2025 Mount Shasta Climbing & Backcountry Skiing & Splitboaridng Dates Posted!

Our 2025 Mount Shasta trips are posted and ready to book! To support our community, we’ve decided to follow suite with all private programming we offer and used a tiered scale for Mount Shasta trips as well. We hope this helps offset some of the economic/financial constraints our community is facing and look forward to another great season on Shasta with all of our guests!

Standing tall and proud at a height of 14,179’ feet, Mount Shasta is the 5th tallest peak in California, and one of twelve coveted 14er’s with a prominence over 300’ feet. Residing at the southern tip of the volcanic Cascade Range, Mount Shasta is in a league all on her own and plays host to some of the finest mountaineering objectives our state has to offer including classic routes such as Avalanche Gulch (one of the 50 classic ski descents), the West Face and Casaval Ridge. Mount Shasta will challenge your physical and mental capabilities and is the perfect objective for aspiring mountaineers looking to up their game and learn from our professionally trained, AMGA Mount Shasta Guides.

We offer 2 and 3 day mountaineering programs as listed below to accommodate everyone’s abilities and desires. Whether you’re looking for a summit bid via our classic 3 Day Mountaineering Program or looking to go alpine style via our 2 Day Light and Fast Mountaineering Program, we’ve got something for everyone. Click the button below to learn more about our 2 and 3 day options as well as the equipment needed for your climb and what’s included in the cost of your trip.

Kings Canyon Backpacking // Evolution Basin to Le Conte Canyon

Temps are beginning to cool in the Sierra high country but we were able to squeak in one last trip with our guest Tony into Kings Canyon National Park via Lamarck Col in the Eastern Sierra for a 5 day, 40+ mile backpacking trip! We looped it with Tony and hiked through Evolution Basin, over to Le Conte Canyon, eventually exiting via Bishop Pass. This time of year is magical in the Sierra, leaves are turning, temps are dropping, and thinned out crowds on the trails makes for an incredible experience. Big thanks to Tony for coming out with us in the Sierra for an unforgettable backpacking trip and to GSG Guide Chad Martin for facilitating the outing.

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2024/25 AIARE Avalanche Course Schedule Posted!

Our 2024/25 AIARE Level 1, 2, and Avalanche Rescue courses are posted! We have 13 Level 1's and Avalanche Rescue courses, and 1 Level 2 posted for the 24/25 snow season in Mammoth Lakes. If you missed your opportunity this past season, now is the time to start thinking about booking for next season as these courses will continue to be in high demand. We're looking forward to a great 2024/25 season with all of our students once again!

High Sierra Ski Traverse

Back in April we had the pleasure of taking out two backcountry adventure seekers on a High Sierra Ski Traverse starting at Shepherds Pass in the Eastern Sierra and ending in Sequoia National Park on the Western slopes. With over 45 miles traveled and 16,000’+ feet of elevation gain, this was no small feat. Needless to say, guests Raf and Doug absolutely crushed the traverse! Big shout out is owed to these legends of the High Sierra backcountry and special thanks to GSG Guide Cole Thompson for facilitating and executing a flawless trip. Great job to the entire team! To see a full photo gallery click the button below!

Intro to Alpine Climbing Courses!

Golden State Guiding is excited to announce our Intro to Alpine Climbing course dates for the 2024 Summer season are here! Join us for an IAC course in the beautiful Eastern Sierra as we dive into essential alpine climbing topics such as multi pitch systems, alpine anchors and transitions, rope management and the systems we use in the alpine, specifically on 3rd-4th, and lower 5th class terrain. We’ll also review traveling efficiencies in the alpine as two and three person parties, traditional gear placements and what to be looking for while leading, mapping software, and weather forecasts. A snow skills clinic will also be incorporated on the second day of the course which will cover snow travel, equipment, anchors, and more. Click the button below to learn more and to register for your IAC course today!

2024 Summer Backpacking Trips!

Join Golden State Guiding for an unforgettable backpacking trip in Yosemite National Park, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, or in the Eastern Sierra this summer! Preschedule and private trips are available for anyone looking to get out and explore this beautiful landscape the Sierra has to offer. After the wintery summer we had last year from the record breaking snowfall, we’re beyond excited to get into the high country this season with our backcountry community! Click one of the buttons below to learn more and to book a backpacking adventure with us this summer!

Sierra Splitboard Program Wrap Up!

Well we did it! We just wrapped up another round of our Sierra Splitboard Program, sponsored by our good friends over at Weston Backcountry, Volcom, Electric, and Ridge Merino. While the tide is still relatively low in the backcountry, that didn’t deter from our guests having an epic weekend of split education and avalanche training. Big thanks to everyone who attended our Sierra Splitboard Program this year and as always, a big thanks is owed to GSG Guides Trevor Husted and Michael Cariello for facilitating another great course for our guests. Couldn’t do it without our GSG fam. And a large shoutout to our awesome friends and partners over at Weston, Volcom, Electric, and Ridge for supplying us with the goods and the support to make this happen. Photos courtesy of the talented Finn Kirkpatrick @finnkirks

Sierra Spring Touring Camps are back!

