Book a guided rock climbing trip in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison with a certified AMGA Rock Guide. Packed with adventure, the Black Canyon has the tallest cliffs in Colorado and our expert guides are local climbers who are passionate about sharing these routes with the best multi-pitch climbing in the state. A dramatic and intimidating canyon, the Black has a variety of climbing routes for intermediate to advanced climbers looking for a challenge.

Routes such as Maiden Voyage (6 pitches, 5.9) are a great introduction to the Black with comfortable belay ledges, awesome movement, and a spectacular summit with sweeping views of the surrounding steep cliffs and the powerful Gunnison River below. Comic Relief (8 pitches, 5.10a) is one of the best 5.10 granite finger cracks in the USA and offers a perfect step up in difficulty on a 5-star classic route, plus the views of the dramatic Hallucinogen Wall are jaw-dropping! The Scenic Cruise (12 pitches, 5.10+) is one of the ultimate must-do routes in the Black for climbers up to the challenge. This route ascends the prow on the SE Face of North Chasm View Wall, with consistently steep terrain and ultra-classic crack climbing and exposed traverses.

Due to the committing nature of climbing in the Black Canyon, all Skyward Mountaineering Black Canyon guided climbing trips are with expert climbers and certified AMGA Rock Guides. Our guides have an immense amount of experience providing the highest quality of support, coaching and climbing security. We have a proven track record of safely and efficiently guiding challenging routes in the Black Canyon.

From our base of operations in Grand Junction, Skyward Mountaineering offers rock climbing at a variety of local areas, each with their own flair. We are the premier guide service for rock climbing in Grand Junction, with a small staff of expert, local, certified AMGA Rock Guides who are passionate about sharing the amazing rock climbing found around Grand Junction and the West Slope.

Unaweep Canyon is home to solid granite climbing, with single pitch and multi-pitch rock climbing on all types of routes from slabs, finger cracks, delicate face climbing, and offwidths. With short approaches, a great base area to hangout and lots of variety to choose from, Unaweep Canyon is a perfect spot to hone your trad climbing techniques and focus on becoming an efficient rock climber.

Colorado National Monument is a wild desert landscape with sandstone towers jutting out of the sandy valley, splitter cracks, and tons of adventure. Otto's Route is the penultimate classic route here, at 5 pitches of 5.8+ on a historically unique ascent of Independence Monument. This incredible summit overlooks the entire Monument Valley with breathtaking views. Other routes in Colorado National Monument tend to be more challenging and more adventurous, a must for experienced climbers looking for a challenge.

Escalante Canyon is a little known secret tucked deep into the desert landscape of the West Slope. Splitter sandstone cracks resemble the famous Indian Creek in nearby Moab, but without the crowds! We strongly recommend making this trip a multi-day so you can enjoy the fantastic camping just below the cliffs too.

Learn how to lead sport climbing routes in this world class destination and improve your movement technique with personalized instruction from our expert certified AMGA Rock Guides. With routes of all difficulty levels, Rifle Mountain Park is the perfect venue for beginners who want to enjoy a day of top climbing or experienced climbers who want to be more efficient and stronger rock climbers on the steep limestone cliffs of Rifle, Colorado.

Book a full day of rock climbing in Rifle with Skyward Mountaineering, all of our trips are fully customized to your specific goals and abilities. Our guides will work with you to fine tune your climbing abilities and have a ton of fun at this epicenter for sport climbing.

Come climbing in the Moab desert with local, AMGA certified guides - learn how to crack climb with personalized instruction, stand on the summit of a desert tower and enjoy sunny cragging amongst the hidden canyons. A desert oasis set amongst towering red cliffs, the town of Moab, Utah serves as a basecamp for adventure: world class rock climbing, hiking, mountain biking and rafting. Skyward Mountaineering has been recreating and guiding rock climbing in Moab for decades, exploring the desert and finding hidden gems, let us share an unforgettable climbing trip in Moab with you.

Spectacular rock climbing on the iconic Flatirons above Boulder, Colorado. Our local, certified AMGA Rock Guides are expert climbers and are passionate about sharing the thrill of rock climbing. The Flatirons offer a unique opportunity to spend a full day of multipitch rock climbing high above the valley floor, while still being accessible for beginners and intermediate rock climbers. Packed with adventure and incredible views, climbing the Flatirons should be on every climbers to-do list.

