Selecting a Guiding Company

As you get closer to a climb, one of the most important decisions you have to make is what guiding company you will choose to lead you to the top of a mountain. It's not really a complicated process, however, like with other things in life, you have several options to chose from and, typically, you get what you pay for. I feel the best way to do it is by determining 3-5 factors that are the most important to you and then going from there.

We are now 11 months out from the climb and most companies have started to post their 2011 Aconcagua schedules, so its never too early to get that deposit down. Once you have selected your company, its just a matter of topping off your gear list, training, and booking your flight.

Most major guiding companies are more expensive than the smaller operations, but you normally get better guides, better food, more safety precautions, and a US-based company - always important in case something goes wrong. I will be looking at the guiding companies a little differently than I did last year now that I have experience on the mountain and know what items I want to change. In addition, I have several friends that were on the mountain this year with different companies and Ive started to question them on their trips to get a better idea of how things were done. Then, after finishing those conversations, Ill personally call each company I'm considering and speak directly with a guide (One of those "gut feeling" things). Here are some of the major factors that someone would use when selecting a guiding company for Aconcagua:

• What route do they take up the mountain?
• How many days to they take to acclimatize before attempting to summit?
• How long do they spend at each camp?
• How many camps do they establish above base camp?
• What type of food regiment do they provide?
• Are they priced fairly when compared with other companies?
• Do they use porters at all?
• Are the rest days spread out appropriately?
• How many people are on each team?
• How many professional guides will be with the team?
• What do the guides' climbing resumes look like?
• What "surprise" costs might there be?
• What is/isn't included in the cost?
• Have you climbed with this company before?
• What feedback have you received in the climbing community about a company?

For the most part, none of these items really has a right or wrong answer, it's just a matter of personal preference. As you go on more and more expeditions, you will climb with big/small groups, inexpensive/expensive companies, use/not use porters, move too fast/too slow, have good/bad guides, etc... Its all a learning process. Ideally, you'd like to find one guiding company and stick with them so they become familiar with your tendencies on a mountain - specifically, how your body reacts to altitude. Unfortunately, not all companies go to all mountains so this is virtually impossible.

So, this is where I'm at right now in the selection process - trying to evaluate which of the items above are the most important to me. I have narrowed my choice down to 3 companies and Ill announce those by the weekend, along with posting all the details on the July Rainier trip.

SZ