Golden State Guiding is excited to announce our 2024 Sierra Spring Touring Camps are officially open for registration! Join us for a 3 day, overnight Spring Touring Camp in the beautiful Eastern Sierra as we dive into essential backcountry skiing & splitboarding topics such as travel and time management planning, track setting and route finding, uphill travel techniques using ski/splitboard crampons, utilizing mapping software while in the field, avalanche terrain discussions, basecamp setup, spring camping tips and tricks, and much more. And of course, we’ll boot up some epic terrain, and get some great spring skiing and riding in along the way!

Intro to Ice Climbing Courses

Our Intro to Ice Climbing courses are posted for the 2024 season! Learn the in’s and out’s of ice climbing in beautiful June Lake this winter! Click the button below to learn more and to register for an Intro to Ice Climbing course today! Private ice climbing courses available as well!

Sierra Splitboard Program

With the support of Volcom and Weston Backcountry, Golden State Guiding will be rolling out our highly anticipated Sierra Splitboard Program in the Mammoth Lakes area for the 2023/2024 snow season! The programming will be multifaceted and will cover a wide variety of topics including familiarizing yourself with your splitboard setup and how to properly transition from tour to ride mode, learning how to set an efficient skin track, kick turn techniques, hands on use of avalanche equipment and how to properly use it, trip planning software reviews, basic backcountry etiquette, and much more. The overall goal of our Sierra Splitboard Program will be to introduce snowboarders to a new medium in their activity, to familiarize them with the current equipment in the market, give them entry level tools to access the backcountry, and most importantly, lay a foundation for good practices in the future to make the best decisions possible when traveling in avalanche terrain. Click the button below for more info and to register for our Sierra Splitboard Program in Mammoth Lakes today!

Self Rescue & Risk Management Clinics // Joshua Tree National Park

Ever find yourself in a precarious situation 100+ feet off the deck and wondering what to do? Looking to acquire the skill set and knowledge to handle unforeseen circumstances that can arise on the rock when in a multi pitch and/ or alpine environment? Then our Self Rescue and Risk Management Clinics this Fall are exactly what you are looking for!

Golden State Guiding will be hosting multiple Self Rescue and Risk Management Clinics this season in Joshua Tree National Park. Click the button below to learn more and to register for one of our SRRM clinics today!

Ladies Weekend Out Colorado

Golden State Guiding has partnered up with the highly acclaimed Colorado guide service, Alpine to the Max, woman’s sports top industry leader and long time partner Tera Kaia, world renowned outerwear manufacturer and outdoor industry leader Rab Equipment, and our friends over at The Spot Climbing Gym, for an all ladies weekend of climbing in Colorado, September 29th - October 1st! Twelve lucky ladies will have the opportunity to climb at some of Colorado’s most popular rock climbing areas with our professionally trained, AMGA Guides. All three days will be packed with fun climbing for all abilities, technical clinics introducing you to outdoor climbing, community, and camaraderie! All participants will also have the option to purchase an additional day of multi pitch climbing at the world famous Flatirons in Boulder, Colorado!

Yosemite National Park & Eastern Sierra Backpacking!

That’s right, you’re reading this correctly, Golden State Guiding is now facilitating backpacking trips in Yosemite National Park and the Eastern Sierra! Come join us for an unforgettable adventure this summer in the High Sierra or Yosemite National Park!

Many of us who share a passion for rock climbing and backcountry skiing and splitboarding have a similar story, that we began our journey as outdoor advocates and explorers with a backpacking trip, whether that be in our local mountains or on a grander scale like that of the Sierra. At Golden State Guiding we find exposure to be a key ingredient for turning others into outdoor advocates, so what better way to do this than to offer a backpacking program and introduce others to the beautiful sites Yosemite National Park and the Eastern Sierra have to offer!

We’re starting slow this summer and only offering custom/ private outings due to the record snowpack in the Sierra. Click one of the buttons below to see some of our highlighted trips we’ll have on offer this summer or send us an inquiry to customize your own private backpacking trip today!

Ladies Weekend Out Mammoth // Mental Approach to Climbing

Our highly anticipated Ladies Weekend Out Mammoth // Mental Approach to Climbing Clinic is back and this time we’re hosting 2 separate weekends! 12 Lucky Ladies each weekend will have the opportunity to join Golden State Guiding’s awesome female Guide team for another 3 day weekend in Mammoth Lakes this summer filled with mental coaching, centered around how to create a positive mental space while climbing. Click the button below to learn more and to register for Ladies Weekend Out Mammoth today!

