Griffin Mims's Posts

Last year during Alpenglow’s annual International Guides Meeting, we asked the guides what their favorite expedition of the year was. Topo’s answer? Gasherbrum II. We asked him to share a few reasons why he was excited to return to Pakistan this year to climb Gasherbrum II and Gasherbrum I. 

“I think there are many positive things that have come with the popularization of high altitude climbing; getting to help facilitate powerful mountain experiences is one of my favorite parts of guiding. But, with climbing’s rise in popularity has undeniably come…

Words by Alpenglow Guide Sam Kieckhefer

“For anyone who has spent time in the US’s Pacific Northwest, you’re familiar with the southern Cascades volcanoes. Maybe you’ve driven along I-5 and stared up at Mt Shasta towering above, or enjoyed a rooftop cocktail in Portland, OR, peering east at Mt Hood. Wherever you’ve seen them, they’re simply stunning. Across the equator, about 6500 miles south, sits an equally as magical series of volcanos in Chile’s Lake District, with small cities and little towns dotting the region, all along, ironically, the Ruta 5 Sur highway. First, rewind to the start.…

Oxygen. It’s what keeps us alive; especially above 8,000m. When it comes to climbing the biggest mountains in the world, the oxygen system that you’re using is vital to success. As we get closer to our 8,000m peak climbing season, we figured we’d take a quick deep dive into the oxygen system that Alpenglow Expeditions uses on all our 8,000m peaks.

For all of Alpenglow’s 8,000m peak expeditions, we use the Summit Oxygen System. The Summit Oxygen system is the lightest oxygen cylinder and regulator on the market, and we have been using the Summit…

It’s about that time of year where we kick off our mountaineering education programs, and we’re stoked! Below we’ll go over some of the equipment you’ll need for the Intro to Mountaineering and Glacier Travel & Crevasse Rescue Courses.

For this course we’ll utilize all of the technical equipment that we would use on one of our more advanced mountaineering expeditions like the Ecuador Climbing School or Mount Everest Rapid Ascent Expedition.  If you are purchasing your own gear, you’ll need to make sure you have the following equipment:

– Climbing Helmet…

After Alpenglow Expeditions Founder Adrian Ballinger and fellow Alpenglow guides Carla Perez and Esteban “Topo” Mena completed their successful summit of K2 in the Karakoram mountain range of Pakistan in 2019, we knew we had to expand our program to explore this remote and wild region. After a year of dreaming and drawing up plans, we’re psyched to announce two new expeditions to the Karakoram: Enter Gasherbrum II  Rapid Ascent™ and our K2 & G2 Base Camp Rapid Ascent™ Trek.

Situated in Northern Pakistan, the Karakoram boasts more 7,000m+ peaks than anywhere in the world.…

Renting ski equipment from our rental fleet but aren’t quite sure what sizes you need? No worries, we can help out with that. It can be hard to get the correct sizing for your skis and ski boots if you don’t already know your sizes. Below we’ll take a quick dive into how to best-guess your ski and ski boot size while renting gear on your client portal. Let’s start with boots.

While we do have a large array of boot sizes, our rental fleet is somewhat limited. We have boots ranging in…

The time has come. You’re ready to leave the boundaries of the resort and venture out into the world of backcountry ski touring. We couldn’t be more stoked for you! Before you head out, you should make sure you’ve got the right bindings for an epic time touring. I hate to break it to you, but your downhill alpine bindings won’t cut in the backcountry. Below we’ll go through and explain alpine touring bindings and give you recommendations on what we use here at Alpenglow Expeditions in North Lake Tahoe, CA.

The…

So you’re wanting to start backcountry skiing? Before you click into your skis and head out, you should go over what equipment you’ll need to make sure you’re properly set up for a great day in the backcountry. The ski boots that you use for backcountry touring are different from the boots you use while you’re lapping groomers at the resort, so it’s important to know what you should be looking for in a ski touring boot. When it comes to backcountry touring boots, it’s a bit more complicated than “If the shoe fits, wear it”. Below are…