San Juan Expeditions

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Silverton, CO
San Juan Expeditions

Durango and Silverton's Year-Round Guide Service
AMGA & IFMGA guides. Rock. Alpine. Ice. We are Durango's ONLY locally based guide service.

San Juan Expeditions is a backcountry ski, ice, rock and avalanche education mountain guide service, based in Durango, CO. All our guides are AMGA trained and/or Certified.

12/17/2024

Guides Training Wrapped up this weekend! Incredible to be working with such a great team!

09/16/2024

Our Women's Hut Based AIARE Level 2 + Leadership Development Course has sold out!!!
We have added another one of these course to our schedule March 2nd-5th, course is live on our website.
Link in Bio.

09/04/2024

We’re super excited to announce our new San Juan Expeditions Manager, Kam Weakley !

If you’ve ever taken an avy course or signed up for a guided day with us, it’s pretty likely Kam was your lead guide! We’re looking forward to bringing Kam into the leadership role as Manager of SJE, as our most recent manager, Sarah embarks on new adventures in Silverton 🤘

Stop by our office in Silverton to chat with Kam about potential trips with us this fall & winter ❄️

08/08/2024

SJE WINTER AVALANCHE EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIP

We’re very excited to announce our SJE AVY ED SCHOLARSHIP this season for folks looking to get into riding and skiing in the backcountry or even continuing their education. SJE understands that financial barriers may prohibit users to advance their education in the backcountry. Additionally, this scholarship will be offered to folks that identify as part of a marginalized community and are looking for financial assistance for one of our AVY 1 or AVY 2 courses here in Silverton.

For Hut Based Avy Courses, you may use this fund towards the equivalent price of a town based AVY 1 or AVY 2. All other expenses including lodging and food will not be covered at this time.

Requirements for this scholarship application:

1. Follow .expeditions on Instagram to stay up to date with selections & avy schedules.
2. Fill out the survey with the link in our bio
3. Proof of course registration is required before selection is made

A huge thank you to some of our prior students and clients for helping make this scholarship fund happen including local Silverton rider .schmev 🎉

07/22/2024

SAN JUAN EXPEDITIONS AIARE Avalanche Courses for Winter 24/25 are now available! ⛰️ ❄️

We’re thrilled to announce that our AIARE Avalanche Courses are live on our website. This includes town-based courses out of Silverton, hut-based courses, a Big Mountain Level 2 Course, and our Ski Mountaineering courses.

To view our course schedule, please click the link in our bio ⬆️

*ALL WOMEN’S-SPECIFIC COURSES WILL BE AVAILABLE BY AUGUST 1st*

05/31/2024

Accessing Silvertons high alpine right from our office here on Greene St. is one of our favorite things about Summer in the Juans!

05/27/2024

FAST PACKING THE SAN JUANS 🏃‍♀️ 🏕️

Fast Packing is an efficient method of mountain travel combining the best of hiking and trail running, allowing you to cover more ground while still enjoying the breathtaking scenery.

If you’re looking to master the art of fast packing, there’s no better guide than professional mountain athlete and Silverton local Hannah Green . Hannah is a local legend, completing many 100 mile races including the Hardrock 100 twice, and has thru hiked iconic trails like the CT, CDT, and even thru hiked the length of the Grand Canyon.

Join Hannah and the SJE team for a 3 day, 2 night fast packing experience on the following dates:

July 19th-21st & September 6th-8th

Booking link in our bio 🏔️

04/08/2024

Summer Climbing Camps are back!

SJE Lead Guide, Kam Weakley, will be offering a number of climbing clinics for teens and adults in Durango, in partnership with .

Dates listed below:

TEEN GYM TO CRAG COURSE (ages 12-18)
June 16-19th, July 15th-17th, and August 12-14th

ADULT GYM TO CRAG COURSE (18+ required)
May 25th-26th, June 29th-30th, July 27th-28th, and August 24th-25th

Registration link in our bio 🧗🎉

03/06/2024

A great day out with Animas High School👏

03/04/2024

February was on fire in the San Juans! We hosted a number of Avalanche Courses including 4 hut based courses, and 4 town based courses. We’re looking forward to our last few courses here right out of silverton this month, so get on our calendar 📅

Upcoming dates:

March 8th-10th- AIARE Level 2 Course in Silverton
*plenty of spots left on this course*

March 29th-31st- Big Mtn Level 2 Course w/ & 🎉

📷: AIARE Level 1 students from this season!

