Choose Your Adventure
Sierra Mountain Center
California’s premier mountaineering school and guide service.
Located in Bishop, California SMC offers rock climbing, summer mountaineering, waterfall ice climbing, backcountry skiing, emergency training, summer and winter instruction and custom guiding here in the Eastern Sierra of California.
How SMC is dealing with the current Covid-19 situation
Life has changed for all of us and we don’t know when it will get back to something close to normal. We are following guidelines from the CDC and local health agencies on how to behave. We have cancelled all of the avalanche courses and virtually everything else for the next couple of weeks. The office is taking phone calls and answering emails so we are available to answer any questions about trips.
What will spring and summer bring? Well, no one knows. We are dealing with it day by day as are you. Once we got to May, there will be a reassessment, but as of now we are hoping to be back running programs and getting you out into the mountains.
If you want to sign up for a program please do so and plan for the future no matter how uncertain it might be. We have been pushing travel insurance in the past and we cannot emphasize how important this is, so do take that option.
After this is over we are all going to need to spend time in the mountains and use that time to put our lives in perspective, rejuvenating our souls and spending quality time with friends and family.
We look forward to seeing you in the mountains.
A new Level I Avi Course format
Current restrictions have meant our AVI courses have cancelled. But SMC has come up with a new plan taking advantage of Zoom to offer an online classroom day. Content will be exactly the same as the regular, in-person first day, but now from the comfort of your own home. As the situation becomes more clear in following weeks, we may offer a weekend field session to help you complete your certificate
We think that this will be a great alternative. If you cannot be in the mountains, then you can at least learn new things and dream about getting there soon.
NEXT DATE: April 4th starting at 8.00am and ending at about 3.30-4.00pm
The SMC Outdoor Adventure Presentation Series
Got time on your hands and wishing you were outdoors? Most of us cannot escape to the real mountains due to travel restrictions. The next best thing is to grab a drink, snuggle up with a loved one, and live vicariously through SMC guide experiences. Over ten weeks starting April 5, owner SP Parker and guides will take you on climbing, hiking, and ski trips all over the globe through Zoom slideshow presentations. We will answer your questions and get you psyched. Please join us for an hour of entertainment and images, and keep dreaming about future adventures.
Alaskan Aspirations: Frozen Fun in the Interior Range
April 12, 2020 at 5:00pm PDT
As the sport grows exponentially, climbers around the world are branching out from their home-turf to gain experience in the greater ranges. Louie Allen has spent the last 6 years working and playing in the Eastern Sierra, and was lucky enough to step into a bigger arena last spring–here’s what he learned from the expedition, and his advice to anyone also gearing up to take their alpine endeavors into bigger terrain.
First Ascents in Patagonia with Ryan Huetter
April 19, 2020 at 5:00pm PDT
SMC guide Ryan Huetter made his first trip to this place of legendary storms and brutal weather at age 24. He spent the next seven years returning, learning the craft of alpine climbing in these rugged and surreally beautiful mountains, culminating in several notable ascents on the finest mountains in the world.
A Minor Obsession: 2500 miles on foot across Utah
April 26, 2020 at 5:00pm PDT
For three years in a row, backpacker Caroline Paquettte returned to Southwest Utah to tackle extended, solo treks on foot (and canoe, and inner tube). Having emerged nearly unscathed yet totally changed, she will share photos and experiences from truly, truly remote places in Utah which only the most determined — and probably also insane — folks will ever reach.
Like the Eastern Sierra, the desert Southwest is another American treasure right in our backyard.
Online outdoor learning
Sounds a bit of an oxymoron but we think we can do it. Do you have questions about training, climbing Mount Whitney, what to expect on the JMT? Worried about river crossings?
Sierra Mountain Center will arrange online Q and A sessions and have one of our expert guides help you get you prepared & ready to head into the mountains.
See you in the online mountains!
There are other guide services offering trips in the Sierra Nevada.
So why do we believe that you will get the most out of letting us be your guides?
We are knowledgeable and local
We are the oldest, most established local guide service. The Eastern Sierra has been our home for nearly 30 years and these are the mountains where we love to climb, hike and ski. There are few working guides who know the Sierra as well as we do, from the popular paths of the Sierra, but also the little-known places where we have been exploring new routes, tours and remote summits. We know the best routes and the small details that make for a successful trip. When you call us and ask what conditions are, we simply look out our office window and give you up to date information.