Learn how to ice climb with expert instruction from Skyward Mountaineering guides in the Ouray Ice Park. For over 30 years, Skyward Mountaineering has been offering guided ice climbing on multipitch backcountry routes throughout Ouray and in the world renowned Ouray Ice Park. Under the guidance of famed alpinist and IFMGA Guide, Vince Anderson, Skyward Mountaineering is the longest continuously owned and operated guide service in the San Juan mountains and we continue to be a small team of comprised of highly trained and passionate Ouray ice climbing guides.

Come ice climbing in Ouray and climb classic frozen waterfalls across the San Juan mountains with local, AMGA certified guides. The town of Ouray, Colorado attracts ice climbers from around the world each winter due to the concentration, accessibility and quality of ice and mixed climbing routes at the Ouray Ice Park. Skyward Mountaineering offers guided ice climbing on the backcountry multipitch routes around Ouray as well as the surrounding backcountry areas, such as in nearby towns of Telluride and Silverton adding dozens more classic ice climbing routes. Nestled into the rugged San Juan mountains of southwest Colorado, with natural hot springs for après-climb relaxation, nearby resort skiing at Telluride, backcountry touring on Red Mountain Pass and a charming historical downtown, Ouray is the perfect basecamp destination for a winter ice climbing vacation.

Climb a Cascades glaciated volcano: Kulshan, also known as Mt. Baker, via routes ranging from introductory general mountaineering to technical pitched ice climbing and exposed steep snow climbing. “Kulshan” means The Shooting Place in the Nooksack language, refering to the abundance of hunting opportunities at the foot of the mountain. At 10,781 feet it is the 3rd tallest mountain in Washington, the 2nd most glaciated volcano in the Cascade Range and holds the world record for the most snowfall in a single season! With so much glaciated terrain and the combination of general mountaineering routes and steep and technical snow/ice climbs, Kulshan is the perfect spot for learning mountaineering skills and training for winter alpine objectives in the Greater Ranges. Skyward Mountaineering guides general and technical mountaineering routes on the north and south sides of Kulshan, in addition to offering instructional introduction to mountaineering courses.

Climb the iconic Mount Shuksan. The word “Shuksan” is derived from the word Shéqsan, meaning high foot in the Nooksack language. As viewed from the Mt. Baker Ski Area, Mt. Shuksan is one of the most photographed mountains in the world and is an iconic Cascades mountain, with steep glaciated terrain surrounding a dramatic rocky summit pyramid. The word “nunataq” means lonely mountain in the Inuit language, referring to the jagged rocky peaks that jut out of a glacier, perfectly describes Mt. Shuksan. Several glaciated routes in incrementally ascending difficulty all culminate at the summit pyramid, making for a perfect combination of snow and glacier climbing with moderate rock climbing for a true alpine experience.

A guided climb of Mt. Shuksan, via any route, is an awesome accomplishment and a popular stepping stone for bigger and more complex alpine climbing objectives. Each route involves glacier travel and 4th to low 5th class rock climbing on the summit pyramid, the difference in difficulty between routes is the challenge of the approach and steepness of snow and complexity of glacier travel.

Climb Forbidden Peak or other classic mountains in Boston Basin with local, AMGA certified guides. Boston Basin is one of the most popular backcountry zones for alpine climbing in North Cascades National Park and for good reason: the comparatively short approach paired with the high quality and densely stacked quantity of alpine climbing routes on Forbidden Peak make it a perfect destination for climbers to continue to visit and explore year after year. The iconic Forbidden Peak towers above Boston Basin, a triangular peak with ridges dropping sharply off the summit in all compass directions. Most well known is the West Ridge of Forbidden Peak, listed as one of the 50 Classic Climbs of North America. But the other nearby routes, such as the North Ridge of Forbidden Peak, East Ridge of Forbidden Peak, and the challenging test-piece the Torment Forbidden Traverse offer similarly high quality alpine climbing with a more private experience. Each route in Boston Basin has its unique flair but all have extensive exposure requiring au cheval technique (translated to on a horse, climbers straddle the ridge with one leg on each side) and stunning views overlooking Moraine Lake, nearby Eldorado Peak and the heavily crevassed Boston Glacier.

