Overall, It was a great experience. Very comforting to have everything sorted and just focus on the movement. The weather was great. Almost too hot but better than too much snow. Our guide, Dave was EXCELLENT. Social, made great food, and paced us very well. We all had a wonderful time! read more

What a fantastic trip put together for us by the Sierra Mountain Center. From the start Emma was fantastic and professional in the coordination efforts for our Palisade Traverse trip. My son and I had a 1:1 guide ratio and the guides, Dave Stimson and Tyler Logan, were exceptional. Exceptional in their knowledge of the route, their efficiency with rope craft and their trailside manner - despite the exhausting climb we had such a fun time. We are already planning next year's outing with SMC. You can see a video of the trip here: https://theearthbeneathyourfeet.com/Hikes/HikeDetails/5574743739453848794f31484538675743512b3472513d3d read more

Sierra Mountain Center - on top of Sill - Climbing Near Me - Bishop, California

A buddy of mine and I took a Snow Travel Skills course in May 2023. Tyler was the main instructor, along with Larry and Colin. These guys have a wealth of experience and obviously enjoy sharing their knowledge. We learned a ton of stuff in short order from the various steps used for ascending and descending, changing directions, use of crampons and ice axe, anchoring devices and belaying. We got to practice everything including about an hour spent on self-arrest using the ice axe both feet first and head first, on our back and on our stomach. 7 hours went by quickly. Well worth the cost and effort to drive up to Bishop from our home base in Southern California. The only complaint I have is that we wished we knew about the River Crossing course the next day. I emailed Emma several times for different things but that never came up. SMC should offer a 2 day combined Snow Travel and River Crossing course so it would automatically pop up if you search for one of them. Also avoid Mother's Day. read more

In early September, my wife and I did a 5-day backpacking trip in the eastern Sierras with Sierra Mountain Center. Our excellent guide was Larry Gumina, who was also our guide on a 7-day trip from Mammoth to Yosemite valley in 2022. This year's trek was a loop starting at Horseshoe Meadows and ending at the nearby Cottonwood trailhead. The highlight of the trip was a windy and cold but absolutely epic ascent of Mt. Langley, officially listed with an elevation of 14,027 feet. We then crossed over the difficult but awesome New Army Pass and camped the 4th night at Long Lake, one of the group of Cottonwood Lakes. Mr. Langley is the southern-most of the "14ers" in the Sierras, and affords excellent views of Mt. Whitney, 4 miles to the north. Larry was encouraging, informative, and fun to be with. This was a custom trip, with all the advance arrangements easily and efficiently made by Emma Gasman, the new owner of Sierra Mountain Center. (She has been SMC's office manager for the past 3 years, during which she basically ran the company.) We are doing another custom backpacking trip with SMC in early October 2023, and have several more planned for the next few years. For us, using a professional guiding service such as SMC makes a lot of sense. They get the permit, provide the group cooking gear, do the cooking, know where all the best campsites and water sources are located, instill "Leave No Trace" procedures, and provide lessons in safe trekking techniques. Plus, SMC guides are basically walking encyclopedias of the local geology, plants and animals. read more

Backpacking curious? Want to hike way into the backcountry without weighting down your pack with trepidation? Then lighten your load and sign on with team SMC, who not only know what the heck they're doing but do it with aplomb. How do I know? My teenage son and I recently completed SMC's Mammoth to Yosemite backpacking trip, led by expert guides Lauren and Larry, whose deep knowledge and serious backcountry prowess made for an adventure that was not only achievable (think: excellent and extremely attentive instruction for stream crossings, pacing, snow stepping, getting the most of out of hiking poles, responding to weather, fueling our bones, more) but also thoroughly pleasurable (think: invaluable education about trail flora, fauna, geology, history, weather patterns, camping tips, plus killer meals and more). I am immensely grateful to Larry and Lauren for their leadership: gracious, patient, sociable, and profoundly inspired, as their respect for, knowledge about, and love of the Sierra is patent--and infectious. They are the real deal, and because of this helped me achieve my goal, which was to hike with my kid going "wow"--without woe. Also: a big shout out to Emma, who was super responsive to emails and all queries. Gratitude, SMC! read more

