As a beginner to climbing, I was really looking forward to a motivating and supportive experience on my Grand Teton climb with Exum and our guide, Aili. Day 1 went well, with the climbing portion being successful, and Aili was happy with our (my husband's and my) climbing skills. I was upfront with my guide from the start, explaining that I prefer to hike at my own pace, which was a major reason we opted for a private guide. However, from the very beginning of the hike, I felt judged and had to constantly deal with negative comments (e.g., "come back next year," "we can go back and try to do some other climb"), implying I wouldn't make it and that my pace wasn't going to work. The guide informed me that if I couldn't complete a 5,000 ft elevation gain in 5 hours, I wouldn't be allowed to attempt the summit. I requested the option to at least hike to the Lower Saddle and allow my husband to continue to the summit, but I was told this wasn't possible. The guide insisted that with my pace, by the time we'd reach the saddle, I'd be too tired for a summit attempt, and it would be a long day. All I received were reasons why it wouldn't work, and not once did I hear suggestions on how to make the best out of this attempt. Eventually, I had to turn back halfway to at least allow my husband to get a fair attempt at the summit. The guide never attempted to understand my potential and was very demotivating throughout the experience. I'm not a novice hiker. This year alone, I've hiked the Manitou Incline , Barr Trail up to Barr Camp, a 13er in Colorado, and just two months ago, I summited Kilimanjaro. I was fully prepared to endure a long day and give my best effort, but I wasn't even given a fair chance. The overall experience was disheartening. This is my second year with Exum attempting this climb, and it's clear that Exum and their guides are not suited for beginners who are looking forward to a more personalized and life-changing experience. I do have to give credit for teaching instructions. read more

Epic experience summiting the Grand Tetons with Exum. The experience could not have been better and the guides were super knowledgable and patient. read more

Exum Mountain Guides - Summit baby! - Rock Climbing Near Me

Emily was a great guide for the Cube Point summit. The climb was amazing and the views from the summit were outstanding. The climb consisted mostly of a hike to the technical rock climb. The climb itself was pretty easy but had a few sections with exposure. If the 5.4 rating makes you think it's too easy so you would avoid it, the view is very much worth it. Also, Emily was knowledgable and very competent. read more

Exum Mountain Guides - Cube point - Rock Climbing Near Me

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Last week we spent a day climbing with our kids (ages 6, 7, & 8) and it was a fantastic time had by all. Our guides, Michael and Scott were patient, kind and most importantly excellent teachers. They gave us confidence and were wonderful with us as a family of novices. We did a family climb/bouldering day in the Inspiration Point area that was truly the highlight of our trip. I could not recommend it more. read more

Exum Mountain Guides - Rock Climbing Near Me

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My buddy Mike and I grew tired of the indoor climbing gyms in the area and were ready to spread our wings outdoors. Since neither of us properly knew "the ropes" at the time, we looked into professional lessons and found the highest rated to be Exum Mountain Guides, giving instruction in the Grand Tetons of Wyoming. I just love Wyoming in the Summer. With some of the most beautiful scenery in the United States, we signed up for the course, flew out and arrived at base camp early the next morning...eager to begin our ascent. But there was much to learn before we'd even step foot onto the mountain. First, we had to learn the basics, and as luck would have it, we drew one of the all time great mountaineers in all of North America...a real Celebrity in his field, as we would later find out...Chuck Pratt. A short, balding old man who wears his life's hardships with every wrinkle on his face. There simply was no one alive who knew more about his craft than he did. We were in very, very good hands. Anyhow, much of the first day was spent learning knots, signals and getting used to (and trusting) our equipment. Once that was accomplished to Chuck's satisfaction, we were led to the base of our primary climb. Not much time was left, so we practiced belaying and repelling. That was a blast. But the next day would prove to be much more serious. Shortly after dawn of Day 2, we found ourselves huddled around Chuck in complete silence, waiting for the green light to climb. No one dared say a word, not because we were nervous, but instead because there was a kind of spirituality of the moment. He then grabbed his helmet, looked at all of us and softly muttered "Let's go." And with that began one of the greatest and most memorable days in my life...the day I took the Grand Tetons. Years later I was thumbing through "Outdoor" magazine at the airport and found myself staring at the last page in disbelief. It was a full page obituary of Chuck, with a picture of him that must have been taken about the same time he & I crossed paths. Turns out, he was an even greater man than I'd imagined according to his tribute...which was pretty incredible since I'd already held him in such high regard. My heart sank just a bit that day for a man I'd barely known. Now, whenever I climb, the knowledge and finesse I take up with me keeps Chuck alive in every move I make. Kind of a cool legacy, don'tcha think? read more