Climb to the summit of the remote Mount Triumph via the aesthetic Northeast Ridge. Mount Triumph is a prominent triangular peak in a remote area of the North Cascades National Park. With a full day approach to a pristine bivy spot at Thornton Col, overlooking the immensely rugged Pickets Range to one side and looking down at the deep blue snow-fed Thornton Lakes on the other. There is a small pocket glacier at the base of the mountain, though by mid to late summer it is often easy to bypass this rapidly receding glacier, making for a distinct visualization of the effects of climate change. There are several routes to the summit of Mount Triumph, though the steep and loose East Face is very aesthetic and imposing it has seen very few ascents. The standard route to the summit of Mt. Triumph and our recommended ascent route is the Northeast Ridge, one of the longer sustained alpine rock climbing ridges in the North Cascades.

Join Skyward Mountaineering for a classic rock climb on a big mountain this summer or climb a steep runnel of ice and snow in the spring. We’re excited to offer guided alpine climbing in RMNP! Bringing our same ethos of customized itineraries and a commitment to safety and efficiency while moving the team through complex mountain terrain, our local, AMGA certified guides curate personalized alpine climbing trips in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Starting 75 million years ago, a period of geologic uplift began forming the Rocky Mountains to their current elevation and rugged appearance. Two major glaciated events, the Bull Lake and Pinedale Glaciation Periods are responsible for carving out the U-shaped valleys that define many of the valleys in Rocky Mountain National Park, as opposed to tighter, V-shaped valleys commonly formed by rivers. These rugged mountains also served as landmarks for indigenous tribes, such as the Arapaho Tribe (Hinono’ei) who referred to Longs Peak and Mt. Meeker as neniis-otoyou-u, meaning “Two Guides” because the mountains distinct appearance helped guide the tribe through the plains below.

Today, tourists and climbers alike revel in the beauty and incredible alpine climbing terrain throughout RMNP. Skyward Mountaineering offers select guided alpine climbing in the park, focusing on the highest quality routes and offering climbers a unique experience on the rugged peaks throughout the park. Combine an alpine climbing trip with prep days rock climbing in nearby Boulder, Colorado honing your movement and multipitch efficiency on classic routes.

Join us for a custom alpine climbing expedition in Denali National Park on the classic Ham and Eggs couloir on the Moose's Tooth. Skyward Mountaineering was the first permitted guide service to successfully guide this route and we have continued to lead climbers to the summit of the Moose's Tooth with customized instruction and training prep before the trip and detail-oriented logistical support for the expedition. Unlike many other guide services, all of our guided expeditions in the Alaska Range are with certified AMGA Alpine Guides who have a tremendous amount of experience guiding and climbing in these mountains. We are fully committed to providing the highest level of safety, customer care and enjoyable climbing in this world class mountaineering destination.

We specialize in curating incredible and customized mountaineering expeditions into the Alaska Range, including linkups of Ham and Eggs with it's more challenging neighbor, Shaken Not Stirred or flight bumps to other locations in the Ruth Gorge or Kahiltna Glacier.

Backcountry skiing right out the door in the San Juan mountains! While there is an abundance of ski huts in the Red Mountain Pass area, there is one that is truly special: Mount Hayden Backcountry Lodge. Situated in Richmond Basin far from the crowds of the Highway 550 corridor, the Mount Hayden Backcountry Lodge has some of the best ski terrain in the region with plentiful shaded, cold snow aspects, steep skiing in alpine terrain as well as sheltered, well spaced glades. We prefer the Hayden hut above all others in the area and feel it is still somewhat of a hidden gem. Beyond the amazing terrain, the facilities are top notch, fully stocked and a welcome relief from the several hour approach into the hidden valley high above Ouray.

We recommend a minimum of three days (two nights) to get the most out of this hut based skiing experience. Our itineraries are open-ended and with many available options, conditions will dictate our best plan of action, see example itinerary below. Actual itinerary will vary depending on conditions and preferences.