Do they really sleep standing? How much do you all tip guides? If I do a big trip like Everest 20% is like 16k!! That can't be what people are tipping...is it?!

Only for restaurants in the US do people tip that much. Most guides or porters, where acceptable get tipped 10%. In heavily touristed peaks it might go up to 1 days pay for every 7 days work.

Ok, and do you just tip the head guide and assume he divides it up amongst the other guieds?

Is this a really question? It seems that you could figure that on your own. Personally, I would tip individually unless I really trusted the head guide.

ChristopherFranklin wrote:Ok, and do you just tip the head guide and assume he divides it up amongst the other guieds?

I would personally tip guides individually and according to their performance. I was tipped with a brand new $400 GPS once after guiding a Rainier trip. Kind of hard to split that with the junior guide on the trip. It was more common to have meals/beers paid for than actual cash changing hands.

So if you went on a trip that cost 10k and there's 4 guides, you'd give them each 1k?

ChristopherFranklin wrote:So if you went on a trip that cost 10k and there's 4 guides, you'd give them each 1k?

First off, I don't need a guide. Secondly, what trip are you planning where you have a 4:1 guide:client ratio that costs $10k?

But to answer your question, say you take a 21 day immersive alpine course. That can cost several thousand dollars. You will likely have a lead guide and some junior guides. I would distribute the tip (10% or whatever) among the guides based on how you feel their individual contributions were towards the success of the course and your learning experience.

No, at most I’d divide 1K between 4 members of the trip. Also, the customary 1 day’s pay for every seven days work is based on the guides wages, not the cost of the entire trip. If they do an extraordinary job though, more is appreciated.

The questions you keep asking are leading me to believe that either you are just trolling us or that you know absolutely nothing about mountaineering. I’m not speaking of this question specifically, but the others as well. Some of them are really strange to anyone that even has a very basic understanding on mountaineering.

Are you asking these questions because you are going on a guided trip up Denali, are interesting in climbing in general, or are you just trolling?

Scott wrote:No, at most I’d divide 1K between 4 members of the trip. Also, the customary 1 day’s pay for every seven days work is based on the guides wages, not the cost of the entire trip. If they do an extraordinary job though, more is appreciated.

The questions you keep asking are leading me to believe that either you are just trolling us or that yo know absolutely nothing about mountaineering. I’m not speaking of this question specifically, but the others as well.

Are you asking these questions because you are going on a guided trip up Denali, are interesting in climbing in general, or are you just trolling?

I agree, on both points. The questions you are asking are very odd. It seems you know very little about mountaineering yet the very specific questions you ask (e.g. which jumar to buy, is my parka warm enough for Denali) leads me to think you are planning a Denali trip. If that is the case, you should reconsider and spend the money on an immersive 21 alpine climbing course. American Alpine Institute has excellent courses of this nature. I've climbed with a couple of partners who never climbed before, took this course, and were very solid partners from the get go.

Scott wrote:Also, the customary 1 day’s pay for every seven days work is based on the guides wages, not the cost of the entire trip.

This is a very important distinction, and a very good point.

BITD when I was guiding, RMI paid $55 a day for junior guides, $110 for senior guides. AAI paid $110 per junior guides, $220 for senior guides. Really experienced and credentialed guides (i.e. IFMGA certified) could make as much as $300 a day. Not sure what the going wages are now, especially since more and more guides are becoming certified and generally more professional. I would expect senior/IFMGA certified guides making $300 a day as pretty standard. I know that a couple of Canadian guides were charging $600 a day to guide hard water ice climbs (i.e. WI 6).

If you really are going guided on Denali, I'd seriously suggest that you talk to your guide service about many of your questions. They will likely tell you what to bring, how to tip, etc.

This isn't a knock against guided climbing though as it can be a good way to build experience.

Gear List:

https://www.alpineascents.com/rentalfor ... RentalFeeI

Tipping:

https://www.alpineascents.com/denali-faq.php