My husband used the services of SMC twice, once for a two day ice climbing session and most recently a climb of Crystal Crag in Mammoth Lakes, and he is very pleased with his experiences. He found the booking process to be streamlined and Emma always responded promptly in answering questions. The guides are first class all the way. For Crystal, Louie did an awesome job. Punctual, professional, friendly, and detail oriented. He made the climb great and my husband really appreciated it. He felt safe and engaged the whole time. Looking forward to continuing to climb more Eastern Sierra classics including Whitney with SMC. read more

Had an awesome trip up the mountaineers route to whitney and we attempted Russell but weren't able to finish becuase of time and weather system coming in. Thanks so much to our awesome guide Anouk for getting us up and back safely. read more

My friend and I just returned from our climb up Mount Humphries in the Eastern Sierra. We had a fantastic trip. Our guide Ryan Huetter was professional and courteous and made sure to push us to reach our goal while keeping the trip fun and, above all, safe. Our guide made the smart decision to turn us around 120 feet from the peak due to ominous clouds. Lo and behold, an hour before we hit the parking lot massive hail and rain storm hit us. In other words, had we made a summit attempt we would have been in a pretty bad situation on the mountain. Great value, great guide company, and great guide. We're already thinking about our next trip. read more

Sierra Mountain Center - Climbing Near Me - Bishop, California

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My teenage daughter and I took a weekend backpack to Hilton Lakes with Sierra Mountain Center in June 2021. I had been talking to SMC for some time - as I I really wanted to get my daughter out on her first backpack. The SMC office was incredibly responsive and accommodating. They were able to put together a short trip for us - with a great guide named Michelle. The trip was short - but really excellent. Michelle was a great guide - with such appreciation for the area and backcountry skills that made our trip quite memorable. We had some weather come in during the evening - high winds - snow flurries - and Michelle did a great job ensuring that we were camping in an area that would be safe from falling trees/debris. She was very focused on safety - which we really appreciated - and did a phenomenal job on the food! She gave me some great ideas for future hikes! I would highly recommend SMC for a guided backpack. I am looking forward to backpacking with them in the future. read more

I took two trips this summer with Larry and was so impressed with him! Throughout the journey he was continuously caring and encouraging and made the whole hike better. It is so clear that this is his calling! I cannot speak highly enough of him and will recommend him for anyone looking take a trip. read more

Took a custom version of their snow skills class that was essential for a successful summit of Mount Whitney in the shoulder season. The instructor Paloma was very patient and did a great job of training us. Highly recommend their classes read more

Sierra Mountain Center - At the top of Mt Whitney. - Climbing Near Me - Bishop, California

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I hiked the JMT from Red's Meadow to Yosemite Valley with Sierra Mountain Center in July 2022. This was a backpacking trip with mule support, so we carried a lighter day pack each day. This was the most incredible travel experience I have had in years! Emma was fantastic helping with scheduling and answering all of my many questions. Our guide, Larry, was fantastic and made the trip so memorable through his knowledge of the surrounding areas, as well as his enthusiasm and cooking skills. He knew we wanted to experience a bit of safe rock scrambling during our rest day and took us to a spot outside our Cathedral Lakes campground with amazing views of Clouds Rest and Half Dome in the distance. He is very helpful explaining backpacking and camping since I was new to the experience. His energy is contagious, and he was as excited for all of us to experience this trip as we were. I loved that he anticipated the group's needs for breaks or when we could push on to make the next day easier. All of our camp spots were incredible, and our cowboy, Tom, was wonderful with the mules. Overall, a wonderful team and experience, and I would love to join another SMT trip! read more

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My intention when deciding to go with SMC to summit Mt. Whitney was to enjoy the trip. Disappointing is the word that aptly describes my recent experience with Sierra Mountain Center. What was presented as a "vacation" with the ability to bring some of the "comforts of home" turned out to be more work than expected. Seven days hiking in the backcountry is work enough, however, with only one guide to guide, act as the promised 'naturalist,' cook two meals a day, and set up/break down the camp and kitchen every day, it was all hands on deck! Every hiker needed to pitch in the set-up, take-down, water-fetching, and kitchen-duty to make it work. The extra hours put in a camp set-up/take-down left little time to "enjoy" the experience. read more

