Welcome to Kling Mountain Guides!
Kling Mountain Guides is a small entirely locally owned and operated outdoor education and mountain guide service. We are based in beautiful Durango, Colorado. Read on to learn why you should come into the hills with us!
Why should you come explore the mountains and desert with Kling Mountain Guides?
- Locally owned: KMG is owned and operated by Josh Kling, a Durango local for over a decade. When you come on a trip or course with KMG, all the money is staying in the Durango and La Plata County area. We are not owned by some holding company or business person from across the country! Travel globally but shop locally with Kling Mountain Guides!
- Community: Involvement in the community is critical to Kling Mountain Guides. We realize that without a strong community to stand behind us, we would not exist! That’s why we work so closely with other organizations and small businesses in the Durango area. These include but are not limited to San Juan College, Fort Lewis College, the Silverton Avalanche School, La Plata County Search and Rescue.
- Our own guides: Our trips are run around the globe with our own guides and staff. If you come on a trip with us, that's who you'll get. We do use local support staff in different areas for logistical help, but you will always be with a KMG guide!
- Training and Certification: KMG guides go through extensive training in their respective discipline(s) which includes wilderness medical training and CPR. Rest assured that the guide or instructor you get has trained with the best organizations in the industry. These include such organizations as; the American Mountain Guides Association, the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education, the American Avalanche Association, Wilderness Medical Associates, Leave-No-Trace, and the Professional Ski Instructors of America.
- Creativity: Don't go with the ordinary, go with the extraordinary! When other companies run out of ideas, they copy ours! Our trips and courses are not the typical ones found in guide books. Adventure is not in the guide book and beauty is not on the map! Don’t choose to go to mountains and deserts and just follow the standard routes. Come exploring with us! The routes we choose are not the typical ones with our own variations not found in guide books. This makes for a more remote experience and a guaranteed adventure!
- Leave-No-Trace: At Kling Mountain Guides, our office is the mountains and desert. Both for work and for play we spend an immense amount of time there. Taking care of these places is extremely important to us. KMG is a Partner Guide Service with the Leave-No-Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics. Two of our guides are LNT Master Educators, the highest level of LNT training. Climbing and skiing are both great, but if there is nowhere beautiful to do those activities, than what's the point!
- Experience: At KMG we pride ourselves that our guides work for a variety of different companies and outfitters. None of our guides only work for KMG! This means that you will be getting a wealth experience from a multitude of companies and outfitters from around the globe!
- Education Heavy: At Kling Mountain Guides, we value education as well as guiding. If you want to hire somebody to just drag you up a hill, look elsewhere. If you want to go into the mountains, achieve your goals, have an amazing time and come back with more knowledge then when you left, you have come to the right place! At KMG we take education very seriously. Our guides and instructors don’t only work for KMG. Everybody on the KMG staff has a heavy involvement in other education institutions as well. Check out our College Course page for a list of the educational institutions we work with!
Meet Our Guides:
Josh Kling:
Josh is the Owner and Lead Guide for Kling Mountain Guides He is a Mountain Guide and Outdoor Educator based in Durango, Colorado. Josh guides all types of rock and alpine climbing as well as trekking. He also guides backcountry skiing, ski mountaineering, and instructs AIARE and AAA avalanche courses. His climbing and trekking have taken him around the globe. Along with operating Kling Mountain Guides, Josh also works with several other programs. He is an adjunct faculty member with San Juan College where he instructs numerous courses for their Outdoor Leadership degree track. He instructs courses at Fort Lewis College for the Outdoor Pursuits program, and teaches at the Silverton Avalanche School. He also works in Alaska for Mountain Trip as a guide on Denali.
Josh has completed rock and ski guide training through the American Mountain Guides Association. He is a Wilderness First Responder, Professional Member of the American Avalanche Association, an American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE) Level 1 and 2 Course Leader, Leave-No-Trace Master Educator, a professional member of the Association of Outdoor Education and Recreation, and a graduate of Fort Lewis College. He is a Technical Team Member, Training Instructor, and Ski Team Coordinator with La Plata County Search and Rescue in Colorado.
Contact Josh at josh@klingmountainguides.com.