Self Rescue & Risk Management Clinic

Ever find yourself in a precarious situation 100+ feet off the deck and wondering what to do? Looking to acquire the skill set and knowledge to handle unforeseen circumstances that can arise on the rock when in a multi pitch and/ or alpine environment? Then our Self Rescue and Risk Management Clinics this summer are exactly what you are looking for!

Our Self Rescue and Risk Management Clinics are intended for intermediate to experienced outdoor climbers to build a working understanding of risk management in a high angle environment. Our SRRM clinics will teach you how to approach a rescue and execute the proper rescue systems by layering in a step by step processes through discussion with your team and hands on instruction and practice under the watchful eye of our professionally trained guides. Click the button below to learn more and to register for our Self Rescue & Risk Management today!

Intro to Multi Pitch Climbing Program

We’ve revamped our Intro to Multi Pitch Climbing Program and are rolling it our as of today!

Ready to get a few hundred feet off the deck and learn the proper systems and applications needed to climb in a multi pitch setting? In our Intro to Multi Pitch Climbing Program, you'll be taught the necessary skills to climb safely and efficiently in a 2-3 person party, multiple pitches off the ground. This course covers everything you need to know including multi pitch anchors, belay techniques and best applications, rope management, navigation, route selection, transitions, and much more (full curriculum below). All courses offer hands on instruction so you can rest assured you'll learn these valuable technical skills by practicing them yourself with a professionally trained AMGA Guide in your presence. Click the button below to learn more and to register for an Intro to Multi Pitch Climbing Course today!

Ladies Weekend Out Mammoth Splitboard Event!

We just wrapped up our Ladies Weekend Out, Weston Backcountry Splitboard event in Mammoth Lakes and we think these photos speak for themselves! What an incredible weekend with a bunch of split crushing ladies! Big thanks to all the woman who attended our Ladies Weekend Out Mammoth event and a special thanks is owed to GSG Guide’s Tailer Spinney and Sammy Rubin for leading the charge throughout the weekend and to GSG friend and talented photographer Rachel Lightner for capturing all the moments.

We also owe a big shoutout to our friends and partner over at Weston Backcountry for dialing these ladies in with some incredible splitboards for the weekend. To Têra Kaia for hooking the slaydies up with some awesome tops! And to Pure Project Brewing and Rove Adventure Beer for refreshments throughout the weekend!

To read a special write up about the event click the button below. Thanks to Rachel for also putting the finishing touches on this piece!

Ladies Weekend Out 2.0 Bishop

Our Ladies Weekend Out 2.0 event is back! Our highly anticipated Ladies Weekend Out 2.0 is back this Spring 2023 in Bishop, California! 14 Lucky Ladies will have the opportunity to join Golden State Guiding’s awesome female Guide team for a 3 day weekend on the Eastside filled with exciting multi pitch and single pitch climbing, camping in Bishop, California, and a social event Saturday evening at the Têra Kaia retail store in downtown Bishop! Click the button below to register for our Ladies Weekend Out 2.0 Bishop climbing event today!

Ladies Weekend Out Mammoth // Splitboarding Event

It’s time to check that season pass and leave it in the car, rip those skins, and slay some fresh pow on your Weston Backcountry splitboard in the Eastern Sierra! Golden State Guiding is incredibly excited to announce our second annual Ladies Weekend Out Splitboarding event is back in beautiful Mammoth Lakes!

With the help from our good friends over at Weston Backcountry, Tera Kaia, Pure Project Brewing, and Rove Adventure Beer we’ll be hosting our second LWO splitboarding event in Mammoth Lakes this March 17th - 19th. Eight lucky Ladies will have the chance to tour and ride in the breathtaking Eastern Sierra this spring with our talented, all female Splitboard Guide Team. Both days will be packed with educational topics and will cover in depth reviews of splitboarding equipment, avalanche safety, trip planning, touring techniques, important tips and tricks from our guides, and much more. And the added bonus this year is we have an AirBnB for our guests to stay in! Get ready to bring the stoke levels because it’s going to be one memorable weekend filled with powder stashes, pocket bacon, and fun for the entire group of Slaydies!

Click the button below to learn more and to register for our Ladies Weekend Out Mammoth Splitboarding event!

Ladies Weekend Out // San Diego

Our Ladies Weekend Out event is back this February in beautiful San Diego! Golden State Guiding and our good friends Têra Kaia, Fixe Hardware, Pure Project Brewing, and Rove Adventure Beer are throwing another awesome Ladies Weekend Out event in San Diego, running February 10th to the 12th! Eighteen lucky ladies will have the opportunity to climb some of San Diego’s most coveted rock climbing crags with our professionally trained AMGA guides. Both days will be packed with fun climbing for all abilities, technical clinics introducing you to outdoor climbing, camaraderie, community and fun for all! Click the button below to learn more and to register for LWO San Diego today!