Reviews of Yamnuska Mountain Adventures (Driving School)

Gerald Outdoors

If I could, I would give them 10 stars. I have been going out with them for 5 years (at least 3 times a year) and I can't speak highly enough of them. Their organization is very well prepared and in the details. I have always been safe in the mountains and I have learnt a lot. Their guides are professionals and very friendly. I have been taking my kids with them (that is how much I trust them) and I will keep doing so. If you need a guide in the Rockies, give them a call.

D Askey

What an awesome experience. My son and I went on the half day introduction to ice climbing with Patrick as our guide and absolutely loved it. Patrick took many, many photos for us (using our phones) and made us feel safe and certain the whole time. I will be booking another trip with them later this winter: my son made it to the top but I just did not quite have it in me - it is now on my bucket list to conquer that climb :) Highly recommended.

Kenta 403

AST 1 Class was fine and informative but when getting to the field day the roads were dangerous and my car veered into a snow bank. When I asked if I could join a later class, I was told I would have to pay for the the full price of the course again and wait until April. No help was offered at and it became clear they weren't really concerned with my experience but just wanted more money out of me. On top of this the course was run with nearly 50 people total, two classes put together so its difficult to get focused instruction from the teachers. I'm sure they are knowledgeable but they are not given the best opportunity to teach. By the end of it I felt like I was just a number to them. Would have given them 0 stars honestly, but google only lets me go down to 1.

Don Cook

The instructors are excellent.

Carl Scott

I took the Trad Rock Leader course with the plus day. Unfortunately, I had a very bad experience. The ratio was 1 guide per 6 participant which I felt didn't allow me to have enough feedback. The anchor concepts (i.e. SERENE) were not reviewed before letting us try to build an anchor. I only had a chance to build two of them and none of which were reviewed by the guide. I was meant to learn how to lead on trad and never got the opportunity to do so during the course. Finally, I would advise anyone not to take the plus day. It is very expensive and you don't learn any of the multipitch systems. The guide leads you up the multipitch the whole way up without you having the opportunity to lead any of them. Also, we multipitched a sport route and not a trad route.

tyler william veness

Took their AST 1 course and really appreciated the skill level and experience of the instructors. The classroom portion (Grant) was informative and well-paced while the on-snow session (Don) mixed specific content with a lot of small bits of advice and experience. Went out the next day on a plus one day of backcountry skiing and experienced a shockingly good powder day with Nathan, a really great guide. Their office communication could be more responsive, but in the end all the logistics were clear and worked out exactly as they set them up, so that's a mild criticism. Will recommend their training to anyone.

Connor Hutchings

I was fortunate enough to participate in the Introduction to Mountaineering course offered here, and other than being the best week of my life, it was also a very informative and immersive experience into the world of mountaineering. The food was excellent, the instructors knew pretty much anything you asked them and more. My confidence in glacier travel, rope work, and all around mountaineering improve significantly. I will be taking more courses through this company and cannot wait to do so! Seriously, if you have experience with multi-day hikes, or scrambling back to back days, not only will this be a breeze for you physically, but you'll come away with the experience of a lifetime, and a few good stories to tell.

Marty Avery

Yamnuska Mountain Adventures was recommended to me by several people last year when I was looking for a reputable and safe guiding company in the Rockies. My husband and I completely lucked out with alpine and climbing guide Carl Johnston, who taught us in the Rock Climbing level 2 course in June 2019. We have since hired him privately for a multi-pitch climbing day, a snow and ice long weekend course, and most recently for trad climbing and rope rescue skills. As a physician who is training in Mountain Medicine/Search & Rescue, I feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to learn from Carl. Due to his extensive experience in guiding, as well as SAR, he has been able to tailor our time together to really maximize on my professional as well as recreational objectives. The wilderness can throw curve balls at you but at least with Carl I know he'll be as safe as possible and we'll have a damn good time. :) Everyone I have dealt with through Yam has been professional, helpful, prompt with communication, and well organized. Can't wait for our next adventure!

