st. elias alpine guides day adventures

This review is long past due and I felt obliged to write a review because of the excellent customer care provided by the owner of St Elias Alpine Guide, Gaia. My family of 5 (2 adults in mid 40's, 17,10,7 year olds) stayed in Wrangell-St Elias national park for 3 nights in August 2014. The owner Gaia answered all the questions I e-mailed and helped me planning this trip. There is no access to the glacier from the NP visitor center on Richardson Hwy and the public access for glacier hiking in this NP seems only possible at Kennicott. On the 1st day we did Kennecott Mill town tour right after we arrived at the Kennicott Glacier Lodge by air taxi run by Wrangell Mt air. Everything was well-arranged by the Alpine guide, the lodge and the Wrangell Mt air. The lodge provided free shuttle van pick up from the airport to Kennicott and the driver already knew that we're going to the tour. Kennicott is a very small seasonal town (closed during winter) with only one street. The Alpine guide office is right across from the Kennecott Glacier lodge. The guided tour was excellent with all the detailed history of the town that we couldn't have known without the guide.On the 2nd day we did RIver rafting & Flight tour run by the sister company Copper Oar Rafting. It was mostly class II (occasional class III) water during this tour. It was easy, relaxing scenic river ride, not a fast moving white water raft as with Denali outdoor adventure. The two guides in this company were OK. At the very end of the tour, I had a little sour feeling when they left me and my two children behind at the river bank in order to have their off-work buddies who joined the tour fly back to Kennecott first because there were not enough seats in the airplane. The two guides asked us to finish the customer evaluations first before the end of the tour while waiting for the plane. At first they said we would go first and the other off-work guides would catch the next flight. But once the customer evaluations were collected and the airplane arrived, they suddenly changed their words and told me that I and my two children had to stay for the next flight. I thought it was for safety reason or something like that but later I found that they wanted to go home earlier by having their buddies help unload the rafts and the gears. I still gave my guide a BIG amount of tip and he took it with a smile on the face. After I saw their level of customer care that puts their convenience over the customer's interest, I will think again before booking the tour by Copper Oar Rafting when I go back to Kennecott with my extended family (Yes, I want to go back!). If anyone who happens to be on Copper Oar rafting tour this year forgets tipping the guide, don't worry because I already tipped them in advance for you. On the 3rd day, we did full day glacier hiking. The guide was excellent and he carried some snacks, insulated mats and simple camping gear to serve hot chocolate & apple cider during our break. The glacier landscape changes due to the action of water flowing in the glacier. So we didn't see the exact same scenes as in the photos in their website. But it was an amazing experience especially with the guide's explanation on the nature's action. Overall great company. The owner cares about the customers. Highly recommended.

A wonderful once in a life time experience ice- climbing on Kennicott. It was a wonderful walk to the ice-climbing wall. We got to see some amazing scenery on the way which was part of the experience. I was pretty scared but the guides were fantastic and they were able to adjust to different levels of capability so everyone had a good time. It was fun getting to know the other people on the climb and seeing them climb. Some of the more adventureous climbed down a moulin which they said was spectacular! It was a a pretty full day out as we got back til 6/7pm at night. Buzzing by the end of the day!

We had a great experience with St. Alias Alpine Guides. They are very well organized and helpful. The first day we went on the Glacier Walk. This was all we had hoped for from the walk in and the time on the glacier. We actually all brought a sack lunch and sat on provided mats to eat on the glacier. The second day we did the Kennicott Mill tour. I was amazed at the work to build and mine at this remote location. Our guides were very knowledgeable and friendly. I completely recommend this company.

This is the most amazing experience ever!! The St. Elias Alpine Guides were absolutely fantastic from the moment we met them. They helped our group prepare our gear for the day, we then walked for about an hour to the Glacier at a pace suitable for the entire group. My daughter went with the Glacier Walking group and said it was the best experience of her life. I did the ice-climbing and our guides were amazing, we were on the ice until about 6pm and nothing was too much trouble for our guides and they made sure everyone succeeded in their ice-climb.

We did the glacier hiking tour and was very cool over there. it was very fascinating to learn many things about the glaciers and also the view was stunning.

We did the Kennecott Mill Tour as part of a Princess Cruises 14 day "Off the Beaten Path" vacation. The bush plane flight by Wrangell Mountain Air with Bill in and out of McCarthy was fabulous! Seeing the complex from the air really gave us a feel for the scope of this wilderness outpost. The lunch at Kennicott Glacier Lodge was excellent and when we did the mill tour with our St. Elias Alpine guide she exceeded our expectations. Highly recommended if you want to experience this historical industry and it's amazing accomplishments in the Alaskan wilderness.

Just do it, what ever your fitness level, was favourite day of my 12 in Alaksa and the tour guides were awesome.

We recently returned from a 22 day trip to Alaska that included a three night stay at Ma Johnson's in McCarthy. As part of our stay we used St. Elias guides and they were really great. The tour of the Kennecott mine was fascinating as we imagined what it took to engineer and transport the material needed to build a 14 story structure in the very early 1900's. The following day off we went to hike a glacier. Here we were, sitting with our guide on the ice as she warmed hot drinks to serve as we ate our lunch. Quite an experience for sure. Not only were the guides well versed in the subject matter, but were very personable. If you find yourself in McCarthy with some time to explore, don't hesitate to chat with the folks at St. Elias. They will certainly make your stay much more enjoyable.Ann and Jeff L.

Our tour group departed for a hike along Root Glacier and a full day of Ice Climbing in late August 2014. The weather ended up being perfect and sunny that day with clear views of the glacier in the distance and beautiful hiking scenery. We took on great climbs, learned technical climbing skills and had fun with our guides who really looked after us that day. We went deep into the Mulans and did some challenging climbs. Some of us faced our fear of heights, but overall it was a very memorable experience. I would recommend this activity to anyone who visits this area.

My favourite place in Alaska - stay as long as you can, do as much as you can (at least the mine tour and the glacier tour), you won't regret it.

Each tour was unique and guided by competent individuals. Their friendliness, knowledge and history of the mine and glaciers made our day complete. These young individuals have an abundant energy which translates to the group having a good time. Put on good walking shoes, breathe in the clean air and enjoy God's beauty in Alaska.

This was a 60th BD trip my sis wanted to go on, so we ventured to Kennicott and had a great and awesome time. We took the all day Glacier hike with Andrew, incredible! we took the Ice cave tour with Kristen, beautiful, the Town tour also amazing engineering and design, and last the Jumbo mine tour incredible views and just the design and execution to run the mine in unbelievable. we took that tour with Lucas. This tour was difficult, and straight up.but so worth it. The tour comp. St Elias was very professional, knowledgeable, fun andf very patience. I totally recommend then if you make it to Kennicott.

We enjoyed the tour of the mine and the history that the guide provided, he was excellent. The steps are rather steep, so anyone with balance issues should not go on this tour. We travelled in September, and the only other establishment open in the town was the inn, therefore it had the only food available. The food was excellent. The town of McCarthy was closed.

Great to see and amazing ,steps inside the mine were a bit hard on us older ones but would not have wanted to miss it. Amazing how they built it and worked the mine so long ago. Enjoyed the entire day.

The guides were excellent very thorough on information and history of the area.One of our all time favorite trips!