Since 2004, I have safely led thousands of people through mountain wilderness. Mountain Councell is my personal enterprise designed to coordinate directly with you, helping you to realize climbing and skiing dreams.

What I Offer

  • Private, fully customizable trips for rock, ice, alpine and ski

  • A low-ratio (1:1 or 1:2) experience for climbing trips while being able to accommodate higher-ratios as needed, such as for ski outings

  • Expeditions, both domestic and abroad

  • Fully-customizable skills training programs from how-to tips to requisite mountain skills to step-by-step training for expeditions

  • Two decades of personal and professional experience

  • Professional service and friendly guidance through each trip

  • High-end climbs to technical, ski-mountaineering descents

  • The possibility of making first ascents, exploring unclimbed ranges, mountains and cliff faces, exploring the unknown

  • Adventure, it's always an adventure

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Andrew Councell

I began climbing in 1998 along Colorado's Front Range and began guiding in 2004, both in Colorado and North Carolina. I'm a member of the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA), the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG) and am an IFMGA Certified Mountain Guide. Both American and Canadian in citzenship, I'm in the unique position to work legally in both countries. A long-time Colorado resident, I now live in Squamish, British Columbia, only a few minutes away from world-class climbing.

My love of climbing began with a broader love of the mountains, especially the mountains in winter. At 12 years old, I began snowboarding on the icy slopes of North Carolina's ski areas. When I was 15 my family moved to Colorado, my eyes were opened, my life was changed, and the rest is history. My love for the mountains has taken me all over the world: climbing and skiing in Alaska; mountaineering in Pakistan, Argentina, and Norway; and rock climbing all over North America, from Tennessee to California.

While my original love was for descending mountains on a snowboard, my appreciation grew to include ascending them as well. This has led me to ascents of long routes in Yosemite; overhanging sport crags in Red River, New River, and Obed River Gorges; run-out trad routes in North Carolina and Colorado; splitter cracks in Squamish and Indian Creek; and high-elevation bouldering and alpinism in Rocky Mountain National Park. High-altitude climbing isn't really my thing but I’ve summited Denali, climbed in the thin air of Pakistan's Hushe Valley, and guided Aconcagua's "False Polish Route."

I love pushing my personal limits in the mountains, whether it be on skis, in rock shoes, or with ice tools in hand. But my greater passion is found in guiding and teaching my guests, showing them what they are capable of and refining their abilities as well as showing the way up or down the mountains we work on. This often leads us into terrain beyond my guests' personal limits and into the places where real growth occurs.  In this pursuit, safety is my primary goal and I have a strong record to prove it.

The mountains where I spend my days offer something to everyone: magical backcountry skiing, classic ice routes, and simply amazing alpine rock climbing for all abilities. As an IFMGA Certified Mountain Guide, however, I'm able to guide my guests all over the world. Whatever your objective, whatever your passion, I hope you will find me a reliable partner, considerate guide, and dedicated friend along the way.

Elevation Outdoors article