Alpine Climbing Expeditions - Professional Guiding - Indigo Alpine Guides — Indigo Alpine Guides
Indigo Alpine Guides
Alaska International
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Indigo Alpine Guides
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Custom Alpine Trips

RATIO

Glaciated Mountaineering: 4:1 guest to guide ratio

Technical Climbing: 2:1 guest to guide ratio

LENGTH + CONTENT

Day trips to expeditions we’ve done it all.

Straight up guiding or full learning / coaching mode — up to you.

PRICING

Varies by trip, reach out!

 
 

Private Guided Mountaineering

Mountaineering is one wild way to see the world. In some ways it’s pointless — we climb mountains just to go back down — but it also gifts people these incredible moments of awe and joy — watching sunrise from above a sea of clouds, summiting after thinking you were going to quit a hundred times, the intimacy of trusting your team mates (and your guide) to the fullest.

We run a lot of trips up Baker / Kulshan each season. If you’re new to mountaineering, consider a guided climb or course on Baker / Kulshan. If you’ve climbed a bit and / or just want to get away from the crowds, consider some lesser known objectives like Mt. Bonanaza, Glacier Peak, or Forbidden.

 
 

Private Seminars & Instruction

We’ve spent years teaching people how to move through the mountains. From 1 day skills seminars to weeklong alpine climbing expedition learning, we’ve got you covered. Wherever you are in your climbing journey we can take you to the next level. As guides we’ve been honing our craft to perfection — so we’re sure to have tips and skills that make your time in the mountains safer, more fun, and more stylish.

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PNW MOUNTAINEERING

Below are some highlight climbs we regularly guide. But there’s tons of other options out there. If you’d like to book us for any of these areas, or talk about different objectives, please reach out.

 
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Mt. Baker / Kulshan

Mt. Baker / Kulshan

Mt. Baker is one of the the most sought after summits in the Cascades. A beautiful walk in through wild flowers and old growth, a camp looking out over glaciers and Puget Sound, and a relatively beginner friendly route, Baker has it all.

Easton Glacier
This is the classic and most mellow route up the mountain. A great first mountaineering adventure for folks willing to challenge themselves. Climbing to 10, 700ft is no joke. But the views will reward you through the whole journey. We guide the Easton as 3 day trips and teach 4-day courses. We also, for the super fit, guide 1 day ski mountaineering pushes (June) or jogging pushes (August).

North Ridge
The North Ridge of Kulshan is one of the fifty classic climbs in North America. It takes a beautiful line up the North Ridge with plenty of steep snow, 2-3 pitches of ice climbing and a smooth descent down the Coleman-Demming Route. If you’ve climbed a bite of ice and are comfortable climbing steep snow, this could be a great route for you.

Shuksan

Shuksan

Fischer Chimneys
This climb has a bit of everything — lot’s of 4th class scrambling, some beginner -friendly glacial ice climbing, lots of glacier travel, many pitches of 5.4 rock climbing up an aesthetic ridge to a true summit, and tons of rappels. Fisher Chimneys is great for folks who have a few climbs under their belt and are looking for a challenge. It’s an incredible venue for learning too. If you’ve climbed a few volcanoes, and led a bit of rock, this could be an incredible spot to learn the ways of the alpine with trained guides coaching you the whole way.

Dragontail

Dragontail — Enchantments

Triple Couloirs
If you’ve read through some of these descriptions you may be starting to roll your eyes of how many times the word classic is used. Well, rest assured that Dragontail is classic — its about as perfect a intermediate alpine climb as one could hope to find — fun heroic ice climbing, steep snow, a breathtaking setting looking out over Colchuck Lake, and just enough alpine trickery to keep it interesting.

Chair Peak

Chair Peak

Alpine mountaineering in the North Cascades often comes with long grueling approaches with heavy packs — not so with Chair Peak. 1 hr drive from Seattle and 1.5 hrs of approach can leave you standing at the base of this great winter / spring climb. 4 pitches of moderate snow, rock and ice climbing brings you to this iconic Cascades summit.

Honorable Mentions

Cascades Honorable Mentions

There’s a lifetime of mountaineering to do just in Washington alone — literally. Here’s a few to consider.

Glacier Peak / Dakobed: Like climbing Baker but more remote & wild. 4 days.

Sloan Peak: A great low commitment intro to Cascades Mountaineering. 2-3 days.

Eldorado East Ridge: This is a popular, technically easy climb with a classic finish on an exposed summit ridge. The summit view and knife-edge top are exquisite. 3-4 days.

Sahale: A steep glacial approach through the iconic Boston Basin leads to an exposed 4th class scramble to the summit! 1-3 days.

 

NORTH CASCADES TRAVERSES

Below are all routes we regularly guide, but we have permits for all of the North Cascades — if you’ve got a traverse in mind that you' don’t see here — reach out.

 
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Ptarmigan Traverse

Ptarmigan Traverse

This is the Cascades mountaineering traverse everyone always talks about. 7 days away from the bustle of the modern life; 7 days of beautiful camps, exciting summits and fun navigation challenges; 7 days of time to slow down and reconnect. This route is possible for folks who have basic mountaineering skills and high fitness.

Torment To Forbidden Traverse

Torment to Forbidden Traverse

The most classic alpine climbing traverse in the Northwest if not the western US. 3-4 days climbing easy terrain (5.7) on a narrow ridge with massive exposure, epic bivy sites, and, depending on the time of year, a bit of snow and ice. For folks who’ve been building skills for some some time this is a great test!

Pickets Traverse

Pickets Traverse

A step up in remoteness from the Ptarmigan Traverse — this one gets you in Alaska type remoteness. Fred Beck­ey writes: ​“Because of the rugged ter­rain, the Pick­et Range has remained the wildest and most unex­plored region in the North Cas­cades. It is not an area for the wilder­ness novice. The length of climbs, com­bined with steep mixed ter­rain and vari­able con­di­tions, demand all around com­pe­tence and fit­ness.”

