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Happy Opening Day: May 26, 2020!

Come climb with us!

We are so excited to announce that the Tahoe Via Ferrata is OPEN! With COVID-19 precautions in place, we are now running private 2.5-hr and 4-hr Via Ferrata tours at Squaw Valley in addition to private rock climbing sessions at Donner Summit. We can’t wait to climb with you!

Book a private 4-hr tour

Part of our COVID-19 re-opening plan is to limit our offerings to private climbs only, with no open-enrollment group options available. We slashed rates on private 2.5-hour and private 4-hour…

Photo: Logan Talbott teaching Intro to Mountaineering on Donner Summit. Students are learning to walk in crampons and how to use an ice axe.

Today, we are beyond excited to announce that we finally have a concrete plan for our first stage of reopening after the threat of COVID-19 forced our small business to close for almost 9 weeks. We are accepting reservations today!

“In partnership with the US Forest Service, we’ve crafted a reopening plan that…

An Alpenglow guide monitoring a climber

Alpenglow Expeditions is committed to doing our part in the mitigation of COVID-19, as well as complying with local and state guidelines. Our reopening plan includes numerous modifications to how we’ll be conducting guiding operations on the Tahoe National Forest. Modifications to how we guide the Tahoe Via Ferrata have been outlined in a separate post.

Side Note: Rock and ski guiding operations on the Eldorado National Forest and Inyo National Forest are currently on hold and will be restarted soon. All international operations are currently suspended through August 2020. We…

Via Ferrata Alpenglow Expeditions

Alpenglow Expeditions is committed to doing our part in the mitigation of COVID-19, as well as complying with local and state guidelines. Our reopening plan includes many modifications to how we’ll be conducting guiding operations on the Tahoe Via Ferrata in Squaw Valley. Modifications to how we guide rock climbing on Donner Summit, Lovers Leap, and the High Sierra will be very similar to the actions taken below, however here we’ll focus on what we’re doing to get back to climbing the Tahoe Via Ferrata.

Side Note: Our local operations on the Tahoe National…

Today Governor Gavin Newsom is scheduled to release guidelines for the Phase 2 reopening of California. With certain modifications to our operations, we expect to be one of the first businesses to reopen in Lake Tahoe!

For those of you who are in need of a dose of adventure and outdoor fun, we’re currently taking reservations with a planned reopening to climb the Tahoe Via Ferrata (as soon as on May 16) as well as Donner Summit rock (as soon as Friday, May 8), pending clarity on those guidelines ofcourse.…

We hope everyone is hanging in there alright. Whether you have an essential job or you are sheltering-in-place, life feels a little different for all of us right now. We know times are tough, so we thought it would be fun to share a couple of small silver linings that are coming out of the global shutdown. In our Alpenglow world, we have loved seeing the productive ways folks are coping with the situation and the creative ways they are making opportunities for themselves. Humans are incredibly and infinitely resourceful! Check it out:

We’ve all heard…

Travis Ganong Climbs the Tahoe Via Ferrata

Travis Ganong ventured up Lake Tahoe’s new Via Ferrata with his family in fall 2019. After an epic day out, he sat down with us to discuss his Tahoe Via family adventure.

Travis Ganong, born and raised in Truckee, CA, is an American World Cup alpine ski racer. His girlfriend, Marie-Michele Gagnon, is also a professional skier for the Canadian alpine ski team. Travis, Marie-Michele, and Travis’ parents all came to climb the Tahoe Via Ferrata for a fun day out with the family. Here’s what Travis’ had to say:

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To my Alpenglow Expeditions family near and far,

As I sit here during this crisis, doing my tiny part (sheltering in place), I continue to dream of the future mountain adventures that await us. You can probably guess that our entire guide and support staff, both in the U.S. and abroad, are also at home, taking care of family and loved ones while waiting for the “all clear” so they can get back to the work they love.

Our office staff continues to work from home – answering your phone calls and emails, and trying to take this shutdown as…

Dear Alpenglow Expeditions Family,

Never in our 16 year history (short for the planet, long for us) have we faced a situation where shutting down all international and local guiding is the right thing to do. But today, we need to play our part in stemming the threat of Covid-19, and encourage health and prevention practices by our guides, staff and members.

In light of community health advisories from various government agencies, we have made the decision to postpone our Lake Tahoe mountain guiding operations for 2 weeks, at which point we will reassess the situation. This has been a…

Opening day is scheduled for May 16, so what’s new for the Tahoe Via in 2020?

With a low snow February, we’ve already been able to get out on the Tram Face and scout out a plan for a new route. Stay tuned for a release of details. The new route will be a 2.5-hour experience and will allow climbers to reach a special spot on Tram Face which had previously been inaccessible,

We have completely rebuilt the safari truck that we use to shuttle climbers up…

Updated at 12:30 PM, March 14th

With the rapidly developing issues related to the Coronavirus outbreak and the resultant disease COVID-19, we wanted to take a minute and let you know that the Alpenglow Expeditions team is closely monitoring the situation, both domestically and around the world. As always, our first priority is to minimize risk to our guests and employees.

As you may have heard, China has closed the spring Himalayan climbing season in Tibet. This has resulted in the canceling of our 2020 Mt Everest expedition. Additionally, in light of the Level 3…

With a heavy heart, we are announcing the cancelation of our Everest 2020 expedition. Today China announced that it has shut down the Tibet side of Mt. Everest due to fears of Coronavirus hitting base camps, one of the most remote and inhospitable environments in the world.

Adrian Ballinger reports, “While I am saddened for all the hard work our members, guides, Sherpa, local staff, partners and office have put in, and that they and we won’t get to test ourselves on the highest playground in the world this year, I am…