John Minier:
John began climbing at age 14 at a 3 rope climbing gym in Michigan. He escaped the Midwest in 2002 to attend the University of Colorado, where he graduated with a degree in Geology. He put his knowledge of rocks to work on the walls of El Dorado Canyon, Rocky Mountain National Park, Zion, and many other vertical venues. Shortly after starting college, John helped to establish The Backcountry Club at CU Boulder as well. During his time with the BC Club, John coordinated and led hundreds of sweat-powered ski tours, hairball descents, and hut trips. The club now consists of over 100 skiers and riders including freeheelin’ hippies, resort rippers, and general outdoor enthusiasts, all dedicated to finding fresh tracks away from I-70’s crowded corridor. Since graduating in 2006, John has found himself in Estes Park, Steamboat Springs, San Francisco, and finally Durango. He is an adjunct faculty member at San Juan College where he instructs for their Outdoor Leadership degree. He is an AIARE Level 1 Avalanche Instructor andis now pursuing his AMGA certifications, trying his hand at business, and exploring the mountains.
Marcel Bieg:
Marcel has been a professional instructor and guide in nearly every outdoor adventure discipline over the last 15 years. He holds a Bachelors degree from Alaska Pacific University in Outdoor Studies and a Masters of Science in Experiential Education from Minnesota State University, Mankato. Marcel is a certified instructor through the AMGA, ACA, AIARE, ACCT, and PSIA and is a current Wilderness First Responder and Leave-No-Trace Master Educator. Marcel has lived and working all over the country from Alaska to the Florida Keys. He currently lives in Farmington New Mexico with his wife and Daughter and is the Director of the Outdoor Leadership Program at San Juan College. Marcel typically teaches Single Pitch and Avalanche Classes for Kling Mountain Guides.
Contact Marcel at biegm@sanjuancollege.edu.
Brad Sablosky:
Brad became interested in wilderness medicine during his 13 year career as a river guide in Northern Canada. After hanging up his guide paddle he served for 5 years as the Director of Langskib Wilderness Program in Northern Ontario. He has worked as a senior field instructor for Aspen Achievement Academy and sits on several charitable boards for outdoor education organizations. Durango, Colorado has been his winter home since 1996 where he serves as a WEMT-I with Durango Fire and Rescue. He is the Vice President and Training Coordinator for La Plata County Search and Rescue. In the winter he serves as a professional patroller and the training supervisor for the Purgatory Mountain Ski Patrol. Brad is a private pilot and owner of a Murphy Rebel bush plane. When not on the slopes he can be found exploring the dirt strips of the desert southwest. Check out his website here.
Contact Brad at brad@wildernessmedic.com
Everett Chamberlain:
Everett grew up in the Denver area. He has been an outdoor enthusiast his whole life thanks to his wonderful parents and the inspiring landscapes of Colorado. He moved to Durango in 2003 to attend Fort Lewis College. EV graduated with a degree in Adventure Education and a minor in Philosophy. During his Fort Lewis carrier Everett was a Teaching Assistant for multiple Adventure Education courses as well as working for the famous Outdoor Pursuits program as Climbing Wall Manager. EV has had the privilege to lead trips throughout the desert southwest as well as Mexico. He spent his college summers guiding raft trips on the Snake River and through the Grand Canyon. Everett is now working in Durango at the Colorado Timberline Academy helping students reach their academic and social goals. His position at CTA has him teaching climbing courses as well as leading week long expeditions. He is a professional member of the American Mountain Guides Association and has completed the Rock Instructor Course in pursuit of full AMGA certification.
Lee Frazer:
Lee is comes to KMG to help our clients in the education sector consider and integrate best practices in staff and program development, adult learning and teaching, and educational leadership - specialties gained through doctoral work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, research experience, and a range of teaching and management positions.
With over a decade of experience with Outward Bound, the premier adventure-based experiential education school – as an instructor, staff trainer, and program director – Lee brings a unique perspective to our strategic planning sessions. A gifted facilitator, engaging speaker, and expert in active learning, he also conducts innovative, breakthrough team building sessions for our clients. Lee’s expertise as a facilitator extends to diversity training, educator development, conflict resolution, and leadership development.
Lee also lends his knowledge and creative know-how to help develop innovative curricula for our courses, keep us apprised of the latest education and learning science research, and conduct client-appropriate organizational assessments. His research experience also informs his knowledge and support of research-based practices.
Lee is a full-time, tenure-track faculty member in the School of Natural and Behavioral Sciences at Fort Lewis College, Colorado's public liberal arts college, in Durango, Colorado.
Education:
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison
M.S., University of Wisconsin-Madison
B.S., Texas A&M University-College Station
