrounded us with hoards of people trying to locate bags so they could get out as fast as possible. This time luck was on my side and my bags popped up quickly, promoting a speedy exit!

Over the next several days, I worked on recovering from my jet lag and prepping for our upcoming adventure into the mountains. This year we had three…

On their recent Ring of Fire Expedition, ski mountaineers Emily Harrington and Michelle Parker combined the hard work of climbing with the most efficient form of descent (that isn’t flying) and skied down Cotopaxi! Check out these beautiful photos by Michelle from the trip.

Emily and Michelle attempted to ski Cotopaxi a few years back but were turned around in marginal conditions – you can read all about it here. This year it looks like conditions were much better, congratulations on the summit ladies!

To the hut! Hosteria Tambopaxi. Climbing tomorrow.    // …