We literally help write the books on climbing. “High Sierra Climbing” by Chris McNamara, of Supertopo – “Eastern Sierra Ice” – self-published by us and the “Climbers Guide to the Bishop Area” by Maximus Press.
We are qualified
We believe in the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) programs and the level of quality assurance that they give you in choosing a guide. Our climbing and mountaineering guides are trained and certified by the AMGA. Certified guides have demonstrated before his or her peers high levels of competence and judgment as well as fulfilling technical requirements such as emergency medical certification, rescue training, and snow stability forecasting. Guides certified in rock, alpine and ski gain the international (IFMGA) credential. This IFMGA credential gives us the ability to provide guides to work in other IFMGA member countries such as those of Europe.
Our groups are small with low guide to participant ratios
Large groups can detract from the learning process and the wilderness experience. We work to keep ratios as small as practical, and our small groups give you more of what you came for: skiing, climbing and exploring the Sierra.
Our Programs are All Inclusive
Scheduled trip prices are all-inclusive (except for any rental equipment). Overnight backcountry programs include permit fees; group equipment such as kitchen, group technical gear, first aid supplies and avalanche beacons and good backcountry breakfast, lunch and dinners.
We are an AMGA Accredited Business.
AMG Accreditation is a process that reviews operational guidelines, staffing, permits, and insurance helping to insure professionalism by self-evaluation. It is a means of quality assurance and external review that examines such important business practices, compliance with state, federal and local regulations, staff training and professional development, resource stewardship, and adherence to current industry standards. This credential represents a commitment to excellence through exemplary operating standards and an adherence to the highest ethical standards. We are proud to share this credential with some of the nation’s most recognized and respected guide services, climbing schools, and educational institutions.
Leave No Trace is best understood as an educational and ethical program, not as a set of rules and regulations.
Take the next step and join us in the mountains for a wilderness adventure.
What Our Clients Say
It was perfect. Andrew is an excellent guide; I can’t imagine better. I’ve done four trips with SMC, all of them A+.
I want to thank my guides for two awesome mountaineering adventures. Their knowledge, professionalism, and preparedness made both trips a rewarding and unforgettable experience. Please share this email with them and thank them for me.
We would use SMC again in a heartbeat and recommend your service to anybody looking to do a trip. Thanks again!
I want to thank your Team for a great Climb on Mt. Whitney this past week. Aaron and Luke did a fantastic job for us. These two young men were friendly, knowledgeable and very helpful. It was a pleasure having these two guide us on the mountaineers route. At every step along the way, Aaron and Luke made us feel as if our success, safety and enjoyment was their top priority.
Connie has been extremely helpful and responsive in setting up details of this climb.
I would recommend these guides and your company to anyone wanting a first rate experience. This was an outstanding adventure I will always remember.
Thank you all for helping make it so.
We had a feeling that SMC was a very competent organization from the way you handled your job and we were not at all disappointed.
I just wanted to thank you both for making our climb up Mt. Whitney an absolutely fantastic experience. You guys were terrific and the trip couldn’t have gone any better. I have been talking about it nonstop since getting back and have recommended it and you guys to several friends at home and at work.
AMAZING, INCREDIBLE, any variation of adjectives. On a scale of to 10, an 11.
I wanted to email you and tell you how amazing of a time we had climbing Whitney this past weekend! It was one of the most exciting things I have ever done, and I am so glad we had the opportunity to experience such an adventure! Both our guides were outstanding! They really knew what they were doing, I learned so much about climbing and the mountain itself, and I really trusted and felt safe climbing with them. Their leadership really made the trip so fun and do-able! I can’t emphasize enough what an AMAZING, INCREDIBLE, AND AWESOMELY FUN time we had on the mountain!!!
The entire group was impressed with Ryan’s technical expertise and leadership qualities. It’s a rare combination that lent itself to calming (group) stress, while providing quiet motivation and instilling confidence in the face of challenging conditions. Dave seems to share the same unique set of qualities that helped develop trust and support for everyone to reach their goal. I don’t know where you find these guys, but when people are literally entrusting their lives by believing in their leaders’ guidance, capabilities and decisions, it’s a rare talent indeed
Just wanted to say thanks for everything. The climbs were great and so was the service. You handled the scheduling (and changes) quickly, kindly and professionally. Aaron was also great — he is a very skilled guide and also very professional with people and logistics. Thanks again for a great experience.