Mountain Guides

Mountain guides can take two general shapes, as they can be either people or paper guides, both ready to help you get up and down the mountain of your choice. Both need to be of quality construction to get you up and down safely, though which you choose will have to do with both your own experience and your level of confidence when setting out on your expedition.

Paper mountain guides can take many forms, from small government-issued pamphlets about a certain climb to handwritten notes from friends to full-length, pitch-by-pitch guides. They all have their own strengths and weaknesses. Though a book offering full route descriptions, detailed maps, and stories of past ascents may be a valuable tool when climbing a mountain, it’s easy to rely too heavily on these sorts of mountain guides. Heavy snowfall, avalanches, or rock falls can change mountain faces significantly from year to year, and though the guide may be current when it was published, each year after publication makes it harder to trust. Also, don’t think you can climb a mountain by relying on the guide during the entire climb; you should have the skills and experience to climb the same mountain without the guide and get to the bottom safely.

Smaller, less formal guidebooks or even handwritten notations written by climbers who have done the climb before can be a great boon to climbers who are looking for up-to-the-minute information about a route. Though these guides won’t give you step-by-step instructions, they will usually highlight any major dangers about the route or less-than-obvious characteristics that you should keep in mind. Often these sorts of guides, in addition to full-length route guides, are the best combinations for those who have never climbed a certain route before.

Finally, in-the-flesh mountain guides are by far the safest and most reliable way to scale new mountains and new peaks. These guides, either those hired or contacted through friends, should know the mountain and route you’re ascending and should have done it before. Mountain guides, especially those hired through a reputable guide service, will not get you to the top if you don’t have the alpine skills to do so. However, as long as you have the physical ability for the given route they’ll get you up and down safely, putting your safety before any other consideration on the trip. Granted, they’ll be more expensive than a paper guide, but if you’re new to mountaineering or unsure about a particular peak they’re by far the best way to climb.