Majestic Peaks of the Sierra Nevada

My experience with SMI on a planned Palisades Traverse was a mixed bag, featuring an exceptional guide on the mountain but frustrating communication and logistical management from the owner, Kurt and his team.I originally signed up for a 3-day solo Palisades traverse climb after the company offered it as an option and reading all the excellent reviews. However, after I had already paid, Kurt returned from a trip and stated that the itinerary was too ambitious and not possible, suggesting an alternative instead: 3 peaks on day 2, and 2 on day 3. Since I had my heart set on finishing the last 5 14ers on this trip, I agreed to the new option. On the positive side, our guide Ben was fantastic—knowledgeable, professional, and great to climb with. Unfortunately, due to a longer day than expected on Day 2(north pal, polemonium peak, and sill), I called off the last two peaks (thunderbolt and starlight ) for another time to be fair to Ben. After returning, I contacted Kurt to express that I felt misled regarding the feasibility of the original booking and how the situation was handled. Kurt offered a return trip to bag the two peaks I missed, but when I followed up to coordinate, I received zero reply. While Ben's guiding made the trip worthwhile, the poor trip planning, shifting expectations after payment, and subsequent ghosting on customer service leave a lot to be desired. I'd hesitate before booking with SMI again. Or maybe, I should have asked for a refund and went with another company once I learned that the original trip I was sold for was actually not available.

Very accommodating to my schedule. Experienced, new the route, so spent zero ti.e route finding. And descended a different route down.

Trevor and Taylor were great!!! Very experienced very calm and very nice to all the team. It was a pleito have them as out guides!!! We will definitely be back to sierra!!

Amazing experience summiting Mount Whitney via the Mountaineers Route with Sierra Mountaineering International! Kurt was an exceptional guide- knowledgeable, professional, and fun to climb with. He made the entire experience feel safe and well-supported while also teaching us new skills along the way. Highly recommend SMI.

I had an amazing three-day "Introduction to Mountaineering" workshop with Kurt and SMI. Couldn't be happier with the experience and how much I learned. A great entry into the exciting world of mountaineering. Even though the weather in Mammoth Lakes wasn't favorable to us that weekend (a warm storm rolled in, creating wet, silty snow) and we had a limited amount of snow at lower altitude, Kurt kept the workshop rich and engaging throughout. He's a friendly, patient, yet thorough teacher and an all-around fun guy to hang out with for three days. He has more than thirty years of experience in the mountains (including three Everest ascents) and really knows his stuff. We ran through everything I was hoping to learn: snow camping, rope traveling, self-arresting, managing the technical gear, crampons, ascender, learning the essential knots, and many more. I also really enjoyed my three fellow students, who shared my enthusiasm for those new skills. I made new friends and look forward to my next outing with SMI, probably the Mount Whitney Mountaineers Route, in winter. SMI is less than five hours from Los Angeles and will be my go-to outfit for all future mountaineering classes and Sierra expeditions.