Erin MacCormick

One of the better guide experiences we've had. Carl was a great guide and very patient with my family as he took us through two days of ice climbing - with just the right mix of climbing and instruction and working around our various needs. As with any guide shop, a lot of it comes down to the guide you get paired with, but the entire operation seems well run. We'd definitely re-book with them if we need a guide on a future Canmore/Banff area visit.

michael weidel

I took AST 1 through this company. I had an amazing instructor and left the weekend with so much new knowledge about snow, avalanches, and backcountry safety. Classroom and field day were equally great. Well worth the cost of the class.

Greg Sylvestre

Just finished a 2-day private guided climb of Boundary Peak and Mt Athabasca in Jasper. Absolutely outstanding experience with Yamnuska Mountain Adventures from start to finish. The office staff were organized and responsive to my emails, they worked with us to customize the trip, then organized the itinerary and the guide logistics to perfection. Our guide was Chhering Sherpa and he was extremely professional and well prepared. With many Everest Summits under his belt we knew we were in good hands. We learned a lot, pushed ourselves hard and had a very memorable adventure in the Rockies. We'll climb with Yamnuska again for sure. July 2020

Dominique Trudel

Awesome mountaineering school & guide service -- Yamnuska's guides are extremely competent, super friendly, and great teachers. They have their own kitchen to prepare yummy and well-nourishing food for backcountry trips.

Erin Sullivan

I did a five day rock climbing course with Paul and Sean, who were very patient and knowledgeable. Thank you for the great experience.

Ryan Burke

Complete the avalanche AST-1 course. Fantastic experience. Would highly recommend this company if you are considering the course. Good classroom facilities and great instructors.

Norman Wiebe

I recently completed the AST2 Avalanche Safety course in Rogers Pass. The Guide, James Blench is hugely knowledgeable and highly professional. This is definitely a worthwhile course for any keen backcountry skier.

Mehdi Mountassir

Yamnuska is a great guiding service - recently completed a third undertaking of AST-2 with Yam, and the guide was awesome. Learned a lot, played in the snow a lot, and made it home safe and sound - wonderful guiding company with the best guides. Can't say enough about them!

Fred Drury

Great ast1 course

Vacate Ssyzr

Great guides and informative, interesting courses.

Justin Aniballi

Have been guided by Yam about 6 times now, and I keep coming back. Always professional, motivating and access to some of the greatest peaks in North America. There's no doubt these guides are world class.

Hein Roehrig

Top knotch instructors and a very customer focused organization. Highly recommend!

Derek Whitehouse-Strong

My son & I took AST 1 with Alison just this past wknd. What a great experience!! Alison was a very friendly & knowledgeable instructor. We will definitely request her again for future adventures with Yamnuska!

Guide 2.0 Human Powered Adventures

What an incredible hiking trip YAM pulled together for us. 4 days in the high alpine near the Campbell Ice Field, including hikes on glaciers. Getting 8 kids ages 4 to 11 up on mountain summits and on a ice field is not an easy feat! A very memorable experience, made even better by the guiding and food services teams provided by YAM. Friendly, knowledgeable, professional... I would use them again in a heartbeat.

Jack

Six awesome backcountry skiing outings so far this season. Loving it!

Erika Foster

Great Instructors, Loads of experience, Would love to use them again.

Matthew Bafford

Loved climbing with this team; did some private ice climbing and had a great time and learned a ton - worth every penny.

Nina Karpoff

My boyfriend and I participated in the snow and ice long weekend and found it enjoyable, informative and challenging. The instuctors Pat, Darrin and Cory were great (and Magda and Louis); very competent and seemed to try to get to know each participant.

