Our Unique Facilities

Outfitting an Alaska expedition properly is a mighty task. We built our facilities at Alaska Mountaineering School specifically to do the job right. To support our expeditions and courses, AMS operates from two locations near Talkeetna’s village center.

The overwhelming impression from visitors is, “Wow, I have never seen a place so organized!” AMS’s facilities represent 3 decades of continuous effort. We are strong believers in taking care of the things in our control. This mindset works well in the mountains, too.

HEADQUARTERS: AMS headquarters are centrally located in Talkeetna, at the end of a dead-end road, so we can operate undisturbed. When you arrive you will find our office, food, and gear areas. Our outfitting bays offer plenty of covered space to lay out your equipment for the gear check and rental issue. The AMS food-packing room, where food bins cover the walls around a raised packing table, is legendary. You will get a chance to use it on the first day of your AMS expedition. Our staffing and map room is wallpapered floor-to-ceiling with USGS maps of the Alaska Range. This is where instructors and guides plan routes, are briefed, and are issued radios and satellite phones. Our large heated workshop area is where tents, rental parkas, and sleeping bags are stored and equipment is repaired. One wall holds organizer bins filled with items for our first aid kits; another wall holds items for repair-kit assembly. This property also includes our warehouse, which contains: climbing hardware, ropes, stoves, shovels, plastic double boots, ice axes––everything else you’ll need for our programs and courses. For an expedition to be properly outfitted, you can rely on AMS to have everything on hand. Because we order and prepare everything months and even years in advance, there’s no need for our guides to spend time driving around Anchorage trying to find the right things. Instead, they can focus on your upcoming expedition and get everything done right at our HQ.

AMS’s campus extends across our quiet street, where there is a tent-camping area, instructors’ quarters, and the Matt Porter climbing gym (as featured in Climbing magazine, the Patagonia catalog, and other publications). Tents on covered decks are also available for students, should weather prevent an on-time departure.

I love how convenient the AMS headquarters is in Talkeetna and how thorough the guides and staff are.
—Gina Rzucidlo

With its storied history, highly experienced and qualified guides, and resources in Talkeetna, AMS is “the” guiding service which maximizes one’s potential to summit Denali
—Michael Tiska

AMS as a company and persons are very accommodating, professional and very well-organized. From trip planning to available gear in their shops; they are the best guide company I’ve seen.
—Mark Zorn

It has been a real pleasure climbing on Denali with the excellent logistical support, facilities, and professional guides provided by AMS. From the moment you arrive, and especially on the mountain, you notice how AMS stands apart from its competition. Having been with many mountain guide services in the last 10 years, AMS is by far the best—the guides are friendly, great cooks, and always safe.
—Possum Tomfeld