We just finished our 4 hours with Cliff the instructor. We were a family of 5- 2 adults and 3 kids…read moreages 13,11,5 This was outstanding! Perfect balance of teaching and autonomy in a very positive manner! Patient and encouraging! We loved this experience and highly rec for all you future climbers! Cliff was amazing!

Thus is an amazing company and the guide Alan we had was knowledgeable, encouraging, and just a…read moregreat human being. This was a great adventure for me and my husband! I will definitely book again.

Depending on your experience level and head-space, this is either an extremely heady "hike" or an…read moreeasy climb. This is 99% a hike, but once you near the summit, you will definitely have to do some rock climbing moves. They are easy moves, easier than anything you'd find in a rock gym, but the rock is a little loose. This is the Oregon Cascades after all, where the mountains feel like they are made out of epoxy and kitty litter! The summit views are tremendous though. Almost all the Oregon Cascades are visible (from N-to-S): Hood, Jefferson, The Three Sisters (this is an excellent place to photograph South Sister), Bachelor, etc. The best views though, are peering right down into the massive summit crater of Broken Top. Bring a wide-angle lens! Expect this to take a full day. I recommend starting EARLY. (before sunrise)

This is one of my favorite mountains to climb, but also one of the more dangerous hikes I have been…read moreon. This mountain looks as if it has blown its top, but according to a couple of geology classes I have taken, the cone at the top has been eroded by glaciers. Which is almost as cool. Another noticeable feature to this mountain is its location compared to the other mountains in the Cascade Range in this area. The Three Sisters, Mount Bachelor, Mount Jefferson, and Mount Thielson are all in the same linear path. But Broken Top is west of this path. What is important about that is that when you get to the top of Broken Top you are actually given a different perspective of the other mountains. You are looking at the Cascade Moutain Range as if you are flying above them. Now if you combine this with the fact that you can drive pretty close to the base of this mountain. You have a pretty awesome combination. There are a couple ridges that you can take to get to the top of Broken Top. I have only been on the southern ridges. From what I am told, this is not the safest path to take. I don't recommend it unless you are an experienced climber. My friends and I took this path because it is the shortest. The downside is that it is fairly steep and does not lead you to officially summit the top. We both had some close calls on this ridge. The terrain is so steep that once you misstep and start sliding you have a really hard time stopping. I had started to slide on this ridge a couple of times and was very lucky to have caught my arm on some rocks before sliding off of a cliff. Next time we will be sure to take the ridge to the north. From what I am told, it is longer but much safer and takes you to the official summit. The hike itself is very beautiful. You start above the treeline somewhat and follow the trailhead. You will find an old canal and some melting glaciers in the summertime. Once you enter the valley you will see that you are inside the bowl of Broken Top. Everyone I have talked to seems to all agree that this reminds you of the video game Halo. As the bowl looks like the giant halo around the planet that you see. From here you will want to pick the ridge you plan on climbing up. I recommend passing on the south ridge and walk around to the north ridge. This trail is located in the three sisters wilderness and it important to remember that help is not close. So you will want to be extra careful. As you may not even have cell coverage. The terrain and the ecology around here are fragile, so you will want to be respectful and travel along durable paths and not leave any trash on the ground. Obey the rules and make safe decisions and you will have a five-star experience. Here is a link to the land management agency that manages this land https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/deschutes/recarea/?recid=38808 Here is a lin to a map and elevation gain and loss to the different routes https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/oregon/broken-top-trail Here are some more summit tips on this mountain http://www.summitpost.org/broken-top/150574

We've had Timber Stand out a few times to do work on our ponderosas. This last time was a big one:…read moretaking down a dying 140 foot tree that stood for centuries in our front yard. As you can imagine, the scope involved with a tree that huge in an urban setting was extensive, requiring a lot of people and equipment. Under Nate Goodwin's leadership, they performed the job flawlessly. Can't recommend them enough. We do miss our tree, though. The neighborhood isn't the same.

I needed to set up a defensive fire zone around our house. Nate came out THE NEXT DAY and provided…read morea bid the FOLLOWING DAY! I don't know anyone with service like that. The fee seemed appropriate for the scope of the work. His crew came out shortly after when they found a 2-day window of availability. Very polite, very professional and very hard-working group. They doubled down and finished it in one day. Everything was cleaned up afterwards. A great experience and I would highly recommend.