If you’re game for a challenging, full-on mountaineering adventure — this one’s for you.

 

ICE CLIMBING

Ice Climbing in Washington is an ephemeral thing. But it does exist! If you’re willing to be patient and be more about the journey than the destination, reach out and we can make it happen.

 
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Snoqualmie Pass

Snoqualmie Pass

The ice here comes and goes, but when it’s in it’s a great place to go climbing for the day. Easy access from the Alpental Ski Area Parking Lot, a short approach, and finishing the day at one of the Pass’s restaurants all make this a great day out.

Marble Canyon

Marble Canyon

For folks wanting to skip the inconsistency of Washington and take a deep dive into ice climbing, Marble Canyon is the closest best spot to be. 3 days is the minimum you’ll want up here to explore the plethora of awesome climbs. A six hour drive from Seattle, a warm Air Bnb with a hot tub, climbing daily in a beautiful place — life doesn’t get much sweeter.

 
 
 

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

 
 

BOOK A CUSTOM ALPINE CLIMB

Step 1. Send us a quick note with what you’re interested in. Step 2. We’ll get back to you to discuss your trip.

Step 3. Fill out some info and send a trip deposit. Step 4. Adventure :)

 

BOOK A PRIVATE CLIMB

Fill out the form below and we’ll make it happen!

FIND OUT MORE

Have questions? Reach out below or text / call us.

 

 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Check out the FAQ’s below, or text or call us at 845-661-3008 to talk it through! Or send us an email. We love hearing from folks.

 

  • All the time! If it’s your first day out or you haven’t climbed in a long time, that’s all good — we’ll pick climbs that will challenge you but also be achievable.

    • Professional Mountain Guide with over 17 years climbing experience around the world & advanced wilderness medical training.

    • All group gear climbing gear: Tents, Ropes, carabiners, first aid kit, emergency communication device.

    • All Breakfasts and Dinners in the field.

    • Use of our harnesses, helmets, and headlamps if you don’t have your own.

    • Airfares to or from your home city, whether on scheduled or charter flights.

    • Personal gear: clothing, backpack, etc

    • Personal snacks / lunches

    • Food and accommodations while not in the field.

    • Guide’s travel (for climbs outside the PNW).

    • Tips for guides.

  • We guide routes from basic snow climbs all the way up to full alpine complexity every-trick-you-have-in-the-bag-you-need. For simple objectives we can usually guide at a 1:4 or 1:3 ratio. For routes that involve vertical climbing, we’ll most often be at 2:1 or 1:1 ratios. This ensures an adequate margin of safety and fluidity of movement.

    If the climb you’ve chosen requires a 2:1 ratio but you’re a party of 3, no worries, we’ll just add another guide to the trip!

  • We’ve been teaching mountaineering for over 17 years. Anything you want to learn we can help you get there! Even if you consider yourself an expert meowtaineer, we can likely teach you a bunch of useful tools to smooth out your systems.

  • Multi-day trips will either require camping (TFT, Baker) or staying in an Airbnb or hotel (Marble Canyon). We can help you arrange accommodation if you’d like.

    For some trips, you may lodge with your guide, for others you can choose to lodge separately.

  • We have people come on our trips by themselves all the time! There’s nothing like travel through remote wilderness to build community. Our prices are based on double occupancy of rooms. if you’re traveling alone we’ll ask you to pay a one time solo - travel supplement to cover the extra cost of the room. Please inquire for updated pricing.

  • Indigo Alpine Guide trips are most often run by the owner Jack Bynum and his closest and most trusted friends. All the people who work for IAG have over a decade of experience guiding trips in the most remote places on earth, have wilderness medical training and advanced guiding certifications.

  • For Day Trips:

    If you cancel for any reason prior to 30 days before the course start, you may rebook a later date for 100% credit, subject to availability, or receive a refund. If you cancel between 7 and 30 days prior to the course start, you may reschedule subject to availability. Between 7 and 30 days there are no refunds. If you cancel inside of 7 days from the course start, there are no reschedules or refunds available. This includes, but is not limited to:

    – Injury/illness (positive cover exposure excepted)

    – Weather, mountain and travel conditions (please see #4 below)

    – Personal scheduling changes

    For Multi-day Trips:

    You may cancel up to 120 days of the scheduled travel date and receive a full refund minus a $500 per-person service fee. If you cancel between 120 and 60 days of travel, there is a 50% cancellation fee. Within 60 days of travel, there is a 100% cancellation fee. We highly recommend purchasing travel insurance as we are not able to make exceptions to this policy in cases of family/medical emergency or of the trip being canceled.

  • We always encourage folks to purchase trip cancelation insurance in addition to the mandatory medical evacuation insurance. We require that you have at least $200,000 in medical evacuation insurance. Your insurance policy should cover hazardous sports and we recommend that your policy cover search and rescue. Since we cannot confirm each client’s policy individually, it is your responsibility to make sure your policy will cover you while you participate in your activities of choice on the expedition.

    For US citizens, we recommend Global Rescue. You will have a choice of purchasing it with or without the cancellation coverage–so make sure to select the one that gives you the coverage that you need. Other commonly used companies include World Nomads and Squaremouth.

    You are welcome to seek out other insurance options, as these are only recommendations. When selecting a policy, please make sure they insure all the activities you’ll be participating in (many don’t include roped climbing, skiing, mountaineering, etc).

 

STILL HAVE QUESTIONS?

We’re always happy to talk through anything on your mind. Oftentimes the quickest way to get it all done is by phone or zoom. Hit us up at the button below and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can (we’re often in the mountains.)