Exum Mountain Guides - Rock Climbing Near Me

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First of all, you need to know that Exum is actively patrolling and disputing reviews with Yelp. You are not getting the full picture here. Two prior truthful reviews have been deleted at Exum's behest. I had a positive experince in 1979 with Exum. But the business/park franchise was sold and the new owners are profit-maximizing scumbags who could care less about their guests. I was scheduled to climb the Grand in 2015. During my first interaction with online staff, I sent them a link to a YouTube video of a climb my dad did in about 1956. Cool stuff, eh? Anyone working for Exum should be interested in such an historic artifact, right? Instead, I received an email stating that they had better things to do than look at home movies. Whoa! How did these people ever get a franchise in a national park? Incredible. Incorrectly believing that Exum was the only guide service in the park, I reserved two days of climbing school and a non-private climb of the Grand. I was thrilled about my upcoming adventure. When I arrived, staff in the Exum hut in Jenny lake was not particularly friendly. I filled out the necessary liability release forms and asked a couple questions, including: On the day of the climb, do I park here and ride with someone else to the trailhead, or do I drive myself to the trailhead? I was told that I could do either. Day 1 was just like I remembered it from 1979. But there was a problem: The guide was an Iraq vet with an extreme aversion to cameras, and one of my goals was to make a nice home movie of the experience. He was a pretty big jerk about my camera initially, but he seemed to calm down after he figured out that I was experienced at shooting candid action material. Day 2 was weird. The Day 1 guy refused to instruct me because of his camera phobia, and I was assigned to some old guy named Rick. Rick was an impatient jerk for the entire day. I was very disappointed to learn that he was going to be the guide on the Grand climb. But at least I was grouped with two really cool climbing partners. When I showed up for the climb at the hut, nobody was there from my group. I asked around and they told me to go to the trailhead. When I got there, Rick had his panties all in a wad because I was late. He tore me a new one for showing up at the hut instead of the trailhead. Waaaat? I should have asked for a refund and left. Instead, I continued. For some reason, Rick had decided to bring several non-paying guests along on the hike to the lunch stop. He devoted most of his attention to the non-paying guests, and seemed unconcerned with me or the other two paying guests. The pace was too fast. I was carrying a heavy camera and needed to go slower. My climbing partners were ok with going slower, and there was no need to hurry to the saddle. There isn't much to do there, so arriving an hour earlier would have served no purpose. I told Rick that I needed him to slow it down. Not only did he refuse, he put me in line right behind him so he could keep an eye on me. What, I'm causing you trouble by wanting you to adjust to my pace? Did I need to pay for optional polite service? Or for a climb without your friends along, distracting you from the needs of your paying guests? Eventually, I advised Rick that I was not going to continue the climb with him, and I downclimbed with another Exum guide. When I got to the bottom, I headed to the Exum office and advised them that I wanted to schedule a private climb, so I could go at my own pace. Then, after discussing the weight issue, I agreed to pay for two guides - two simultaneous private climbs - so that I wouldn't have to carry my camera gear. I made a $2000 deposit on a $4000 climb and was put on the calendar for the following summer. In June of the following year, their calendar filled up and they apparently realized they could make more money by redeploying the second guide to some other activity. Cyndi, one of the co-owners (she drives a Porsche), called to tell me that they couldn't do the deal I'd made 10 months earlier. This would put me in a bind, because the calendars of guide services fill up much earlier in the year. I pushed back, and she started making excuses related to the camera gear. Oh, she said, we can't have the climb stopping over and over for you to shoot. I responded that shooting does not create a time burden at all, and that her concern was not valid. Oh, she said, we can't tie up the trail. Nonsense, I said. I went on to describe my father's 8mm film. She cut me off and said, wait, you're going to shoot 8mm? That's out of the question because that gear will be too big. At this point, I realized that I was dealing with someone with no clue. An 8mm camera is about the size of a large sponge, and weighs about a pound or two. She put up a big fight over gear that was much smaller than I was planning to use. Out of words. Don't hire Exum under any circumstance. read more

Two of my buddies and I did snow school with Exum on 6/30/13. We were going to backpack the Teton Crest Trail starting the following day, and having no prior experience with alpine hiking, snow skills, self arrest, etc., we forked over the $170 each for an all day snow school session. We met our guide Mike and the assistant/training guide Pete at the base of the tram in Teton Village. There was one other person in snow school that day, a female who was going to summit the Grand that week, also with Exum. After introductions and gear distribution (helmets, ice axes, and crampons), we took the tram up. We had to hike about 2 miles left after getting off the tram to get to a snow covered high slope where we could practice on. That's when the "fun" began. Let me summarize: Snow school was TOUGH, both physically and mentally. I guess because of the somewhat benign-sounding name it conjured up images of making snow angels and snowball fights for me, but it was definitely not like that. All day we learned valuable alpine hiking skills -- e.g. traversing across steep snow, walking straight up and down steep snow, stopping a slide with hands and feet, and of course, self arrest -- feet downhill on stomach, feet downhill on back, head downhill on stomach (the hardest for me), and head downhill on back. This was tough and tiring stuff. But definitely valuable at the same time, all three of us felt much more comfortable by the end of the day. We also learned proper crampon use (even though we did not take crampons on our hike with us). We were spent at the end of the day, and the 2 mile mostly uphill hike back to the tram was brutal. But it was all worth it, definitely worth it. We had a safe and uneventful TCT backpacking trip starting the next day, and I honestly don't know if we'd have been able to complete it had we not done snow school with Exum. Mike and Pete were both excellent, good teachers, austere yet nice, and patient. I highly recommend Exum for those new to alpine hiking and mountaineering. read more

