Colorado Mountain School

History

CMS, under various names, has been guiding continuously in Colorado since 1877, and has been Rocky Mountain National Park's exclusive technical climbing concessionaire since the Park's creation in 1915. Mike Donahue purchased the company in 1981 and gave it its present name. John Bicknell, the Colorado Mountain School's owner, purchased the business in 1999. John guides numerous days a year, is an American Mountain Guides Association Certified Rock Guide, Alpine Guide, and Guide Trainer.

Specialties

Colorado Mountain School is the largest guide service in Colorado and has more AMGA-certified guides than any other guide service in the state. We guide in and around Rocky Mountain National Park and have developed the most complete outdoor climbing curriculum in the United States. Our offerings range from one-day courses such as Intro Rock Climbing and Big Wall Clinic, to multi-day courses such as our three day AIARE Level 1 course and our five day Mountaineering Development Series. In addition to our myriad courses, we privately guide rock, ice, ski and mountaineering throughout the Colorado Front Range and internationally. Our mission is to ignite passionate living through mountain education and adventure.