We maintain a file of hundreds of clients' feedback forms on all of our trips that are 3 days or longer. Here are a few comments from folks that have completed a course or trip with us.

Colorado (Durango and the San Juans)

If and when I decide to tackle the big mountains I will call you guys for sure. I was very impressed with the guides and the service on my last class. Thanks again!
Chris N.

Very professional. Nate's guidance/knowledge was exceptional and contributed to making this trip the experience of a lifetime. Loved having the food taken care of after those long and tiring days! The pre-trip equipment checklist and phone conversations helped lots with ensuring having proper equipment.
Andrew G.

I would like to let you know what a great time we had in our ice climbing experience recently. Matt was an excellent guide. He was patient, thoughtful, and improved ourskills tremendously. He was very thorough and safety conscious. I would highly recommend Nate to anyone and would love to travel again with him on another trip. Happy adventuring!
Tanya H.

This message is long over-due! This is Jim Carey, golf pro from Michigan. You showed me the time of my life in the winter of 1999. I did the ice climbing program & summited Mt. Engineer. We also enjoyed a night of stout at Carver's! Mike, my mind has been consumed with climbing since my experience. I read everything I can about mountaineering! Your guiding & instructional style was, for a lack of a more perfect word, AWESOME!

I wanted to thank you for a great weekend and a fantastic course, I will most certainly recommend Southwest Adventures to anyone who is interested in Ice/Rock climbing courses and such.
J. Kistler

I thought that you would be interested in seeing the responses I received from the inquiry I sent out this morning. You should be very proud. I'm going to check into some things at my gym here in Chicago, but I'd say I'm pretty much sold. I'll keep you posted as I look at dates on my calendar. Talk to you soon.Chrissy

I took the five day winter mountaineering course with SWA (SouthwestAdventures) in November 1999. The course is a good place to start if you haven't done any mountaineering. I have also gone on a guided climb with SWA to Orizaba in Mexico, I am going on a climb with them to Aconcagua in about 2 weeks and am planning on climbing Denali in May with the guide I met in my initial mountaineering course. I have been extremely pleased with the servives they have provided. Their guides are very professional and flexible to individual needs and abilities. I have used 2 other guide services. One was on Mt Shasta in the winter and I would never climb with them again. You are smart to check out the guide service you're considering. You don't want to be high on a mountain and find out your guide doesn't know what he's doing. If you want, you can call me and I'll talk your ear off about guides, climbing etc.
Paul Burger

I would very much recommend the course (I did the 5 day mountaineering course). I think it serves as a great "first step" in learning mountaineering. I think the two days of ice climbing helped alotwith the altitude adjustment and gaining confidence especially with the crampon use. I was in pretty good shape with no prior experience & think I did OK. All the ice climbing was done with a "top rope" so you really can't fall - so the "fun to fear" ratio is really good. If you are doing this by yourself, its a great oppportunity to get to know some people before doing the mountaineering part. My sugestions are as follows:

1. Make sure you buy/obtain good quality gear (the list they provide is excellent). Be sure to talk to a lot of store employee's at various outfitters about the various gear options. Let them know what you are doing and they will be very helpful. I did this but ended up saving alot (30-40%) by buying online from mgear.com and similar websites. There is also an outfitter next door to Clay place - big selection and not overprice - you could have them/Clay help you out also. You will not pay more the a local store.

2. Get yourself to a good level of cardiovasular fitness - the higher the better. The three days on the mountain are very tiring. You will enjoy yourself a lot more if you are fit....

3. If you can do a 2hr "intro to climbing " course at a local indoor gym. This will give you something to build on for the rope tying/belaying skills. I did this and it helped my confidence alot.

4. Be sure to bring some "power bars" or similar on the mountain. The guide will by some snack bars, M&M's etc. but it is great to be able to eat what you like/when you like. That's about it - I found the mountaineering part very educational & the final summit day VERY tiring & scary (maybe I'm just a wimp). But the guides were excellent about letting us set our own pace and keeping us safe. Please e-mail any specific questions you may have - I will help best I can.
Neal

First off, they were very professional as an organization. The guides (we had two as we had seven climbers) were experienced, careful and fairly good instructors. I had taken one other Intro to Mountaineering course from a different organization near Seattle - I was impressed with both, but the biggest difference is that SWA provides food and tents, whereas everyone had to provide their own food and tents on the other. Additionally, Nate et.al. even picked me up and dropped me back to the airport, which I thought was a great service.

I don't think you need any experience with the Engineer Mountain climb. It is a tough climb physically, particularly due to the altitude (Durango to camp is a 5,000 foot elevation gain - the camp is at 11,500 and Engineer tops out at 13,000). The other climbing I had done was in the Cascades, which are predominantly long slog's up hill; Engineer is quite different in that there were some mixed rock & snow portions. From an outdoor's experience perspective, it was a great experience.

