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Canada West Mountain School

Mountain guiding | Avalanche skills | Outdoor instruction

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    • Contact us today to create your custom course, tour or expedition!

      Canada West Mountain School specializes in private, customized training and Guided trips. We work extensively with schools, clubs, companies and individuals to arrange everything from 1-day class sessions to International expeditions.

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    • NEW! South Chilcotin Wilderness traverse

      Join our 7-day wilderness adventure hiking though the sub-alpine wilderness of the Dickson Range in the South Chilcotin Mountains north of Pemberton. More details here –  South Chilcotin Wilderness Traverse.

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      • Khan Tengri, Kyrgyzstan
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      • Mt Everest, Nepal
Home / Articles / News Update

2021-07-21

Summer hiking adventures

The hot and dry weather has cleared out much of the remaining snow in short order, allowing great access to all the spectacular hiking and backpacking destinations in Southwestern BC. While we continue to be vigilant about fire safety during this spell of weather, it is still a great time to get out and enjoy […]

Article by Brian Jones / Articles, Featured latest post, News Update, Uncategorized

2021-04-29

April 28 Covid Update

The Sea to Sky communities of Squamish, Whistler, and Pemberton have requested that visitors from outside the Sea to Sky corridor postpone travel to this region until after May 25th. Press release from the District of Squamish here – https://squamish.ca/yourgovernment/news/essential-travel-only-to-sea-to-sky-communities-until-may-25/ Statement from Squamish Tourism here – https://www.exploresquamish.com/explore/explore-squamishresponsibly). As a result of these requests, Canada West […]

Article by Brian Jones / Featured latest post, News Update

2020-11-23

Covid-19 update – Nov 23, 2020

Winter is here in full force with snow in the mountains, ski resorts are opening and Canada West Mountain School has completed our first series of AST-1 courses under our new Covid-19 protocols. However, Covid-19 is still with us and we all still need to pull together and help reduce the risk of transmission. While […]

Article by Brian Jones / News Update, What's New

2020-10-17

Canada West Virtual Classroom

We are very excited to announce the Canada West Mountain School “Virtual Classroom” will be launched in November! Our newly developed E-Learning site will support our robust offerings of practical, field-based courses and guided trips! The new Virtual Classroom will be a key component of every Canada West Mountain School program and course offering. This […]

Article by Brian Jones / Articles, Featured latest post, News Update

2020-05-23

How to choose mountaineering boots?

One of most common questions we get is “how to choose mountaineering boots” and this is also one of the most challenging questions to give a simple answer to. Footwear is one of the most important pieces of gear that you will need on any mountaineering trip,  and the wrong boots can ruin an otherwise great […]

Article by Brian Jones / Articles, News Update

2017-05-16

Arc’terycx Climbing Academy 2021

Arcteryx Climbing Academy 2017

The Arc’teryx Climbing Academy is back Aug 26-29, 2021! Canada West Mountain School will once again be hosting all the Climbing Clinics, registration opens July 21. Check out all the clinics here at the Arc’teryx Climbing Academy Squamish 2021, there are limited spaces and clinics sell out fast, so be sure to register soon.  

Article by Brian Jones / News Update, What's New

2015-11-25

Win an AST course!

Win an AST-1 course! Join us at MEC Snow Fest on Saturday, November 18! We’re looking forward to a fun day at the MEC store on Broadway in Vancouver. Visit us at our booth and enter to win an AST-1 course! Even if you already have taken this course, you can still “gift” the prize […]

Article by Brian Jones / Articles, News Update

2014-08-14

Rope Rescue Systems for Skiers and Climbers

A common question from our students is “how many times have you had to perform a technical rope rescue?” Though technical rope rescue systems are rarely used by most recreational climbers, if you do find yourself faced with the task of assisting someone who is having challenges or is injured, knowing basic rescue systems will […]

Article by Brian Jones / News Update / crevasse rescue, rock rescue, rope rescue, rope systems, squamish rock rescue, technical rope rescue

2014-04-18

First Aid in the backcountry

I have been having a lot of discussions about Wilderness First Aid lately. Many folks wonder what distinguishes Wilderness First aid courses and training from other traditional First Aid courses. First, we need to to look at the level of support that we can expect to have when we respond to an accident or medical […]

