International Destinations--Europe, Peru, Ecuador, & Mexico

Culture and climbing make for a wonderful mix. Arriving and interacting in the human hubbub of the urban areas, then packing our bags and heading for the solitude of the summits, international climbing allows us to experience both the intriguing people and places of distant lands. After such a climbing encounter these lands appear just as intriguing, but less foreign. Adventure Spirit currently offers custom climbing trips in Europe, Peru, Ecuador, & Mexico. Learn more about these adventures below.

The European Alps—This is where alpine climbing began! And this is where is all continues in full force to this day. The French/Swiss/Italian Alps come together in a complex, challenging, and breathtaking topography. Options for climbing and skiing are virtually limitless and most are facilitated by easy lift access—allowing for exciting days that finish in style back down in the village. Or, tackle bigger objectives, facilitated by the extensive hut system. Every alpine climber and skier needs at some point to visit and experience adventuring at the birthplace of it all. Visit our Europe Pages
Peru—Peru offers an incredible array of climbing that mixes high-altitude challenges with the thrill of alpine climbing, while immersed in the rich mix of cultures that have combined to create the country. The list of potential objectives in the Cordillera Blanca region is long--and high!. Our favorite areas to base out of are the Ishinca or Yanapaccha Valleys. Each of those valleys unfold with numerous proud peaks. Some favorites include: Alpamayo, Yanapaccha, Tocclarajulera, Artesonraju, Pisco, and Urus Este. Visit our Peru Pages
Ecuador—Mountaineers bright outfits are put outshined by the colorful indigenous clothing typical in the Ecuadorian countryside. Rising up from that countryside in sharp symmetry, the slopes of Cotopaxi provide for a rugged, high-altitude mountaineering challenge. The ascent begins in darkness, first on volcanic ash and rock, then onto snow, and then the glacier. Rising toward the summit cone at sunrise, spectacular ice walls, seracs, crevasses, and steam vents abound. Visit our Ecuador Pages
Mexico—It is difficult to imagine a more perfect mountain than Pico de Orizaba. The volcano rises like a hulk and towers above the patchwork of farm fields far, far below. The entire Mexican mountaineering experience is a challenging one—the physical demands of climbing combined with physiological altitude adaptations—but at the culmination of this experience you’ll savor the challenges and ample rewards that the Mexican volcano mountaineering experience has offered to you. Visit our Mexico Pages

Please review the information regarding our Custom International Climbs below...

Putting Together Your Customized International Adventure

If you've got a particular International Adventure objective in mind and want to get dates on the calendar, or if you'd like to discuss the array of options that exist and select one best suited to you, connect with us now.

Our International Adventure-specific scheduling, payment, and policies information appears below. Please be sure to review it.

Reserving Your International Adventure Dates

We offer customized International Adventures tailored to your objectives and timeline. Peruvian and European adventures are optimal in the summer months; Mexico and Ecuador are favorable in the winter. Please connect with us regarding your dates to confirm availability. Your dates are reserved once we receive a non-refundable 30% of the total adventure costs (or the full costs if your adventure is less than 30 days away). Payment can be made via:

Paypal transfer to adventurespiritguides@gmail.com. If paying via this method, please click on the "Sending to a Friend" option, as this eliminates transfer fees.
Check payable to "Adventure Spirit LLC" mailed to: 83A North Champlain Street, Burlington, VT 05401
Please review our Cancellation & Change Policy listed below.
Please also review the Declaration of Fitness and Release & Assumption forms links appearing below. If you have any questions regarding your health and fitness as it pertains to the adventures we are planning, please contact us to discuss those specific concerns. We will bring paper copies of these forms with us on the day of the adventure for you to review and sign.

Pricing Options

Because of the logistics involved in International Adventures, pricing is developed according to the custom-tailored climb that we create with you. Through conversation, we'll explore what your timeline is, what style of travel you prefer, and what your goals are. Based on this, we can collaboratively develop an International Adventure that best fits you.