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As I guide I have never seen another guide be as rude as one of Exum's was yesterday. It goes against everything we are trained on. We were descending a wet down climb with the fixed rope (that we got to first) and when we were near the bottom and my partner the guide how he was doing he snapped at us and said "Well, right now I'm just waiting for you" trying to rush us (on a dangerous section). When I walked past him and said hi literally three feet away from him him he refused to acknowledge me and said nothing back. My advice is hire from a small guide company that cares more about other people. These clients looked absolutely miserable with this guide. My question to you is would you want this guide taking you into the mountains RUSHING PEOPLE ABOVE YOU WHO COULD FALL ON YOU or knock rocks on you because your guide is rude? I sure wouldn't take that chance. read more

The worst, most dishonest company I have ever dealt with. I went there to spend two days training and two climbing the Grand Teton. Work unexpectedly called me away at the last minute. I explained the situation to them and asked if I could do one day of training, or if I should call in sick and do the two days as planned. They assured me I could take a one day crash course, and that it would be no additional cost. My dad did the first day himself. That afternoon, they called and informed us that we would actually have to pay $1400 EACH for the new plan. So not only did they lie to us, but then tried to extort money as well. Terribly unprofessional and dishonest. I would not recommend. read more

Really great guides. But their prices are sky high. The owner/general manager woman drives a Porsche.

Had Christian and Adam as guides for our backcountry touring day and couldn't have been happier. They had great attitudes and were very knowledgeable. Great guys. Adam even let me use his goggles when mine fogged up. One of our group members injured his ankle pretty badly and Christian was very patient and helpful to get him back safely. Will use again and highly recommend. read more

Did a nice job with a custom climbing day with my 16 year old daughter, though she thought it wasn't challenging enough. We scheduled a longer, mutiple pitch climb. The night before she came down with stomach flu, poor girl, we called and left a message early in the morning and they were very nice about it. read more

A dear friend and had the most incredible experience climbing the Grand Teton last week and really couldn't have imagined doing it without the help of Exum Guides. From the training day were we learned how to belay, repel and tie knots to the two days summit climb I always felt like our safety was the upmost top priority. I loved how all the guides worked together as a team to help the different groups most effectively and efficiently get all levels of climbers up and down the Grand. Brenton Reagan was our guide and we loved how he kept us so calm and relaxed yet somehow laughing the whole way. As a non technical day hiker I was plenty nervous leading up to the trip but come game day I never felt at any point that the journey was beyond my capabilities. Taking it one step and move at a time we were able to confidently handle each section. Also having shelter at 11,600 feet and not having to drag a sleeping bag, pad and rope was very dreamy and allowed for more energy for the long decent down!!! Mind you climbing the Grand Teton is not for everyone. You are still responsible for your own success and you will push your body and mental confidence to the limits but watching the sun raise on the valley below from a 12,000 ft perch and the feeling of total joy and rapture as you summit at 13,776 ft is something that will live in my brain forever!! read more

I recently took a group class from Exum Mountain Guides and was rather disappointed. The instructor was incompetent and rude and was careless with the groups safety and the Exum staff no better downright dishonest in dealing with logistical problems. At times I felt they followed the Mafia playbook more concerned with doubling their fees than their paying customers experience. I would strongly urge prospective customers to stay away from this outfit. read more

Do Not Hire these guys. They should not be in the guiding business and Dillion should not be employed as a guide anywhere. I hired a private guide to climb The Grand. We started out at 4:20AM in the morning and got up to 1/2 mike from the saddle at 7:00 am - 6 1/2 miles and about 12,000 feet it rained for a few minutes and we found a cave. I expected we would wait for the weather to clear and continue on. After 20 mins Dillion informed me we were heading down. I said " So with at least 13/15 hours to make it back your going to turn around at 7:15 AM"and he responds yes let's get going. He obviously had other plans for the day. 45 mins after we leave and head back down its sunny not a cloud in the sky and 70 degrees. We make it back to our cars by 9:50 AM. 10 hours before we could have retired. It's sunny the rest of the day. What a waste and the only day I had left to do it this summer. Bogus guide and a bogus company. read more

We just climbed the Grand Teton with two Exum guides, Jeff and Dylan. We had a private group with my husband, brother, nephew and myself. After an all day training for climbing, rappelling, and belaying skills, we met for the two day overnight ascent of the Grand. We were extremely pleased with our guides and the entire experience. I thought the fee of $1400 in total for 3 complete days was well worth the experience of a lifetime I gained. They guided us through a breathtaking and challenging experience (that we could never have done on our own) with patience, safety, humor, and even joy. I'm so grateful for Exum guides and the experience they made possible with Jeff and Dylan. Though our two guides had not worked with each other before, you may have never known as they seamlessly guided us and worked well together. Even better, we all enjoyed each other's company as we navigated each and every challenge that climbing the Grand entailed. I'd consider myself lucky to have a repeat experience with Exum sometime in the future. read more