One summer weekend, in 2018, the forecast called for west south west winds which blew the forest…read morefire smoke away from Sisters, so I decided to do a hike at Three Finger Jack. It's about a 13 to 14 mile round trip. The first three miles the dirt in several spots is very soft, like sand. For me that was the bummer part of this hike. Especially if your pack is 30 lbs, plus your body weight. Your striding along all of a sudden the soft dirt breaks your stride. :-| I was hoping to pick fresh wild berries. Unfortunately, other hikers beat me to them. I was lucky to find two berries; which I took a photo of before I picked them. This berry is part of the blueberry family (see photo). I took a break and found a great spot with a fantastic view. This area would be an awesome future camping spot. I setup my hammock and had a late lunch. A mild wind kept this area cool, and I felt so comfortable I took a short nap. When I awoke the view hadn't changed. As one of my friends would say, "it's a million dollar view!" I continued on the trail and finally came to view Three Finger Jack. I sat down looking at the details of Three Finger Jack. My objective was to view Three Finger Jack and plan another time to camp and conquer Jack. I'm hoping to find a hiking buddy to join me. Jack's a brittle kind of a guy. One false move, you'll have a quick way down. :-0 While hiking back down, I again came across the view of Black Butte. To the left, wild fire smoke was returning (see the before and after photos). As I arrive back to the trail head I saw a cool scene of a deer looking for dinner.

See that craggy, busted, pinnacle of friable rock on your right as you're driving into Bend from…read morePortland? The one just north of that nipple-looking one*? That's Three Fingered Jack. If you happen to live in Oregon and also happen to want to do some *alpine* rock climbing in Oregon, this is one of your only choices. (that nipple I describe above is your other) The rock quality on both is horrendous. If this rock were in Washington or California, no one would climb it. It breaks, it sheds, it's hard to protect. It reminds me of the Chugach up here in Alaska. At least the approach is short. Take the PCT north for about 3-4 miles. Eventually, you'll see TFJ (if you want to be seen as kewl by other peak baggers, this is how you should represent this mountain in text). You really, truly, cannot miss it. Once you see it, pick the least horrible way to hoof it up the loose dirt/gravel/scree/choss and up onto the higher parts of the peak. Eventually, you'll come to an awkward traverse. This is "The Crawl**". Some folks protect TC, some folks don't. I climbed it protected because I was new to all things alpine and someone else rigged up all the ropes for me. I didn't find it to be that bad. Would I climb it unprotected? Maybe. Should you? I don't know dude, risk management is a personal thing. Maybe you should think about it for a while. After negotiating TC, you'll reach the summit block. This pillar of petrified poo is rated at 5.0-5.2 depending on which crusty, old-timey mountaineer you ask. The climbing is easy, but it doesn't protect all that well. People usually plug some small cams. I'm very comfortable taking a fall on small cams when compared to my peer-group. I don't think the placements here are very good. Remember rule 000001 of climbing: don't fall. If you're just a hiker, I would NOT recommend YOLO-ing up this fucker in your Keens! This is easy rock climbing, but it is absolutely rock climbing. This ain't no scramble, go back to Chow if you're looking for one of those! There's usually a whole mess of tat on the summit, so you can rappel back down the small face of portable-chickenhead-hand-holds. Despite the abysmal rock quality, TFJ is still worth tagging. Once. Why? The approach is short and the views of Mt Jefferson are stunning. (FYI cool kid: if you want to sound hip when talking about Mt Jefferson, call it "Jeffy". Also: talk constantly about how the only route worth doing is Jeff Park Glacier. But *never* call it that, just shorten it to "Jeff Park") If you're feeling really freaky, you can also easily attempt TFJ in the winter. The road is plowed. The summit block? It's often coated in beautiful-but-impossible-to-protect rhyme ice. Good luck, friend. *The nipple is Mt Washington. **When I lived in Oregon, I found that TC was a good benchmark for gauging the mental toughness of prospective climbing partners. If you want to do this too, it could go like this: "Hey, you ever climb TFJ?" "Yeah bro." "So...whudja think of 'The Crawl'?" "Fawk brah, that shit was easy! I could've sprinted through it in my Crocs!" That guy could be someone you want to climb with. He could be a confident, sure-footed climber and a natural leader. Or he could just be a loose-cannon with a deathwish. Use your own judgment. Pay attention to body language.