The snowshoeing was enjoyable (a 2 mile snow shoe out and back and about a half mile snow shoe from camp to the base of the mountain). Everything was frozen when I went a few weeks ago, but the weather was phenomenal (sunny, light winds) and the snow covered landscape was beautiful. I enjoy expedition-like experiences, and sharing a cramped tent with two other people (because of the odd number, one tent had to support three people) and forcing on frozen boots in the morning was right up there. Temperatures were cold (highly in mid twenties and low's in low teens), but I was never too uncomfortable.
Steven R. Hirshorn

I have not taken his Mountaineering Courses, I went to Mexico with his group to climb La Malinche and Orizaba, though. He runs a good organization. Our guide was awesome and very safe. I would definitely sugggest using them. Don't worry about not have climbing experience, being in shape and having a good attitude are more important. Go for it!
Tom

Thanks so much for making my first Winter mountaineering trip such a memorable one. I'm telling all my friends about your professionalism, positive attitude and excellent teaching aptitude. Well done guys! No plans to climb Aconcagua yet, but when we do, your first on our list.
A. Gerber
Stroh. VA

Allison had a great time, and is looking forward to more climbing. Thanks.
Jeff Mandel
Boston MA

We looked everywhere for bike support services for the Hermosa Creek Trail. I'm glad we found you guys, it made the ride hassle free.
D. Schumberg

Thank you for a great day of climbing. The professionalism, conscienciousness and friendliness brett brought to the day were an important part of the whole experience. We'll certainly keep you in mind for another adventure.
S. & K. Mauldin

Just a quick word to say thanks for all you did to make my past several days truly rewarding. I'll write soon by regular mail and say more about what I liked and how I gained from the experience, but I didn't want to delay in thanking you for the great logistical support.
D. Mrozek,
Manhatten KS

The bike trip was well organized and professional. The entire group learned a lot from Tim and Vanessa. It was obvious that they had the instruction refined to a fine art.
Sacred Heart Catholic Church

I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed climbing with Southwest Adventures while I was in Colorado. Joni really was an excellent instructor who not only taught basic skills, but allowed me to think and problem solve on my own to accomplish the task at hand. I climbed in Idyllwild with Vertical Adventures. I took a one day private lesson. Maybe I just enjoyed Joni's sytle and company, but rest assured my experience with SWA was far superior. My guide (at V.A.) was a bit "rough around the edges" and his teaching style was one where if it wasn't done his way, it was not correct. Some people may prefer that style, but I enjoyed the SWA philosophy much better. The day (at V.A.) was pretty short and the hike to the rock pretty long, so I didn't get as much climb time in as with SWA. Your equipment appeared newer to me also. The equipment I used with VA belonged to the guide, who was a private contractor. I would like you guys to know that I did impress the guide (at VA) with my skills. He sent me up a climb that he thought I would fail at - WRONG!!!! It was a 5.10c face climb. Thanks to Joni I showed him I could do it!!!!!! Again, thank you. Hopefully I will get the opportunity to visit again in the future.
Jill M. D'Abrosca

Bolivia

I wanted to touch base with you and let you know that the trip to Bolivia was absolutely awesome. As you know we summited both Illamani and Huayana Potosi with the whole group!
C. Danforth

Ecuador

I just want to drop you a line to say thank you. As you properly know by now the trip went very well. All the logistics were taken good care of by the guides. Anything between accommodations, food and transportation worked out great. This is very impressive considering south American conditions and a very diverse group, the guides even managed to do this with a smile on their faces. In the mountains the guides (American and local) made the right calls and safety was always taken well care of. I had a great experience and hope to get a chance to climb with you again. Please pass this on to Brendan and Josh.
M. Jensen
NYC

Mexico

...you did a great job and made it (Orizaba only Mexico trip) a very nice experience in spite of the weather. I told them you were the best... and you proved it!
T. Faranda
AZ

Bob and Armando were fantastic. They handled their responsibilities professionally and with ease. The accommodations while in towns was better than I had expected. At times we (Walter and myself) were slow on the mountains and they were very patient and encouraging when we needed it. The Mexican food was superb and Bob's cooking was no exception. We ate well and almost always had food to spare. It was a very rewarding experience altogether. Not only did I learn a few things which is always important, and set PR altitude highs, but there were no conflicts of interest and both guides were good climbing partners and had great senses of humor.
S. Engel
GA

Nepal

I know we had a group debriefing in Lukla but I still wanted to drop you a personal note to let you know how pleased I was with the way the (Mera Peak) trip went. It was everything I had hoped for and more. Our guides were top notch all the way. They made it clear right from the beginning that our priorities were:

1. safety
2. having fun
3. and attaining the summit of Mera Peak

Peru

It was fantastic. The trip was well organized. It was a real pleasure meeting Gary. He is a great guide and extremely proficient and cool. Really enjoyed climbing with him. As always, Rodrigo and company were working hard to make the trip pleasant. Overall, an A+ trip. Thanks again for organizing such a nice trip.
Vahid - Artesonraju Ascent

I just got home from Peru last night and I wanted to drop you a short note on the trip. Everything went well and I enjoyed climbing in the Cordillera Blanca. Mike has probably already reported on the trip, so you probably know . I enjoyed the opportunity - the Ishinca Valley is beautiful, and we did climb another peak (Urus Este). I also enjoyed staying at the hut at Pisco base camp. It's a fne place to hang out while acclimatizing. Mike did a great job running the trip. He's quite skilled at working with and negotiating with the local support people. Thanks again for everything, and keep me informed of your trips. I'll definitely keep you in mind.
Robert Miller
Albuquerque, NM