Recommended guides for ice climbing or skiing in Canada

Cosley & Houston Alpine Guides is a small business and we like it that way. With few exceptions, we guide all of our trips ourselves so we may not be available for the climb or tour you want at the time you want. To help you realize your goals we offer here (in no particular order) a list of guides whom we can endorse without reservation.

There is one common attribute shared by all the guides we recommend in Canada. They are recognized as, and have the valid license for, a UIAGM / IFMGA Mountain Guide. This is the only guides credential recognized in the Alpine countries. Guides with this credential display the IFMGA logo shown at the bottom of this page. Be sure your guide is IFMGA certified! In most Canadian National Parks it is illegal to guide without this credential or a credential from the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides. If your guide lacks the proper credential your trip may be unexpectedly canceled.

IFMGA Mountain Guides carry an ID card which must be updated each year. If you have any question as to a guide's international credential, ask. If your guide is legitimate he or she will be happy you did.

Many of the guides listed below work for an established guide service, and use that guide service as their main contact. If you contact the guide service, be sure to insist on either the guide of your choice or another IFMGA certified guide. If you are traveling to an IFMGA member country, such as Canada, do not permit a guide service to talk you into going with a guide lacking the IFMGA credential.

As you can tell, we feel very strongly about the value of IFMGA certification. We believe not only that guides with this credential have demonstrated a high level of guiding ability, but that the certification process itself builds a stronger profession and is a strong indication that a guide has made a real commitment to his or her profession.

Mike Powers

Mike lives in Seattle and is currently employed by the American Alpine Institute. Mike's email address is poowers@earthlink.net.

Jorg Wilz

Jorg and his wife live in Canmore, Alberta. Jorg is originally German but has been living in the States for many years. Jorg owns On Top Mountaineering.

Marc Chauvin

Marc Chauvin is the owner and director of Chauvin Guides International in North Conway, New Hampshire. Though Marc primarily guides in the Northeast, he occasionally makes the trip across the border.

Steve House

Steve, another UIAGM guide, lives in remote Bend, Oregon. His best contact is also by email at stevehouse10@yahoo.com

Vince Anderson

Vince guides for himself as well as for a number of different companies. His best contact is by email at vince@skywardmountaineering.com.

	Freddy Grossniklaus	Freddy, and his wife Lisa live in Park City, UT. Freddy spends much of his summer in the Alps and winters at home. Visit Freddy's web site at www.swissrockguides.com.
	Art Mooney	Art lives in New Hampshire. You can reach him by email at atmoon@cyberportal.net
	Martin Volken	Martin grew up in Stalden, Switzerland, just down the road from Zermatt, Martin and his wife Gina live in North Bend, Washington. His web site is found at www.proguiding.com

	SP Parker	Our old friend SP, lives in Bishop, California. He is one of the owners of local guide service Sierra Mountain Guides.
	Howie Schwartz	Howie is another neighbor of ours in Bishop, home of the greatest concentration of IFMGA guides in the USA! Howie's email is howie@alpineguide.net
	Association of Canadian Mountain Guides	The ACMG is the organization in Canada that conducts guide training and certification programs. In terms of function, it is comparable to the AMGA here in the US. The ACMG website has a listing of ACMG certified guides. They can be found at www.acmg.ca.