My family climbed at Smith Rock with Chockstone on a thankfully partly cloudy August day. Daniel…read morewas our guide for the full day outing and he skillfully worked with my inexperienced children and my friend and I who had a bit of sport rock experience. Daniel made it fun for everyone and we had a great time. Organizing the trip was easy and Anne answered any questions we had quickly. I highly recommend Chockstone if you want a great experience with a pro guide at Smith Rock.

I had the most amazing time with guide Evan for two days in Smith Rock. I was blown away by his…read morewillingness to really work with me on skill building and not only get a lot of climbing in (he even managed to keep us in the shade in the August heat wave!) but also refine skills I already had and develop new ones. I could not have wished for a better experience in my wildest dreams and came away from my two days of climbing with Evan feeling strong, confident, and capable.

I just completed TMG's Mount Hood Silcox Hut Summit program (6/15-16)…read more The staff at TMG were great making sure we had all the necessary equipment for every condition you might encounter on the mountain, including rental gear that was in great condition. They also make sure you have the necessary skills to safely climb the mountain and provide the instruction in an easy to understand and comfortable way. The Silcox Hut is an amazing surprise to this program by providing comfortable and surprisingly luxurious accommodations for being situated halfway up a mountain! The "hut keeper" Steve was not only welcoming and an amazing host but an incredible cook providing delicious and varied dishes. Our guide, Max, was a knowledgeable, helpful and very patient person. His professionalism and experience were evident throughout the trip and made sure we made it safely to the summit and back down. I would specifically ask for him when you book your trip!

My climbing partner and I had a glorious, exhilarating climb up North Sister. We always climb with…read moreTMG with wonderful experiences in the past, and this time was no exception. It was a very challenging climb, but we always had perfect confidence in our guide, Geoff Lodge. We learned new climbing techniques and exceeded what we previously thought were our capabilities. We are two women (of a certain age but fit), and Geoff, and all of our other guides from TMG, have had tremendous confidence in us and gave us the tools and security to succeed.

Ah, Mt Jefferson…read more "Jeffy". A true mountain-man's mountain. How do I mean? Well, how many people do you think can name the 2nd-tallest mountain in Oregon? Probably not many. I know very few (non-climber) Oregonians that even know this factoid. It doesn't have a ski resort on it. It's not clearly visible from any major metro. It's hard to climb in the winter. A rope is must for most people. Jeffy is quite a bit harder to summit than Wy'east (Hood) to the north. The first time I attempted Jeffy, I failed. We tried to climb it via the Whitewater Glacier route (not recommended, what a slog) and some folks got gun-shy about 700 vertical feet from the summit. The call was made to turn everyone around. I came back a year later with a much stronger team and climbed the excellent Jeff Park Glacier route. It's got a little bit of everything: backpackin', glacier sloggin', ice climbin', rock climbin', and hours and hours of crampon scrapin' (seriously, on summit day we had our crampons on for like 20 hrs...closest I've gotten to what I imagine it's like to wear high heels all day) Our biggest mistake was the descent. We rappelled the East Face. Look at me: DO NOT do that. It seems like it would save time but the rap-stations are never-ending and the rock fall is horrendous. One of our ropes nearly split in two from a rock impact. The best descent route for Jeff Park is the crappy Whitewater Glacier route I ridiculed above. I know, I know. Sorry, being safe isn't always the same as being fun.

We came in late Saturday as a group of 7 to get skis for our Sunday beginners ski adventure…read more Easy rental and return. The staff were friendly and helpful in helping determine fit for the boots. Skis/boots/poles were $40 and helmet $8.

Easy rental experience. I'm a bigger guy and my wife and I wanted to do something healthy with our…read more4 year old while we stayed in Sunriver. I thought it'd be tougher to bike around but the trails are super smooth and a calm ride. The bikes were expensive looking and rode well. Biking around to the shops and back to our rental was relaxing and fun. We kept discovering wildlife while going over the biking trails. Deer, chipmunks, woodpeckers, etc. It was all a short leisurely ride. We'd stop, the boy would look for a few minutes, then off we go. Beyond the rental, while I was in the shop people were coming and going getting things fixed, questions answered, friendly advice on parts, and buying seats or locks. The employees were genuinely nice people and I hope that they continue to be successful.