Sheena Oman

This is a long-overdue review for my experience over the past year with Yamnuska. I found them on the internet and signed up for the 5-day Ice Evolution course back in January of 2020. I had no rock or ice climbing experience but had done some non-technical mountaineering. The experience was outstanding! The instructor was James Walter and I cannot say enough about him as a guide, a climber, and person. There were 3 total clients, including me, and James for the 5 days of the course. Great group size with lots of opportunity for 1on1 feedback. With zero experience, by the end of the course I could climb WI4 ice. On the multipitch day of the course, we went to the weeping wall up the icefields parkway and I got to do a 180M WI3 multipitch called Sniveling Gulley with the legendary Barry Blanchard – once in a lifetime experience. After the course, I was so impressed with James that I started climbing with him 1on1. We did around a dozen ice and rock climbs together over this year, and I will write a separate review for that, but needless to say he is just excellent. Regarding Yam in general, I went on to take the basic Avalanche safety course and in addition to multiple guided climbs with James, I also did some back country skiing with Darcy Chilton, who’s a great guy and also a super competent skier and teacher, and a lot of fun to out with as well. I would highly recommend Darcy as a guide if you want to go backcountry and do some touring. With this many bookings over the year, of course issues will come up. I had to change the schedule a few times, and conditions don’t always cooperate. What I can say is that Yam was always 100% professional and accommodating. This is a high quality outfit and they run their business well and with customer service in mind. Communication was always timely, direct and clear. Any issues that arose were handled appropriately. This is a quality shop and the customer experience shows that. Everyone I interacted with at Yam was professional and the guides are top notch in terms of skill, knowledge, and especially safety. These people take their jobs very seriously – it’s a way of life for many of them – and I always felt incredibly safe with all of the guides I worked with this year. This is a company I will be going back to for many years and you absolutely cannot go wrong, whatever adventure you are looking for. One thing to note is that some of their courses are only available if they get a certain minimum number of participants, so I would encourage you to call or email the if there is something on their calendar you are interested in just to confirm it is happening. So, if you are thinking about doing any sort of outdoor adventure in the Canadian Rockies, I would 100% recommend Yamnuska – you can’t go wrong. And if you are looking for an ice or rock climbing guide, do yourself a favor and request James Walter.

Helen Madsen

Definitely a fun experience! Our guide, Larry, was awesome. Very informative and answered all of our questions. All the gear needed for climbing is provided. We headed to King's Cove, it was about a 30 minute hike til Larry found a suitable climbing area. We're both rookie climbers but Larry pushed us to try our hardest and we both made it to the top. It was awesome and would recommend everyone to try it at least once

David T

I have done a number of mountaineering courses and programs including private guiding with Yam over the last year and a half. I have been beyond impressed with the quality of the guides (I have been with 7 different guides) and their commitment to our safety and learning. The guides are absolutely world class! Every program I have done with them has been a trip of a lifetime. The courses are packed with information (but is taught in sections so it is not overwhelming) and the guides have the answers to any questions you might have. I have learned so much in such a short period of time. I have gained so much confidence in the mountains and know that I have been taught the best practices. The guides often ask the students if they want to take the lead on summit days. Walking through trip planning, route finding, hazard mitigation and risk management with a guide is absolutely an invaluable experience. One of the most incredible days I have ever had was when our guide asked if I wanted to lead our Intro to Ski Mountaineering group up the steep snow section to the summit of St. Nickolas Peak! I smiled so much that day that I got a sunburn on the roof of my mouth from the sun's reflection off the Wapta Icefield! What a day! Rod and his team do a fantastic job in the kitchen making sure we are all well fueled up for big days in the mountains. Keep the fresh food coming! Even the Pine Martens love Rod’s food... I did a number of private programs during COVID and the guides followed social distancing when possible and we put on our masks when it was not possible (like at a belay stance when rock climbing). COVID adds another layer for the guides to consider on top of the usual hazard and risk management in the mountains and I was very impressed with their commitment to keeping us safe. I cannot recommend Yam enough! Thanks to the entire Yam team for everything over the last year and a half! I will be back for more this winter! (Most of the photos are pre COVID)

Edward Parker

Went on a couple avi courses. Instructors were really abrupt and rude. Especially on the AVI 2 course. One person was lagging behind a bit and the instructor was really rude to this person telling them whilst laughing "if you fall behind, you get left behind". Unacceptable. I will never be back.

Brandon Krulick

I just went through the AST 1 program with the plus day and I have nothing but good things to say about my experience. From the course day to the in the field training I felt the instrutors were knowledfable and help me gain a good understanding of winter in the mountains. I was so happy with the plus day. I was lookong for a challenging ski day where I cluld work with what I learned and it more then delivered. I will definitely be back for some more guided training and guided adventures!