About Our Pricing

Apples to Apples: You will find a variety of rate schemes listed for various guide services, but regardless of how you do the math, you will find our rates to be the most competitive. Be sure you're comparing "apples to apples", by paying attention to the following things...
Guide Training & Qualifications: What are the teaching and leadership qualifications of your guides? All of our North Cascades trips are led by Kel Rossiter is an American Mountain Guide Association (AMGA) International Federation of Mountain Guides Association (IFMGA) Certified Mountain Guide. Click here to see a few reasons why this training matters. This is the highest and most rigorous level of training and certification attainable for climbing guides. This process takes years of training and examination. To learn a bit more about the process, click here.
Customization Through Collaboration: The trip development process is the result of a collaborative process where we learn about your timeline, climbing goals, and adventure preferences. Based on that, we develop a climbing adventure that takes your existing knowledge and skills to new heights.
Adventure Agility: Large companies that offer pre-established group trips typically have a rigid plan, making mid-course corrections difficult. Customized, small-group trips developed in synch with the guide actually leading your trip allow for agility. If weather or route conditions aren't favorable on a particular peak, we can smoothly re-route; if more time is needed to acclimatize, we can adjust. A key component to success and safety in the mountains is adaptability and customized, small-group trips maximize this.
Personal Communication: How much communication will your guide service provide in helping you to best prepare for your adventure? You can call and talk directly with your guide anytime. We pride ourselves on being there as your guide throughout the entire adventure process, from preparation, to the event, to moving onward and upward after that!
Skilled Professional Coaching: Will you be communicating with office staff or your actual guide? When you contact us, you'll be speaking directly with the guide you'll be climbing with, a guide who works in the field full-time and is familiar with the particulars of your adventure, and can help you best prepare for it.

Taking into account these and other factors, we believe you’ll find Adventure Spirit to be the optimal value. If you have any questions regarding what sets our services above the rest in terms of performance and pricing, please contact us to learn about the Adventure Spirit edge.

Cancellation & Change Policies for International Adventures

We plan our International Adventures season and related travel based on our anticipated work calendar. This scheduling takes place months in advance of the that season. Our cancellation and change policy helps our guides with job security. Guides with job security are able to make a career out of it, and hence, excel at it. With that in mind, Adventure Spirit maintains the following cancellation and change policies specific to International Adventures.

General

A 30% non-refundable deposit secures your adventure dates.
There are absolutely no refunds or credits given for any reason on your deposit once your deposit has been made.
Full payment is requested no later than 90 days before your adventure.
Policies regarding refunds/credits of the 70% remainder are described below.

Weather & Route Changes

Mountain weather can be variable and sometimes the particular route we intended may not be in shape. In such situations, we will work with you to develop a plan that will make the best use of the given conditions. These adjustments may include a change of our intended climbing route or a change of climbing objective if it is unreasonable to continue with your chosen adventure based on current or forecasted weather, avalanche conditions, or route conditions.

Other Cancellations & Changes

Our International Adventures involve significant planning, travel and permit fees, and logistical preparations well in advance of this trip. For these reasons the cancellation and change policies below are in effect.

There are no refunds or credits given on the 30% deposit.
For any cancellation made 90 or more days in advance, we will return 100% of any of the 70% remainder that has been paid.
For any cancellation made less than 90 days in advance of the trip, no portion of the 70% remainder that has been paid shall be refunded or credited.

In the event that Adventure Spirit needs to cancel the trip or requests a change of scheduling, we will be in touch with you immediately. We will work to see if rescheduling is possible. If that is not possible, we will work to set you up with an alternative guide/guide service and we will refund all of your deposit and remainder payments. You can then work with the alternative guide/guide service to develop a plan and pricing.

Travel & Rescue Insurance

We strongly encourage everyone to consider purchasing travel insurance. Click here for a link to one company we've used in the past.
We require rescue insurance for all international travel and we strongly recommend it for all our trips. Click here for the company we use and recommend, Global Rescue.

Click here to return to our Destinations page.