AAIRE 1 course with Ryan & Mike. Steve from the eastern sierra avalanche center also joined on the field days. Excellent course. One classroom day, two field days in Mammoth area. It's a lot of information in 3 days, but I thought they handled it well. Very interesting to see the guide's ESAC observation submissions from the field days. That really helped tie it together. SMC's course was priced between SMI & SMG's. read more

I took the Snow Travel Skills and River Crossing Skills courses in advance of an upcoming PCT attempt. Both provided me with valuable information and practice in snow travel, ice axe use and river crossing techniques. The client-to-instructor level was appropriately low for the skills taught (6:1 and 2:1), the instruction was clear and practical, there was apple time allowed for student practice, questions and instructor feedback, and the instructor (Larry Gumina) was knowledgeable and engaging. Both courses were definitely worth the time and money spent and will be very helpful in my negotiating the Sierra Nevada in a high snow year. Also, the support staff (office manager Emma Gasman) was very helpful and responsive with administrative matters. I fully recommend SMC and will return for other services. read more

My husband and I so enjoyed Half Dome cables with SMC that we decided to extend our 2nd outdoor adventures to hiking from Mammoth to Yosemite, 50 miles. To say that the trip was perfect, would be an understatement. Our guide, Larry, was beyond excellent making sure that we had plenty of water stops and pointing out interesting peaks, flowers and animals along the way. We never felt rushed or pushed though the hiking was challenging. Our guide made sure we had plenty of filtered water, snacks and encouragement along the breathtaking views we hiked. I even had coffee delivered to our tent in the morning, doesn't get much better than that. Larry always asked if he could help us with our tents or anything else. He did a great job finding just the perfect campsite. Emma, in the office, was extremely responsive and went above and beyond to return calls quickly and offer advice when asked. We will continue to adventure with SMC for our future adventures including the JMT trail next year. I would highly recommend using SMC for all your Sierra adventures. Just call Emma and she will help you find the perfect adventure for you and your family. read more

Sierra Mountain Center - Climbing Near Me - Bishop, California

Anouk was an awesome guide! Not only did we complete the climb we intended to, but she set aside some time for skills building as well. Exactly what I was looking for. read more

August 2022 was my second adventure with SMC. This one included four 14rs in 2 days. My guide, Dave Stimson was fantastic. All the guides here are expert at their craft. It was exciting, fun and challenging. I felt very safe at all times. Their knowledge of the terrain, varied routes and plan flexibility are worth every penny. ​ read more

Unfortunately I won't be able to share an experience of any course or guided trip. I tore my patellar tendon over 2 weeks out from an AIARE Lvl1 course, emailed Emma asking what we could do and received: "Unfortunately, due to our cancellation policy (attached) we cannot give refunds for cancellations within 30 days of a trip. We have been holding your spot, and it is unlikely we can fill it at this time. We hope you understand!" I asked if I could apply my deposit to a future trip or any kind of discount to reschedule and same response. I understand as a small business you need to protect yourself, but at this point what's the real cost? Is it really worth the $432.50 (difference after deposit) to lose a customer and any future business they would have brought? I would guess the net on a $550 course isn't much more than the deposit, so why not work with me on scheduling another course? You would have made more money and kept a customer. read more

I just returned from the cottonwood pass/whitney summit 6 day/5 night trip and it was incredible. the pre trip info and prep through connie in the office was always super. our guide was outstanding and was spot on with individual needs and concerns. she was so in touch with everything - very impressive. meals were outstanding. support, clarity, plans, directions, campsites, everything - so well managed. very, very impressive. thank you for helping make my dream a reality. i will recommend SMC for years to come. if you want to summit whitney but also enjoy the beauty of scenery and serenity and solitude of the wilderness - this is your trip. they are fantastic. nothing was a disappointment. it was incredible. read more

