North Cascades Mountain Guides

My son and I had an opportunity to do our first back country ski trip with Larry this week. This is just an excellent organization — the logistics, safety, training, and just friendliness and enthusiasm were all top notch. Can’t wait to do our next trip with them.

I can't express how great my experience was with NCMG. Everything, from obtaining a quote, to scheduling and booking, and the trip itself was seamless. After submitting a request for guiding a large group on Mount Baker, the first person I encountered was Andrea in the front office. She was incredibly responsive and patient with the many questions I had and the changes we had to make along the way. She helped make the booking and billing process incredibly easy, despite us having to change the number of people more than once. Once the trip was officially booked, I was introduced to our head guide, Matt. I'll start by saying that Matt was a true professional. Another member of our group and I had a bad experience with another guide company (RMI) on Mount Rainier in 2023, and our experience with Matt was the complete opposite. Prior to the trip, he was incredibly accessible and made himself available via email and phone. He did a great job putting together an itinerary and preparing our group for the climb. Matt was also very helpful suggesting the type of equipment we needed. At no point did I feel unprepared because I didn't have the proper equipment. On our first official day with the guides, Matt and his fellow guides, Kyle, Timmy, and Johanna met us at our hotel for gear check. I was immediately impressed as they worked with the hotel to secure a conference room so we could do our gear check and orientation. They did a great job instructing us on how to utilize every bit of space in our packs and probably saved each of us from carrying an additional five pounds of gear. Once on the mountain, the guides set a good pace for us. We had a broad range of ages and fitness levels in our group, and the guides were incredibly patient as we trudged up to base camp. Once at base camp, the guides did a great job of balancing recovery and downtime with skills training. I especially appreciated how transparent they were with the decisions they were making. This is in stark contrast to the guides at RMI. Most impressive was their performance on summit day. During our ascent and descent, they did an excellent job balancing breaks with our required timetable to maximize safety. At one point there was a rockfall above us and the guide leading my rope team, Timmy, immediately sprang into action to keep us safe. I can't thank the NCMG team enough for my group's successful summit of Mount Baker. I highly recommend NCMG for anyone requiring a guide on their next adventure.

We did 5 days of the Washington Pass snowmobile assisted touring with NCMG mid February and had a blast. Despite the thin snowpack this winter we lucked out with fresh snow during the trip and excellent skiing. The terrain is beautiful and varied, with lots of options to suit any group. Dave Shuey was our guide for 3 days, then Keira Magrane. They both did a great job reaching out in advance to see what we wanted to do, abilities, fitness, etc. They then gave options each day giving us the final choice. Both were delightful to spend the day with in the field. We felt safe, challenged, but not pushed. The novelty of the snowmobiles wears off fast but it is the best option in this zone. I look forward to returning and recommend this trip.

My family and I recently did a day trip with NCMG and we had a great time. Dave Shuey was our guide and I would book a trip with him again in a heartbeat. We had mixed levels of experience and skill in our group and Dave made it fun for everyone. I'm already thinking about trying to get out with NCMG again next winter.

A+ for my first guided trip. I’ve been backcountry skiing in WA for years, hopped in a guided group with my friends for some sled access skiing. The NCMG crew was very knowledgeable, forward about the route, super fun to ski with, and had our safety at the top of the list. Avy and weather forecast left a lot to be desired(that’s just skiing sometimes). We still had a riot! I would recommend NCMG, and plan on returning.