Founded by climbers, run by guides
Fifteen years of getting people onto ridgelines, rivers, and rock faces — and getting them home again, every time.
Our story
Started with borrowed gear and a stubborn idea
Ridgeline started in 2011 in the back of a Pine Hollow garage, with three guides, a stack of borrowed ropes, and a stubborn idea: that a guided trip should feel like going out with a friend who happens to know exactly what they're doing — not a tour. No forced small talk, no cutting corners, no pretending a trail is easier than it is.
We were climbers first, and it shows in how we still run things. Every guide on staff is certified for the terrain they lead — AMGA for rock, swiftwater rescue for the river, Wilderness First Responder across the board — because the backcountry doesn't care how good your instincts are if your training isn't real. We built the company around that standard before we ever built a website.
Fifteen years and four thousand-plus trips later, the garage is a proper basecamp and lodge, but the idea hasn't changed. Guiding done right means honest trip descriptions, gear that's actually maintained, and a guide who will tell you the truth about the weather instead of the schedule. That's still the only kind of trip we're willing to lead.
Certified & affiliated
Meet the founder
It started with one guide
Casey Alvarado opened Ridgeline in 2011 and has taken the first trip of every season since. The whole crew below learned the trade the same way: out there.
Our guides
The people who take you out there
Certified, experienced, and just as happy teaching a first-timer as leading a multi-pitch veteran.
Casey Alvarado
Founder & Lead Guide
Started Ridgeline in 2011 out of a garage full of borrowed gear. AMGA-trained rock instructor, WFR, still leads the season-opening trip every year.
Marcus Ondiek
Climbing Program Director
Fifteen years on granite from Pine Hollow to Patagonia. AMGA-trained rock instructor, runs our multi-pitch mentorship weekends.
Briar Sundstrom
Paddle Guide
Swiftwater rescue certified, raised on the river her family has guided for two generations. Teaches our moving-water clinics.
Theo Whitfield
Backcountry Expedition Lead
WFR and Leave No Trace master educator. Plans every multi-day route personally and has never lost a group to bad weather planning.
Nadia Park
Day Hike Guide
Trail-running background, encyclopedic knowledge of every ridgeline within thirty miles. WFR, the guide most requested by first-timers.
Gus Feldman
Basecamp & Gear Manager
Keeps every rope, boat, and boot in the fleet trail-ready. Wilderness First Responder, the first face you meet at check-in.
Our volunteer trail-maintenance program
Twice a season, guides and guests trade boots for tools. Drag the slider to see a stretch of the Switchback trail we adopted.
Meet the guides
A 90-second look at the crew and the basecamp. (Demo placeholder video — not a live account.)
Good to know
Questions we hear a lot
- No — most of our day hikes, flatwater trips, and intro climbing days are built for first-timers. Just tell us your fitness level and comfort with exposure when you book, and we will match you to the right trip. Our multi-day expeditions and moving-water clinics do require some prior experience, noted on each listing.
- Every trip confirmation includes a full kit list. At minimum: sturdy footwear, layers, sun protection, and a water bottle. Technical gear — ropes, harnesses, boats, PFDs, avalanche kits — is provided on every trip we guide. The lodge also rents gear if you need to fill a gap.
- It varies by trip and is listed plainly in every description — from easy half-day walks to multi-day pushes with real elevation and mileage. When in doubt, call us. We would rather talk you into the right trip than have you struggle on the wrong one.
- Guide judgment rules the day. We reroute, delay, or turn back before conditions get serious — and we would rather reschedule your trip than push through something unsafe. If we cancel for weather, you get full credit toward a future trip.
- Yes, on most day hikes and flatwater paddles — we will help you pick an appropriate trip for their age and stamina. Climbing and backcountry expeditions have minimum age guidelines listed per trip; ask when you book if you are not sure.
Do I need experience?
What should I bring?
How physically demanding are trips?
What if weather turns?
Are kids welcome?
Questions before you book?
Call your future guide.
Ridgeline Outdoors LLC · Pine Hollow, CO · Since 2011