How we manage risk.

Section 01

Our approach

We keep groups small, prepare carefully and make conservative decisions. Before each expedition, Mark writes a master plan for that route: logistics, food, gear, weather, team roles, rescue skills and an emergency plan.

• Small teams. Never more than five men on a trip.
• Earned places. Every man applies, talks with us and meets the fitness standard before he is accepted.
• Prepared people. We check every man’s gear at the staging point and practise rescue skills before the hard part of the route.
• Conservative calls. The trip leader can change the route, the schedule or a man’s role at any time to manage risk. That call is final.

Section 02

Who leads

Mark Schattenberg, Founder & Lead Guide, plans and leads our expeditions. Mark currently leads every trip. He has more than a decade of guiding, paddling and mountaineering experience, trained at the National Outdoor Leadership School, and led a three-man, self-supported team on Denali in 2022. He serves in the Montana Army National Guard. His certifications:

• Wilderness EMT (WEMT) and CPR/AED
• Swiftwater/Flood Rescue Technician
• AMGA Single Pitch Instructor
• ACA Level 3 Kayak Instructor
• Avalanche 1
• Leave No Trace Master Educator

Paul Schattenberg, Remote Support & Weather, watches the forecasts and keeps the radios and satellite messages moving from home. He is a licensed ham radio operator and private pilot. On Denali in 2022 he gave up his own summit attempt to help evacuate a climber in trouble, and National Park Service mountaineering rangers honored him with the Denali Pro Award.

Lauri Schattenberg, Logistics, runs travel, schedules and supplies.

Section 03

Group size and ratios

• Five men per trip, maximum.
• One guide for every five men on guided trips.
• Every man has a partner on the trip. Partners keep track of each other all day.
• A few trips run in a different format, such as the Cooke-out ice climbing weekend, where you climb with your own crew without a hired guide. The trip page always says so.

Section 04

Before you are accepted

Screening starts with your application. We read every one, and promising applicants get a call. After you are accepted, you complete these forms in your account before the trip:

• Fitness standard. Pick one option and hit your trip’s tier: run a 10K (60 min Tier III, 55 min Tier II, 50 min Tier I), ruck (35 or 45 lb, 3 or 4 miles in 1 hour), or HIIT-IT! (6, 8 or 10 rounds in 60 min). Tier I is the hardest and opens Advanced trips. Expedition and Capstone trips may add skills prerequisites, listed on each trip page. Read the standard.
• Medical information. Allergies, medications, health history, past injuries, dietary needs and swimming ability. Your trip leader reviews it before the trip.
• Emergency contacts and your health insurance details.
• Release of liability and the Code of Conduct.
• Travel documents, including a passport for trips that cross into Canada.

Medical answers are confidential. Only your trip leaders see them, and they share them with medical or rescue providers only if you need care. See our Privacy Policy.

Be honest with us. If an injury, illness or anything else changes your fitness before the trip, tell your trip leader right away. Hiding it puts the whole team at risk, and our Code of Conduct treats it as an integrity violation.

Section 05

In the field

• Daily briefings. Each day starts with a team meeting on the plan, roles, weather and hazards, and ends with a check-in on how every man is doing.
• On the water. We scout rapids we don’t know and portage anything we judge too risky for the group.
• In the mountains. On glaciers we travel roped with crevasse rescue gear. In avalanche terrain every man carries a beacon, probe and shovel.
• Wildlife. Food goes in bear-resistant containers, and we carry bear spray in bear country.
• Signals. Every man carries a whistle. One blast means attention, two means regroup, three means emergency.
• Leave No Trace. Mark is a Leave No Trace Master Educator, and we teach and follow the principles on every trip.

Section 06

Emergency communication

Most of our routes have no cell service. The guide carries a Garmin inReach satellite communicator, which sends and receives messages, shares our position and can call for rescue with an SOS.

No phones on our trips. Leave yours in your carry-on or in luggage that isn’t going into the field. The inReach covers emergencies.

Section 07

Medical care and evacuation

Your trip leader is a Wilderness EMT and carries a first-aid kit sized for the route and its length.

If someone is hurt or ill, we look after the scene and the rest of the team first. Then we treat the patient, call for help by satellite when we need it, and work with rescuers until he is in care. We contact his emergency contacts as soon as we can.

A rescue or evacuation from remote country can be very expensive. In Canada and Alaska your regular health insurance may not cover it. Before you go, check that your insurance covers search, rescue and medical evacuation.

Section 08

Weather and turn-around decisions

Weather sets the pace on every trip. Paul tracks forecasts from home and sends updates to the field. On rivers we start early to beat afternoon wind.

Turning around is part of the job, and we don’t count it as a failure. If conditions are beyond what we are willing to accept, we wait, change the route or head home. If weather forces us to cancel a trip, our Cancellation & Refund Policy explains your options.

Section 09

After every trip

We write up every incident and near-miss on our incident report form. The whole team debriefs at the end of each trip, and we hold a full review within one to two weeks. After every trip we update the emergency plan with what we learned.

Questions about risk, or about a medical condition? Email mark.schattenberg@gmail.com before you apply. We’ll give you a straight answer.