We did the trad multi pitch weekend and it was a great! Our guide, Dakota, was so knowledgeable and really made the weekend geared towards what we wanted to get out of it. For us, we wanted a more instructional weekend and we were able to climb two multi pitch routes with plenty of guidance and learning as well as putting what we learned to practice. After the climbs, Dakota also gave us ground school lessons showing us different rigs we could set up. Overall, a great informative weekend with awesome climbing! read more

I met up with my guide, Lauren, on the morning of Saturday, September 21, 2019. We went out a short drive to a crag near Bishop to do a multi-pitch route. I was looking to get some professional guidance on safety and multi-pitch basics like anchor building. The route was a 5.7 slab/crack line which I think was a good spot to learn. Lauren was super patient and encouraging, and all around a pleasure to climb with. We used many climbing techniques on the route, including bolted stations, placing and cleaning active/passive protection and of course belaying. I had a fun day out and will use them again for a subsequent climbing adventure. read more

Trip of a lifetime with SMC! We trekked 8 days from Mammoth to Yosemite with our excellent guides, Paloma and Dave. They were knowledgeable, prepared and super fun to be with for the duration of the adventure! read more

4th guided trip, this one East Buttress Whitney and Fishhook on Mt. Russell last week. All 5 star trips, so that makes it 20 STARS for Sierra Mountain Center. Have used 3 different guides, they're all favorites. Very professional, always looking out for our best interest. Get out there and push yourself, you can do it! read more

My friend and I contacted Sierra Mountain Center for a Mt. Whitney winter climb. The dates we wanted were fully booked but they were able to add one more guide so that we could make that expedition. Emma was the office manager we communicated with, she was amazing, very responsive and professional. Due to new professional opportunities we couldn't make the expedition, Emma was very understanding and willing to help us (no booking had made). We hope that we get the chance to work with Sierra Mountain Center in the future. Emma was great to work with, thank you Emma! read more

Just returned from a guided hike from Mammoth to Yosemite Valley. It was six days which resulted in a wonderful pace. Total of 3 hikers. Our guide, Tyler was a master at managing the hike and cooking the meals. He was very accommodating and highly informative. He was very organized and kept the hike manageable and comfortable. He found the very best level campsites along the way. The whole experience from registration to transportation back to Mammoth was so well organized. Can't say enough or how impressed I am with Sierra Mountain Center. read more

"We are running a business here." My boyfriend and I were signed up and had paid for the course when he had to be admitted to the hospital just days before the course. I called every day but they're not in the office at all from Fri-Sun and no one checks the messages, which I left every day. On that Mon no one called me back so I called them again, spoke with someone and explained the situation, she said she'd look into it and call me back. As it was approaching the end of the day (our course was the next day, he was still in the hospital) and I had not received a call back, I called them again, spoke to someone else who clearly knew of the situation, wouldn't give us any refund, wouldn't keep the money and reschedule us, and told me "We are running a business here.". Copy that. read more

My buddy and I just completed the N. Ridge of Lone Pine Peak with SMC. Tyler was a great guide and we had a great trip. He was mature, well-spoken, and very experienced. We enjoyed climbing with him, but also camping and hanging out. Pre-trip communication with the office staff was great. They responded quickly and were flexible and accommodating. I highly recommend SMC. read more

This trip was amazing! SP and Jessica were such great guides and they made this experience even more memorable. It was a challenging hike and also adventuous! I highly recommend using Sierra Mountain Center for your trips. I will plan on signing up for the JMT trip soon. read more

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Fantastic guided 4 day backpack with two friends out of Silver lake this week. Michelle W, our guide, kept us all safe with Covid-19 protocols that did not detract a bit from the amazing experience of backpacking the loop from Silver Lake, up Rush Creek Trail to Gem, 1000 Island, Garnet, Clark and other lakes - then back via Spooky Meadows. Her extensive experience in the backcountry and shared nature knowledge enhanced the trip in every way. Even the food, with her added boosters, was good! We can't wait to return for another adventure. read more

The guide was great, but I was overcharged and mislead by the office staff. I feel ripped off.

