Recent Testimonials from our Guests
"Mrs. Cook,
I met your husband; sorry that I missed you during our visit. Mr. Gary took Lauren out for rock climbing, and he was perfect!!
Please let him know that he is always welcome to stay with us if ever he is in Houston. He is now family! (Seriously!) We are sincerely grateful to Mr. Gary for all that he did. Our home is his home."
P.S. Just to let you know; you guys came highly recommended by several sources. So much so, that no other business was even mentioned. Your professionalism in the business, community service, quality of service, and safety standards were all highly regarded. Thanks for setting the standards higher!"
W. Doucet, 2011 Family Rock Program
"Just wanted to drop you a line and express how much I thoroughly enjoyed your ice class. It was fun to spend sometime with a climber of Andres ability and he was a terrific instructor an a joy to be around. You have a great business and I will be back again. Thanks again for a thoroughly enjoyable two days."
Scott Morgan, 2011 Basic Ice Course
"Hi Clint -
We very much enjoyed our time in Ouray! The private 2-day climbing program was impressive. Our guide, Mark, was/is an excellent teacher. He took the time to build the skills for each of us, listened to the concerns and course corrected to ensure we were achieving what we wanted to achieve. Basically, Mark rocks! We look forward to coming back. Have a great day,"
J.Bowers & J. Bell 2011 Private Ice Program
"Chrissy and I had the best time today with Dawn! What an incredible sport - I'm seriously considering coming back out for a chicks with picks weekend to learn more basics and try some more difficult routes. We couldn't have been happier with our experience and our awesome guide! Thanks again for accommodating for us on such short notice. Hopefully I'll be able to come back again this winter!"
Trisha Hartsell, 2011 Private Ice Program
"Clint,
We didn't meet anymore after our climb in Silverton, but we would like to provide you with our appreciation of our two-days climbing with Mark.
We really liked his approach during the first day, multiple short climbs focusing on technical aspects, excellent supportive comments and advice from Mark. For us a good refresher. Second day we experienced a great climb in Silverton and, indeed, we were pushing our limits. So, ice-climbing in Ouray turned out as we were hoping for.
All the best during the ice-festival and best regards to Mark,"
Eva & Peter, 2011 Private Ice Program
"I just wanted to email and say that I had an amazing time at the ouray ice festival and I really appreciate the guidance of Danika and Eitan during the intermediate clinic on saturday."
E. Ehrlich, 2011 Ouray Ice Festival Clinics
Dear San Juan Mountain Guides:
I was recently in Ouray for my first time as part of a Mazama group from Portland Oregon. I guess the Mazamas have used your service for quite a few years in Ouray and everyone highly recommended participating in the "guide day" during our trip.
I am a beginner to ice climbing. My guide was absolutely fabulous. He had a very patient and very calm demeanor that really helped me focus in on the skills that he was trying to teach. I appreciated the time he spent going over anchors in addition to the time spent on climbing instruction. By the end of the day I completed a route that I had flailed (and failed) on day before.
Our group determined that I definitely qualified for a "most improved climber" award and it was really all thanks to our guide's instruction.
So, I just wanted to say thank you for your wonderful service. Everyone else in our group spoke very highly of their guides as well. I'll definitely be coming back next year.
S. Bradham, Portland, OR
"Dear Clint:
I wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed climbing with Pat on Saturday and Sunday. We got a lot of hard routes in on both of those half-days, and I had a ball. More importantly, Pat is a great guy; I really enjoyed our time together.
I hope that I might be able to get out to Ouray again before ice season ends. If so, I'll definitely get in touch with you. Working with the local experts really makes a difference. Thanks again for everything!"
N. Subashi 2011 Private Ice Program
"Clint,
I just wanted to thank you for taking me on short notice. I did my first ice climbing with Gary Ryan last Friday and he did a wonderful job. He was especially careful to show me the differences in technique from rock to ice climbing. He was a great teacher and I enjoyed the morning very much.
I will look you guys up in the future when I am back out in Ouray."
T. Vern, 2011 Private Ice Program
"This is late BUT I wanted to share that Danika was amazing- my 15 year old daughter and I were skiing in Telluride two weeks ago and visiting friends in Norwood and she said " Dad , can we go ice climbing?"
Well, how could I say no? It was a transformative experience and we are now hooked! We hope to head up to North Conway next winter for more and you can bet your crampons we will be back to climb with San Juan Mountain Guides again!
Danika was especially amazing, and particularly for my daughter- there was great energy being sent our way and I would recommend Danika and SJ anytime!
All the best,
M. Green 2011 Private Ice Program
"Clint & Ryan
Thank you for arranging Mark as our guide for lead ice climbing. The experience was awesome. I never expected to do two back country leads, especially my dream climb Stairway to Heaven. I hope to be back next year with you guys for a couple more lead climbing objectives.
Thanks."
J. Tebbe 2011 Private Ice Program
"Clint:
I just wanted to drop you a note to say that I had a great time with Eitan. He went out of his way to make sure that I learned a lot, had a great time, and had a chance to really push myself. He was very knowledgeable, professional, and supportive. I hope to be back in the future, maybe with my kids."
Matt L. 2011 Private Ice Program
"Dear Ryan,
We had a great time with Danika last Saturday. It was perfect for our girls to be matched with her. She did a wonderful job and we really appreciate the great instruction and positive attitude your guide service exhibits. We also appreciate you giving us such a great deal and we look forward to coming up next season."
R. George. 2011 Custom Group Ice Climbing Program
"Hey Ryan and Clint,
Matthew and I had a great time backpacking and climbing. We/you exceeded our expectations by one mountain. Both Bob and Gary were great. As in the past, each guide was more than qualified and great to be with. I expect we will be back next summer for more training. If we come to ski Telluride this winter will drop by for some ice climbing too. Thanks and very best regards,"
Matthew and Greg, 2011 Summer Mountaineering Program
"Hi Dawn, Just wanted to let you know how much we appreciated your help in Ouray last Saturday morning in the Schoolroom. You let us jump on one of your anchors to climb the Pillar, and then helped us with our setup. My partner was able to climb the pillar, which he was very happy about. I wanted to let you know that your help did not go unnoticed. When I thanked you, you just said, “good karma.” That’s is one of the things that I like about the climbing community. Thanks for being such a great example. Hope to see you in the mountains. Best regards,"
L. Stephens, Orem, Utah. Ouray Ice Park Climber