Article by Brian Jones / News Update

2014-01-24

Argentina 2014

On January 14th, 17 Canadian Army Cadets from across the country converged on the small mountain town of Bariloche in the Patagonia region of Argentina. Their goal? To complete a 10 day expedition through the lakes and mountains of the wild and spectacular Patagonian Nahuel Huapi National Park. Canada West Mountain School organized and lead […]

Article by Brian Jones / News Update

2013-12-09

Winter 2014 Guides and Instructors pre-season training session

Changing seasons is always great. I look forward to the winter snow season because I get to head out again with all the Guides and Instructors I haven’t seen during the summer! On Thursday, December 4,  18 Canada West mountain School Guides and Instructors showed up in the backcountry of Whistler to shake out the […]

Article by Brian Jones / News Update

2013-11-01

Getting ready for winter

Here we are at the beginning of November, winter is just around the corner! Time to check out the weather forecasts and get the skis and ice climbing gear out of storage in anticipation of another great winter! At the beginning of every season we at Canada West are doing everything we can to get […]

Article by Brian Jones / News Update

2013-07-20

Kluane: A tribute to Canada’s National Parks

Canada West Mountain School owner and IFMGA mountain guide Brian Jones has joined Canadian landscape artist and documentary filmmaker Cory Trépanier on his quest to paint Kluane National Park. Brian will lead Cory on a two-week expedition into the Kluane Icefield Ranges as part of the artist’s latest project to document Canada’s National Parks through painting […]

Article by Brian Jones / Mt Logan, News Update / Brian Jones, Cory Trépanier, Kluane, Mt. Logan, Parks Canada, TrueWild

2013-06-18

Wilderness First Aid course updates

Our Summer and Fall Wilderness First Aid courses are now scheduled and listed on the website – http://www.themountainschool.com/info/first-aid-wilderness.html.  The next 20-hour intro WFA course will be in Squamish on July 6-7, taught by our lead WFA Instructor Corey Brealey.

Article by Brian Jones / News Update

2013-06-12

Alpine Skills courses starting soon

Our first Alpine Skills course of the summer season is starting up this Monday, June 17 and there are still a couple of spaces available on this program.  We are looking forward to a great week in the alpine, conditions are shaping up fine and (hopefully) the weather will continue to cooperate! Check out the […]

Article by Brian Jones / News Update

2013-06-05

Success on Mt Barbeau, Nunavut

A successful climb of Mount Barbeau on Ellesmere Island, Nunavut! While we have all been soaking up the sun and enjoying great spring weather, John Furneaux, Darrel Ainscough and Mike Cormack have been heading up Mount Barbeau on Ellesmere Island in full winter conditions.  On June 4 the three stood on top of the 2,616 […]

Article by Brian Jones / News Update

2013-05-25

Summer 2013 Update

Mountaineering courses starting soon! Weather has been great lately in Squamish and we are starting to see summer condition in the mountains as well! We have been running some fine early season Mountain Skills Training refreshers on the local hills and the snowpack is really starting to get into good shape. Our first Complete Mountaineering […]

Article by Brian Jones / News Update / Canada West Mountain School, climbing, Climbing course, Mountaineering, Mountaineering course

2011-05-13

Down safe in Everest Base Camp

Most of our Everest 2011 Expedition Team members have arrived safely in Base Camp after a successful journey to the top of Mount Everest, Nepal. Congratulations again to Bill Borger of Calgary, Alberta for gaining the south Summit of Mount Everest in deteriorating weather. Bill, along with Then Dorjee Sherpa, Phurbha Bote Sherpa and Dawa […]

Article by Brian Jones / Mt Everest Expeditions, Mt. Everest 2011, News Update

2011-05-12

CWMS gets Team to the summit of Everest

At 6:44 am, local Nepal time on May 12, Canada West Mountain School Team Climber Bill Borger stood on the South Summit of Mt Everest, along with Then Dorjee Sherpa, Dawa Lama and Phurba Bote Sherpa. Congratulations all! The winds between the South Summit and the Main Summit were increasing in speed to approximately  80+ […]

Article by Brian Jones / Mt Everest Expeditions, Mt. Everest 2011, News Update / Bill Borger, CWMS, Himalayas, John Furneaux, Khumbu, Mount Everest, Mt Everest, Nepal

2011-05-11

CWMS Team heads to the summit of Mt. Everest!

