• About KMG
• Trips
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    • Rock Climbing and Bouldering
      • Durango, CO
      • Black Canyon, CO
      • Sailing Hawks, Durango, CO
      • Indian Creek, UT
      • Castle Valley, UT
      • El Potrero Chico, MX
    • Skiing
      • Durango Mountain Resort, CO
      • La Sal Mountains, UT
      • Russia
    • Alpine Climbing
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    • Backpacking and Trekking
      • Backpacking Utah
      • Backpacking, Durango Mountain Resort
  • Location
    • Domestic
      • Colorado Programs
      • Durango, CO
      • Durango Mountain Resort
      • Sailing Hawks, Durango, CO
      • Black Canyon, CO
      • Ouray, CO
      • Utah Programs
      • Indian Creek, UT
      • Castle Valley, UT
      • Cedar Mesa/ Grand Gulch, UT
      • Alaska
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      • Mexico
        • Rock Climbing
        • Volcanos
      • Russia
      • South America
      • Africa
• Courses
  • Durango Mountain Resort Courses
  • Avalanche Courses
    • Level 1 Refresher
    • Level 1
    • Level 2
    • Level 3
  • College Courses
    • Avalanche Courses
    • Intro to Mountaineering
    • Rock Climbing Rescue
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  • Wilderness Medicine
    • Wilderness First Aid
    • Wilderness First Responder
    • Wilderness First Responder Rectification
    • Wilderness EMT Upgrade
    • Wilderness Advanced Life Support
  • Technical Rigging
  • Leave-No-Trace
    • LNT Awareness Workshop
    • LNT Trainer Course
• Resources
  • Industry Partners
  • Rental Equipment

Leave-No-Trace with Kling Mountain Guides

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!

 

Leave No Trace (LNT) is an national and international program designed to assist outdoor enthusiasts with their decisions about how to reduce their impacts when they hike, camp, picnic, snowshoe, run, bike, hunt, paddle, ride horses, fish, ski or climb. The program strives to educate all those who enjoy the outdoors about the nature of their recreational impacts as well as techniques to prevent and minimize such impacts. Leave No Trace is best understood as an educational and ethical program, not as a set of rules and regulations.

 

At KMG we are able to offer LNT Awareness Workshops and LNT Trainer Courses. These two courses are great for everybody. From the person who is backpacking for the first time to the professional mountain and river guides. These courses will fill your brain with the knowledge of how to Leave-No-Trace. All LNT courses are run on a custom basis.

 

If you work in the outdoors in a leadership role, such as a river or mountain guide, ski instructor, or jeep tour guide become an LNT Trainer and pass on the good wisdom of LNT! Please contact us if you or your organization are interested in either a LNT Awareness Workshop or LNT Trainer Course.

 

Leave-No-Trace Awareness Workshops

WHAT IS AN AWARENESS WORKSHOP?

An Awareness Workshop is any formal Leave No Trace presentation that is one-day or less in length. These workshops are designed for educators, children, college students, Girl Scouts, outdoor professionals, Boy Scouts, trail crews, hiking club members and others interested in Leave No Trace skills and ethics.

 

Leave-No-Trace Trainer Course

WHAT IS A LNT TRAINER COURSE?

Trainer courses are designed for educators, guides, agency employees, and other outdoor professionals. Successful graduates of the Trainer Course gain the skills to teach Leave No Trace techniques and ethics to their clients, friends and family.

*Kling Mountain Guides operates under special use permits in the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park , Moab BLM, Indian Creek BLM, Manti-La Sal National Forest, Cedar Mesa Grand Gulch BLM, and Dalla Mountain Park areas.  Kling Mountain Guides operates under the Durango Mountain Resort operating plan in the San Juan National Forest.  Kling Mountain Guides LLC provides services and employment regardless of ethnic or cultural heritage, religious beliefs, sexual orientation or physical handicap. Josh Kling operates as an employee of Mountain Trip, San Juan College, Fort Lewis College, and the Silverton Avalanche School.. Mountain Trip, San Juan College, Fort Lewis College, and the Silverton Avalanche School all operate under special use permits from the United States Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management in their respective operating districts.**

The 7 Principles of

Leave-No-Trace

Plan Ahead and Prepare:

• Know the regulations and special concerns for the area you'll visit.
• Prepare for extreme weather, hazards, and emergencies.
• Schedule your trip to avoid times of high use.
• Visit in small groups when possible. Consider splitting larger groups into smaller groups.
• Repackage food to minimize waste.
• Use a map and compass to eliminate the use of marking paint, rock cairns or flagging.

 

Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces:

• Durable surfaces include established trails and campsites, rock, gravel, dry grasses or snow.
• Protect riparian areas by camping at least 200 feet from lakes and streams.
• Good campsites are found, not made. Altering a site is not necessary.

Dispose of Waste Properly

• Pack it in, pack it out. Inspect your campsite and rest areas for trash or spilled foods. Pack out all trash, leftover food, and litter.
• Deposit solid human waste in catholes dug 6 to 8 inches deep at least 200 feet from water, camp, and trails. Cover and disguise the cathole when finished.
• Pack out toilet paper and hygiene products.
• To wash yourself or your dishes, carry water 200 feet away from streams or lakes and use small amounts of biodegradable soap. Scatter strained dishwater.

Leave What You Find

• Preserve the past: examine, but do not touch, cultural or historic structures and artifacts.
• Leave rocks, plants and other natural objects as you find them.
• Avoid introducing or transporting non-native species.
• Do not build structures, furniture, or dig trenches.

Minimize Campfire Impacts

• Campfires can cause lasting impacts to the backcountry. Use a lightweight stove for cooking and enjoy a candle lantern for light.
• Where fires are permitted, use established fire rings, fire pans, or mound fires.
• Keep fires small. Only use sticks from the ground that can be broken by hand.
• Burn all wood and coals to ash, put out campfires completely, then scatter cool ashes.

Respect Wildlife

• Observe wildlife from a distance. Do not follow or approach them.
• Never feed animals. Feeding wildlife damages their health, alters natural behaviors, and exposes them to predators and other dangers.
• Protect wildlife and your food by storing rations and trash securely.
• Control pets at all times, or leave them at home.
• Avoid wildlife during sensitive times: mating, nesting, raising young, or winter.

Be Considerate of Other Visitors

• Respect other visitors and protect the quality of their experience.
• Be courteous. Yield to other users on the trail.
• Step to the downhill side of the trail when encountering pack stock.
• Take breaks and camp away from trails and other visitors.
• Let nature's sounds prevail. Avoid loud voices and noises.