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About Us

Lead Guide and Company Owner

Kristopher Irwin

Owner of Higher Ground Mountain Guides and lead guide Kristopher Irwin is an ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide by the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides. He holds current Wilderness First Aid Training of 80hrs, and has completed the Canadian Avalanche Association’s Operations Level 2 program.

He has climbed extensively throughout the Canadian Rockies and abroad. He has made numerous first ascents on new routes and unclimbed peaks in North America. He is most comfortable climbing winter ice and mixed routes on formidable peaks in Canada during the winter months. He also has reputation for cooking up some tasty backcountry meals!

ACMG / IFMGA Certified Guides

Safety is number one

Being active and dialed into local route, weather, and avalanche conditions ensures we can offer the best day out on the right climb every time.

Our guides excel at the sport, and their natural psyche is contagious. Each climb is as much a journey as a destination.

Our philosophy is to provide personalized guiding service that transmits the excitement and passion of our guides and the sport to first time climbers and returning expert clients.

We achieve this by:

- pre-trip consultation to pick the best routes/program for your abilities and skills
- small group sizes and private guiding
- trip dates determined by your schedule
- ongoing skills development

Our primary priority is continually the health and safety of our clients within the context and environment of the activities we pursue.

Thanks to our many clients who return year after year, and welcome to those of you who will join us for the first time this season!

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Association of Canadian Mountain Guides

The ACMG is a professional association of trained and certified Mountain Guides, Specialty Guides, Hiking Guides and Climbing Instructors.

They are the only recognized professional association in Canada.

When hiring a guide in Canada, please verify if the guide or instructor is a member of the ACMG. You can do that here.

All of our guides are certified with the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides, carry Provincial/National Parks permits and insurance.

Kris Irwin: Notable First Ascents

Route

Grade

Location

Date

Lost Lenore

7 pitch 10d

Ravens Crag, Tunnel Mountain, Banff

September 2013

John Lauchlan Memorial Award Route

1200m, AI4+ M5

Angel Peak Revelation Mountains, Alaska

April 3, 2014

Powered by Beans

1000m, AI5 M5

Dyke Peak Revelation Mountains, Alaska
First ascent of Dyke Peak

April 11 2014

Casual Route

600m, AI4 M5

East face Hydra Peak Revelations, Alaska

April 17 2014

Warm Wet Comfort

55m, M5+

Emerald Lake Canadian Rockies

November 2014

Irwin/Mills route

340m 10b

North East Face HaLing Peak, Canmore, Alberta

June 5 2015

Remembering Fred

330m M6 WI5

Lake O’Brien Canadian Rockies

October 30 2017

Superdark

195m M5

Castle Mountain, west face in Protection Valley, Canadian Rockies

November 22 2019.

Land Acknowledgement

Banff, Alberta

I acknowledge that I live, work, and play in the sacred and storied lands that are within the traditional territories of several Indigenous Nations. The area now known as Banff lies within the boundaries of Treaty 7 territory, which includes the Îyârhe Nakoda Nations—the Chiniki, Bearspaw, and Goodstoney; the Tsuut’ina Nation; and the Blackfoot Confederacy, comprised of the Siksika, Kainai, and Piikani Nations.

This land is also part of the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region 3, and has long been a place of gathering, travel, and connection for many Indigenous Peoples.

I am grateful to live among the mountains, rivers, and valleys that hold deep cultural, spiritual, and ecological significance for the First Peoples of this region. I recognize their enduring relationship to this land and commit to learning from and caring for it in ways that honour that connection.

Special thanks to John Price

A special thanks to John Price for providing images which are used extenstively throughout our website.

To find out more about his photography, visit John Price Photography.