The world is a big place, and not without its wonders. Exploring its rugged terrains, entering its wild forests, skiing down its steep white peaks, sailing its fjords are all thrilling experiences that are inspiring and vitalizing. However, it is not always easy to know where to go, or how to go about encountering new geographies and undergoing challenging adventures.
Hiring a certified guide is key to show the way out of our comfort zones and can offer balance whether we are too intrepid or too scared in the face of a challenge.
At explore-share.com, we help you find the perfect guide for your outdoor adventure, whether it's in the Himalayas, the Andes, the Alps, the Tian Shans, the Rockies or any other range in the world. Below are five reasons why you should hire a mountain guide for your next adventure, read on, and start planning!
1. Stay safe
Adventure trips and outdoor activities are great fun and sure to give you a thrill, however, it is also important to stay safe. Active holidays often expose us to risk, and certified mountain guides can help keep us safe.
Because they are well-trained experts, and because they know the terrain and weather so well, they know how to read the conditions and anticipate danger, as well as how to handle emergencies and make the proper decisions when there is a risk. This is especially true if you are going for a more technically trying activity, such as ice-climbing, or attempting a big challenge, like climbing Mont Blanc in the Alps.
Regardless of your training and expertise, and even if you have done safety training courses before, a certified guide is still key in ensuring your well-being. Furthermore, they will be able to assist you in terms of equipment and acclimatization, which is essential at high altitudes.
2. Optimize your adventure
Hiring an experienced guide will save you time and ensure you find the best spots. Not only do they know the terrain like the palm of their hand, but they also know how the weather behaves, and they have a network of people in their field of work with whom they exchange knowledge.
A local guide will be able to take you to the best powder spots for skiing, to that secret uncrowded spot with the best views when hiking, up a side of the hill that is less physically challenging and more rewarding in terms of landscapes, and more.
Furthermore, guides can also help you take care of logistics, which is especially important when traveling to more remote locations, and when you don't speak the local language. Guides may organize transport, make mountain hut reservations, point you in the best direction for equipment rentals, recommend the best local restaurants and communicate with the local community to help you find what you are looking for. This will help you save time and energy while making your trip an all-around better experience.
Would you like to enjoy some winter fun in a thrilling and remote location? Then read more about ski touring in Siberia and start planning your next adventure into the unknown!
3. Acquire new skills
A certified guide has a lot of skills in whichever activity they specialize in. Many of them offer courses, such as this Rock climbing course in Kalymnos, Greece or this guided 4-day mountaineering course in Chile.
But even if you join a regular tour, you will still learn tips to improve your skills, and may even be able to accomplish things you didn't imagine were possible. This is true whether it's the first time you try backcountry skiing or if you are an ice-climbing expert. For example in Japan, you can go skiing or snowboarding with a Freeride World Qualifier pro and get some great expert insight into these exhilarating sports.
Additionally, keep in mind that if you have a specific objective or difficulty, an expert guide will be happy to listen and give you the necessary pointers to achieve your goal.
4. Enjoy good company
Mountain guides are very knowledgeable and people friendly. They are used to engaging with people from all over the world and sharing their passion with them. This makes them a great company on outdoor adventures.
Furthermore, many programs involve joining a group, which allows you to interact with different people with similar interests and make new friends as you share the adventure. On long mountaineering trips, you will be able to swap stories, help each other out and enjoy meals, fires and sleep under the stars together. This will make your active holiday both thrilling and heartwarming.
Going on guided adventures is a great way to meet new people and strengthen bonds, which is only one of many reasons why outdoor activities enrich our lives!
5. Learn about geography, history, culture and more!
Last but not least, guides are great sources of knowledge and will be able to teach you about the local geography, geology, history, and culture. This is especially true in more exotic, off-the-beaten-path locations.
Local mountain guides know a lot of great details about the plants and animals of their region, which you might pass by if no one is there to point them out to you. Whether it's learning about herbalism in the Jura Mountains or about Mayan history and culture in Tulum, Mexico, you will find that joining a certified guide on your trips will truly enrich your experience and give you a more immersive adventure. Don't miss the chance to soak up on the knowledge that a certified local guide can bring to the table.
Going with a local guide can take your travel experience to a whole new level. read about the experience of this group of friends that went backcountry skiing trip in Hokkaido with guide Daisuke Sasaki.
Outdoor activities are great fun and bring a lot of benefits. To make the best of them and ensure your safety, save time, and learn everything you need to know the necessary skills and details of the place, going with a certified guide is key. Find a local mountain guide at explore-share.com and start planning your next adventure trip!