R W

My first experience with Yam was in the summer of 1999 when I took their intro to mountaineering course. It was such a great introduction that I ended up moving to Canmore! Took some more courses with them and I'm glad to say their level of professionalism and expertise hasn't changed. Occasionally bump into their guides at huts or at a crag and they are the friendliest people around. A great asset to the town of Canmore.

Elise Sterck

I took AST 1 through this company. I had an amazing instructor and left the weekend with so much new knowledge about snow, avalanches, and backcountry safety. Classroom and field day were equally great. Well worth the cost of the class and I will be back for AST 2 (one day!)

Nate W

Took Ice evolution course, one word, stunning. Professional and passionate guides, various climbing locations every day. The course was worth every penny. Definitely coming back for AST and Ice leading.

Alberta Outdoor Rec

Beautiful sights. Awsome guides. Cannot wait to go again and again.

Angus Campbell

Took the Outdoor Rock intro and had a blast! The instructors set everyone up for success and safety, so we all had fun. Beautiful weekend in the mountains with great guides!. Highly recommend for anyone wanting to learn the right foundations for climbing. I'm hooked!

Clayton Knox

Exceptional and passionate instructors. Took the AST1 course. I would definitely go through Yamnuska again for future courses.

ro55 g

TAKE YOUR BUSINESS ELSEWHERE. Though I did not hire a guide through Yamnuska, I experienced a level of unprofessionalism that I’ve never seen in the mountains before. My boyfriend and I came up behind guide Carl Johnston and his client on a very popular 13 pitch climb right outside of Canmore. Carl was immediately rude to us and made it clear that he was very annoyed that we were on the same route. We slowed our pace and stayed behind the party, dealing with them kicking rocks down at us without warning or apology on multiple occasions. We eventually caught up to them again (they were moving incredibly slowly) and experienced one massive bout of volleyball sized rockfall that the client kicked out of a chimney pitch (I do not blame the client for this. She was obviously not a strong climber and she was struggling for about thirty minutes to retrieve a piece of gear that had gotten stuck on the pitch. During her very audible struggle, Carl did not offer her any advice on how to retrieve the gear correctly and should have just told her to leave it for him to retrieve. He eventually had to retrieve the gear himself anyways, so he shouldn’t have let his client go through such a long struggle that resulted in her getting sloppy and kicking rocks everywhere.) One of these massive stones hit me in the back of the neck causing me excruciating pain that lingered for days after. I yelled out in pain, and in following interactions, asked the guide if he or the client was going to apologize. He told me that I shoudn’t have been on a route below him in the first place and blamed the rockfall on the “loose Canadian rock.” I asked the guide twice which guide company he worked for. He ignored the question completely. If he were doing nothing wrong, he would have had no reason to withhold that information from me, but instead I had to do my own online research later to find out who he worked for. 1) I was absolutely shocked that the party did not take responsibility and apologize for nearly killing someone. That’s like hitting a pedestrian at a crosswalk with your car and saying that they shouldn’t have been crossing the street in an area where you were driving. And 2). Carl is teaching clients incorrect climbing ethics with the attitude that if you injure someone in the mountains, it’s their fault. As stated in the guidebook Canadian Rock: Select Climbs, “Learn to read stone, how to work loose holds so they remain in place. And ALWAYS take care for those below.” I never received an apology from Carl, the client, or Yamnuska (who I met with in person to share about the incident). All in all, I’ve never been so poorly treated as a human (in or out of the mountains). EDIT: Yamnuska is lying when they say they apologized during my visit to their office. Not only did I not receive an apology (or even any concern when I mentioned my injury), but the manager Jesse clearly was not taking our meeting seriously as he had actually admitted (upon my arrival) to forgetting about setting up our meeting in the first place. Just because their policy apparently restricts climbing under other parties doesn't mean that the rest of the world goes by the same policy. You still have to treat others in the mountains with respect and take responsibility for your actions when something goes wrong. Poor form Yamnuska. Your willingness to lie over the internet is proof that you only care about protecting your reputation.