02/29/2024

Ready to take your skiing/riding to the next level?

We have two Ski Mountaineering Courses on our calendar for April 5th-7th and April 22nd-24th here in Silverton. If you’re looking for a course to become proficient in advanced techniques such as belayed skiing/riding, low angle ice climbing, and advanced avalanche hazard mitigation this is the ideal course to take here in the San Juan’s.

Link in bio to sign up!

01/11/2024

Refine and build on your avalanche education w/ Bruce on his AIARE Level 2 course out of the Addie S Hut January 21st (evening check in)- 24th!

Our Hut based Level 2 courses are designed to build on the introductory avalanche hazard management model introduced in the AIARE 1 and add evaluation of critical hazard assessment factors to the curriculum.

Join us by clicking the link in our bio 🎊❄️

01/07/2024

We've got a number of new programs out this season for 2024 including a 2 day Intro to Ice Climbing Clinic January 17th & 18th! This is an intro level clinic where you will learn the fundamentals of climbing ice and beginner technique.

Click the link below to register
https://sanjuanexpeditions.com/trips/ouray-ice-park-intro-to-ice-clinic/

12/20/2023

We just finished up our first AIARE Level 1 Course here in Silverton w/ Bruce and Jordan. Thanks to our students for a solid 3 days of skiing!

We still have spaces open for our Hut Based AIARE Level 1 Course & multiple other town based courses including:

January 5th-7th Town Based in Silverton
February 2nd-4th Town Based in Silverton
February 26th-29th Hut Based at the Addie S Hut
& more!

Come join us this winter in the San Juan’s❄️🎊

12/17/2023

Meet some of the SJE Team! 🎊

We just wrapped up an incredible SJE Guides Training this weekend here in Silverton. Join us this winter in one of the most pristine areas in the country for backcountry skiing, ice climbing, and avalanche education.

We’ll see you this winter!

Address

1303 Greene Street
Silverton, CO
81433

Website

http://www.sanjuanexpeditions.com/

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Testimonials from a Student

Title: Navigating Mentorship Opportunities in Professional Guiding

In the professional guiding and avalanche education world I have learned that there is far from a straight forward path to becoming a professional. While I am still very close to the beginning of my journey, I have found that persistence and trust are instrumental in gaining experience.

In 2012 I took my first avalanche class as an intern with Colorado State University in 2012 collecting water samples in Rocky Mountain National Park. This experience exposed me to the limitless of backcountry skiing and the inherent importance of avalanche education and has continued to grow ever since. Over the years I have had the opportunity to spend many days with others in the mountains and have grown to enjoy the teamwork that is involved with making educated decisions in the backcountry.

After my Pro 1 Bridge last winter I began searching for shadowing opportunities to both discern my ambitions and accomplish prerequisites for the AIARE Instructor Training Course. In searching for shadowing opportunities I quickly found that arguably trust was more important than credentials. On a number of occasions organizations, which I approached focused on my lack of a specific course rather than my desire and passion to learn exactly how I could become a professional in the field. Ultimately this led me back to San Juan Expeditions (SJE).

In 2017 I took my AIARE Level 2 Avalanche Course with SJE. Several things stood out to me about SJE that made it the best organization and course to shadow. As I have come to know a great number of backcountry skiers over the years I often ask them about avalanche courses they have taken and their general impression of the guides, materials and what I call “practicality” of the course. SJE has always stood apart based on my conversations because of their location in the heart of the San Juan mountains, the professional and practical knowledge of the guides and the high standards of the educational material being taught. You also can’t beat only having to take a few steps out of the Addie S Cabin on Red Mountain Pass to go from PowerPoints to pits.

In the end I chose to shadow one of SJEs hut-based AIARE Recreational Level 2 courses because it gave me the opportunity to fully immerse myself in the educational experience. I found great mentorship from both Tico and Jack as I observed effective teaching strategies and how to translate avalanche education into practical knowledge for recreational users. However, four days at 11,000 feet in a cabin with a group of strangers teaches you more than just the practical components of avalanche education, it teaches you the importance. For me, I learned that the reason I want to be an avalanche professional is to show people how they can experience the beauty and wilderness of winter in the mountains that continues to draw me back.

Overall, the opportunity to shadow a course with SJE was an invaluable experience and I want to thank SJE, Aspen Expeditions, Jack, Tico and Josh for both their continued contribution to my avalanche education and aspirations of becoming an avalanche professional.

-Austin Seback