My friend and I booked a Whitney in the Winter trip with SMC. While we couldn't make it to the top, we had an incredible experience. Our guide was professional, funny, and an awesome chef. He made our experience enjoyable and pleasant. SMC's administrative staff was very much on top of their game during the trip preparation. They sent us regular reminders, checked in to see what gear we needed to rent, and walked us through a difficult expedition planning process that would have taken us months to do on our own. Their prices are competitive and we'd use them again without question! read more

I just got back from a 3 day trek up Mt. Whitney on the Mountaineer's Route with the Sierra Mountain Center. These guys are great. SP is a knowledgeable and experienced guide who wants to make sure that everyone has a great time while doing his best to provide for everyone's safety. They do a great job in handling the equipment and travel logistics for the whole group. I will definitely be using SMC again for my future trips in the Sierras. read more

I did the 4-day Mammoth to Tuolumne JMT trip last week, and it was an incredible experience. Our SMC guide provided four things that were valuable: safety, wayfinding, food planning and food prep. My friends and I probably could have handled these things on our own, but relying on SMC saved us a lot of planning/prep time and made the hike very, very relaxing. We were able to focus on the astounding scenery and the physical challenge. Our guide, Jarret, was very competent, an excellent cook, and was a joy to hike with. He was easygoing but highly organized down to small details. The food was delicious! Our only complaint was the mosquitos- hikers need to be ready for them - clothing and repellant. read more

This is an amazing establishment run by really great people. I highly recommend Sierra Mountain Center.

I just got back from a trip with SMC. My friends and I did the 3 day climb up Mt. Whitney (Mountaineer's route). SP and Jess were our guides and they were both great. They were very organized and on top of things. They were both very pleasant to be around and very helpful. Connie was very helpful during the trip preparation. With that said, for all you novices out there doing the Mountaineers route... get poles! I will use SMC the next time I'm in the Sierra's for sure. read more

I did the JMT hike in 2014 with SMC, and just yesterday completed the shorter (4 days/3 nights) trek from Agnew Meadows to Tuolumne Meadows. Calvin, the guide, did a great job and the group's vibe was positive throughout. I enjoyed seeing Thousand Island Lake again, as well as a section of the trail I didn't get to hike in 2014. Had an awesome time! read more

I did the John Muir Trail trip last summer with this company. Wow, what a mistake!! I have been on group backpacking trips before and SMC was a complete disappointment!!! The main guide was very young, condescending to all of us, started a large fuel fire with a stove in dangerously dry conditions, lied to the US Forest Service about having campfires, provided low calorie meals and most of us were quite hungry the entire trip, etc. And that's the tip of the iceberg. Why was this guy put in charge?? The entire group was very frustrated with this trip. I feel like I was ripped off and wish I had booked with a different company! The owner SP was clueless in handling this disaster of a trip afterwards. Stay away from SMC!!!! read more

You're in good hands with SMC, in particular SP and Jess! Recently summited Mt. Whitney via the Mountaineers Route with breathtaking views, good meals with quality gear for overnight camping around the beautiful Upper Boy Scout Lake, without the traffic of the main trail. SMC provided experienced and friendly guides that accommodated our group of hikers with a wide-range of experience and fitness levels, enabling everyone to summit the spectacular Mt. Whitney! It is a challenging trail but equally rewarding! Well worth the money for the permits, gear, food and company! Add it to your bucket list! read more

Couldn't be happier with my experience with Sierra Mountain Center over the past year. After a sketchy experience trying to learn winter mountaineering on my own, I decided to invest some time and money in learning how to do things the correct way. It was the right choice, and SMC was the right place to go. I started with their Intermediate Winter Mountaineering course, then did the AIARE 1 course. After that I put the skills that I learned into practice on a custom "Mini Mountain Camp" adventure, in which senior guide Ryan H. took me out on one of the best outdoor weekends of my life. We climbed Mount Abbot and Treasure Peak, and snow-camped near the base of Mount Abbot. With Ryan I was able to push my limits in a guided scenario, challenging myself to high degree without having to worry about dying, and also working with SMC before/after to establish a curriculum for moving forward - objectives I could do on my own between guided trips to acquire more skills before investing in another, even more challenging guided adventure. I'll definitely be calling SMC again this winter when the snow hits to keep building my winter mountaineering skill-set in the Sierra, as build toward my long-term objectives like Rainier and Denali. read more