Lindsay M

As a climber of 20 years, I WOULD NEVER recommend this company to a friend. We had the serious mis-pleasure of climbing on the same route as this guiding company on 7/21/19 on the East End of Rundle: on the popular trade route “Generosity.” However, the guide Carl Johnston was anything but generous. 1st interaction pitch 3: Guide berates me in front of his client for climbing on the same route as him, creating a culture of entitlement and ownership attitude on a public space. I have encountered egotistical guides with “I own this mountain” attitudes before, but this was the most blatant display I have seen to date. I can only assume this attitude gave his client the impression that sloppy foot and hand placements we’re acceptable in loose terrain, as the next pitch up three softball sized rocks flew over our heads with no apology. 2nd interaction pitch 8: Client is put on a climb outside of her comfort zone by her guide and pulls on her first four pieces of gear. Later on same pitch client spends 30 minutes trying to get cam unstuck without any permission to proceed from guide. Client then maxed out and struggling dislodges five volleyball sized rocks onto us, with one of the countless smaller projectiles hitting my partner directly in the back of the neck causing injury. 3rd interaction: Guide Carl rappels down to work on stuck cam while knowing and ignoring the fact that his client may have seriously injured another member of the climbing community. We asked for an apology and his response is “well in 30 years of working in the Rockies, I have learned you are never supposed to climb below another party… these things happen in chimneys” No apology, no acceptance of putting others in danger, only finger pointing. Rockfall is one of the objective hazards of stepping on any climb, especially in the Canadian Rockies, but when I step onto a climb with that in mind I expect other parties to follow the rules of the road. Such as respecting the safety of those below them and exercising extreme caution and forethought when in a loose area. If a mistake then occurs, that party should then apologize as any decent human being would and do everything in their power to right the wrong or care for the party they injured. I believe this ethic should hold true for new climbers who are just starting, but especially so for professional guides. After the climb ended, we then contacted the company’s manager who passed along the same narrative that we shouldn’t have climbed beneath his guide and that it was basically our fault a boulder field of rocks showered down on us. He then gave me the advice to check with the local guidebook to see what they say about loose rock in this area. So I did and it stated “learn how to read stone, how to work loose holds so they remain in place. And always take care for those below.” And I couldn’t agree more, I just wish this companies safety policy felt the same way.

Gonzalo Garcia Guerra

A few ladies and i did an outdoor climbing course last week. Our instructor, Richard, was very knowledgeable and a good teacher. He was patient and a pleasure to be with for the day. It was great to be able to learn from a climber with years of experience in the Rockies as well as elsewhere. I would use Yamnuska again and recommend it.

Lindsay Nyholt

I was with Angus C (review found below) when we were on our way to the field day at Bow summit for our day of field training for the AST 1 course. We got stuck in a snowbank on the icefield Parkway (it snowed a lot the night before and the roads weren't plowed) and were unable to make it to the course on time, even though we gave ourselves 20 minutes extra leaving Lake Louise because we figured the roads would be bad. After getting out of the snowbank we continued to bow summit access road and got there around 9:15. We didn't see any staff from Yamnuska, so figuring we missed the window, we turned around back to lake Louise. After contacting Yamnuska to inquire about a make up day, we were told we could come do the field day for an additional $150 (the course is $220 for the two days). I find it outrageous that we have to almost 3/4 of the price for this field day, especially when we're driving ourselves, we have all of our own gear, bring our own food,water etc. If it was in fact given to us at a "discounted rate" l, I might have considered going back for the field day. I agree with Angus that the customer service is dissapointing and I find this to be an absolute money grab. After living in the Bow Valley for over 8 years, i have referred many customers to this company. That ends now. Not to mention that at this point, I would happily spend 220 at a different company to do the course over again, rather than throw any more money at this company.

Mike L

The guides that worked with us today are amazing. Entirety patient and professional, these guides made our day. Through constant encouragement and help, our entire group had an amazing time.

Megan Hilstad

I've been with Yamnuska twice, once for their intro to Youth Mountaineering course, and with their Yoho peaks trip. Both times have been extremely fun and educational, and I would recommend them to anyone. The guides are professional and easy to learn from, and the food is awesome. I will be back in the future, and can't wait to book another course.