Our team has arrived safely to the South Col (Camp 4) after a 6 hour climb up the Lhotse Face from C3. Then Dorjee Sherpa, Dawa Finjo Lama, Phurbha Bhote Sherpa and Bill Borger all rested well in Camp 4 during the afternoon of May 11 (local Nepal time). The team will leave C4 at […]

Article by Brian Jones / Mt Everest Expeditions, Mt. Everest 2011, News Update

2011-05-10

Moving to Camp 4

Bill and Then Dorjee Sherpa are heading up from C3 to C4 today. This is the highest camp on the Southeast Ridge route of Mt Everest at 7,950 meters. After this, the summit push will consist of 1 long day up and back from C4 in the south col. Bill and Then Dorjee are doing […]

Article by Brian Jones / Mt. Everest 2011, News Update / Bill Borger, CWMS, Himalayas, John Furneaux, Mt Everest, Return to www.themountainschool.com

2011-05-08

Summit bid underway!

The Team is moving up the mountain today on their summit bid! John and Bill have left Base Camp and are heading up to Camp 2 for today, May 8. Their schedule is: May 9 they plan to climb to Camp 3 on the Lhotse Face After a night in C3, they will move up […]

Article by Brian Jones / Mt. Everest 2011, News Update / Bill Borger, CWMS, Himalayas, John Furneaux, Mt Everest, Return to www.themountainschool.com

2011-05-04

Camp 3

April 30 saw John and Bill back up to Camp 2 for a 2nd round of acclimatization. They spent 4 days there, with one day a climb up to C3 and back. This acclimatization is a critical part of preparing for the demands they will face on the summit bid. Now they have descended back […]

Article by Brian Jones / Mt. Everest 2011, News Update / Bill Borger, CWMS, Himalayas, John Furneaux, Mt Everest, Return to www.themountainschool.com

2011-04-24

Climb to Camp 2

John and Bill have had a chance to get up to Camp 2, now that their Puja ceremony has been completed on April 17. On April 22 they managed to move very quickly up to Camp 2 and settled in for a few days to acclimatise to that altitude, 6,450 meters (21,000′). Both Bill and […]

Article by Brian Jones / Mt. Everest 2011, News Update / Bill Borger, CWMS, Himalayas, John Furneaux, Mt Everest, Return to www.themountainschool.com

2011-04-15

Training climb on Lobuche

John and Bill had a great time on the approach into Base Camp, no issues with health or safety.They arrived on April 8th. After a couple of days they headed back down the valley a ways and up onto a local training peak, Lobuche East. This is a wonderful mountain of 6,050 meters, providing a […]

Article by Brian Jones / Mt. Everest 2011, News Update / Bill Borger, CWMS, Himalayas, John Furneaux, Mt Everest, Return to www.themountainschool.com

2011-03-27

Mount Everest 2011 Expedition underway!

Our Mt Everest team for 2011: Bill Borger, team Climber; Bill is from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Bill has climbed extensively in North and South America, as well as Europe. This is Bill’s 1st Himalayan expedition. John Furneaux, Team Leader and Mountain Guide. John is from Squamish, British Columbia, Canada.This is John’s 3rd Expedition to Everest, […]

Article by Brian Jones / Mt. Everest 2011, News Update / Bill Borger, CWMS, Himalayas, John Furneaux, Mt Everest, Return to www.themountainschool.com

2011-02-22

About Mt Logan – 2010

Join us on this journey to Canada’s highest peak, Mt. Logan at 5,959 meters. Canada West Mountain School has been leading mountaineering expeditions up the Kings Trench for over 15 years, one of the classic routes of North Americas high mountain ranges. This moderate route up Mt. Logan is an excellent choice for mountaineers looking […]

Article by Brian Jones / News Update

2011-02-22

Team summits on Mt Logan, May 26th, 2010

The CWMS team has climbed to the summit of Mount Logan on May 26th. Weather cooperated enough, though it was very cold and there was some wind. Everyone is back off the mountain now, enjoying the return to warmth and civilization. Rich Prohaska will be sending along photos soon and they will be loaded up […]

Article by Brian Jones / News Update

2011-02-22

Logan Expedition starts – May 8th, 2010

Our Mount Logan – Kings Trench expedition met in Whitehorse on May 8th and were met with clear skies and a great weather forecast. Team Members: Rich Prohaska – Lead Guide Erika Flavelle – Assistant Guide Norm Dowad, Canada – Team Climber Gus Greer, Canada – team Climber Arnaud De Laveleye, Belgium – Team Climber […]

Article by Brian Jones / News Update

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