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GUIDES

San Juan Expeditions (SJE) is the coalescence of over 5 decades of experience in Southwest Colorado and beyond, when in late 2018 Aspen Expeditions Worldwide acquired Kling Mountain Guides. A proud The North Face-sponsored guide service, we offer extensive four-season mountain guiding in the San Juan Mountains surrounding Durango and Silverton. We pride ourselves on a high degree of professionalism; all SJE Mountain Guides are trained/certified under the American Mountain Guide Association (AMGA).

Jack Kilm

Trainings & Certifications:

  • AMGA Apprentice Rock Guide
  • AMGA  Apprentice Ski Guide
  • Wilderness First Responder
  • Denali Mountain Guide
  • Weston Backcountry Snowboard guide and ambassador
  • Alaska Heliskiing Guide

Jack Klim is from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (The U.P). His folks raised him to be prepared for anything and embrace the harsh winters up North.  The Great Lakes were a humbling place for jack to grow up but he moved west to pursue adventure and earned a Bachelors degree at Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO.  Over the last 5 years he has built a strong foundation working for the Colorado Outward Bound School, leading 30-day mountaineering courses and now teaching staff trainings by delivering Alpine Skills curriculum.  Since graduating he has cut his teeth in the San Juan Mountains teaching avalanche courses and ski guiding out of where he currently calls home, Silverton, CO. Jack has worked hard to travel the world with his brother climbing and skiing exotic volcanos in Mexico, Ecuador, Chile, Argentina, Washington, and Oregon.

Jack is passionate about creating memories in the mountains with extraordinary people! Developing relationships through deep-bellied laughter and sharing philosophies over a warm cup of coffee high up on Denali, is the essence of my Jack’s spirit.

“Do not ask what the world needs, ask what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what the world needs are more people who have come alive”

-Howard Thurman.

Erin Laine

Trainings & Certifications:

  • AIARE Course Leader
  • Wilderness EMT
  • Apprentice Alpine Guide
  • Aspirant Ski Guide
  • Born and raised in the potato fields and alpine peaks of Southern Colorado Erin’s passion for the high windy places has been a driving force throughout her life. Working as a professional guide, rescuer and educator have taken her around the world, from the endless deep pow of Japan to the windswept ridges of the Andes  and the remote magic of the Icelandic West Fjords. She loves nothing more than sharing wild places with great friends. Erin is a wilderness EMT, an AMGA aspirant ski guide and apprentice alpine guide, AIARE avalanche course instructor and WFA & WFR instructor
Josh Kling

Trainings & Certifications:

Bruce Saxman

Trainings & Certifications:

  • M.A., Recreation Administration, University of Nebraska‐Omaha, Omaha, NE, 2000
  • B.S., Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management, Emphasis in Resource Management,  Minor in Anthropology, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 1998
  • Green Mountain College – Director of Adventure Programs 2005 to 2015Poultney, Vermont
  • AMGA Ski Guide Course
  • AIARE Course Instructor

Bruce brings over two decades of in the outdoor recreation guiding and leadership industries in both administration and education contexts.  He was the Director of Adventure Programs for 10 years at renowned Green Mountain College in Vermont as well as the Director of the University of Wisconsin – Stout Outdoor Adventure Program.  Today he splits his time between Durango and Idaho.  In Durango,  Bruce is a ski instructor at Purgatory Resort, a raft guide for one of Durnago’s local rafting companies, and avalanche instructor with KMG.  Bruce is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Recreation, Sport and Tourism Management with the University of Idaho; College of Health and Human Performance.

Tico Allulee

Trainings & Certifications:

  • AMGA Certified Rock guide
  • AMGA Certified Alpine Guide
  • AMGA Certified Ski Guide
  • IFMGA Licensed Ski & Mountain Guide
  • Wilderness First Responder
  • AIARE Level 3 Certified
Aidan Multhuaf

Trainings & Certifications:

  • AMGA Single Pitch Instructor
  • Wilderness First Responder
  • AIARE level 1 & level 2

“Cutting his teeth on the granite of northern Colorado, Aidan made the trek to the Southwest in search of something more wild. Here in Durango, Aidan has found himself on the boundaries of both: the desert of the four corners, and the alpine tundra of the San Juan Mountains. But climbing is only half of the job.

Aidan realized he had a passion for teaching when he began coaching parkour movement classes as a teenager, and carried his love to a planetarium where he taught academic lectures for the public. Eventually, Aidan made the obvious connection that he could make a living climbing and teaching simultaneously, as a guide. Since starting his guiding career, Aidan’s stoke has continued to grow exponentially, and since there’s more excellent climbs in the world than there are days in a lifetime, his fire may never burn out.”

Marc Ripperger

Trainings & Certifications:

BRITT RUEGGER

Trainings & Certifications:

  • AMGA Certified Rock & Ski Guide
  • AMGA Assistant Alpine Guide
  • AIARE Course Leader
  • Wilderness First Responder
Evan Clapper

Trainings & Certifications:

  • AMGA  Certified Single Pitch Instructor
  • AMGA  Apprentice Rock Guide
  • AMGA  Apprentice Ski Guide
  • Wilderness First Responder
  • Evan fell in love with moving over stone as a child in North Carolina. While attending high school in Vermont, he discovered snowboarding. Then quickly moved west to Colorado and earned his first degree in Outdoor Leadership from Colorado Mountain College, logging many days in the mountains in the process. He has worked over a thousand days in the field and has climbed and snowboarded peaks in the Andes, Asia, Europe, New Zealand, Canada and Alaska, including Denali. 
    Evan is an AMGA single pitch climbing instructor as well as a aspirant ski guide aspirant and AIARE course instructor.  He spent time as an EMT in Moab, is part of Grand County’s Search and Rescue Winter Rescue Team, and even found time to attend Colorado Mesa University and earn a second degree in Environmental Science.
AJ Appezzato

Trainings & Certifications:

  • AMGA  Certified Single Pitch Instructor
  • AMGA  Apprentice Rock Guide
  • AMGA  Apprentice Ski Guide
  • Wilderness First Responder
  • Evan fell in love with moving over stone as a child in North Carolina. While attending high school in Vermont, he discovered snowboarding. Then quickly moved west to Colorado and earned his first degree in Outdoor Leadership from Colorado Mountain College, logging many days in the mountains in the process. He has worked over a thousand days in the field and has climbed and snowboarded peaks in the Andes, Asia, Europe, New Zealand, Canada and Alaska, including Denali. 
    Evan is an AMGA single pitch climbing instructor as well as a aspirant ski guide aspirant and AIARE course instructor.  He spent time as an EMT in Moab, is part of Grand County’s Search and Rescue Winter Rescue Team, and even found time to attend Colorado Mesa University and earn a second degree in Environmental Science.
Carl Schnitker

Trainings & Certifications:

  • AMGA  Certified Single Pitch Instructor
  • Wilderness First Responder

Carl is one of our most versatile and most requested guides.  He is a double major at Fort Lewis College in Adventure Education and Environmental Science.  In addition to guiding for KMG, Carl is one of the SR. Student Leaders for the renowned Outdoor Pursuits program at FLC as well as a lead guide for Mountain Waters Rafting.

AMOS WHITING

Trainings & Certifications:

  • IFMGA Mountain Guide
  • AIARE Course Leader
  • Wilderness First Responder