Our Social License to Operate:
What is a social license?
Generally speaking a social license is our reputation in action. Our ability to ethically conduct business in an industry like this would be impossible if we didn’t treat people and our planet with respect. Our company is socially acceptable and legitimate.
Our triple-bottom line: People, Planet, and Profit
People:
How we treat people matters the most to us. We do not believe that business and personal life are separate, because for us they’re not, this is a family business and we hire our friends. Those who would have you believe that business and personal life are separate are simply making excuses to treat people poorly at work.
So how can you expect to be treated by the Rock Solid Guides? With respect, kindness and compassion. That is our company culture and you can be guaranteed that no matter whether you are climbing with one of our rising apprentice guides or a full mountain guide, that person has been treated with respect and this culture is prevalent among all Rock Solid Guides.
No matter where you come from or what you’ve been through, no matter whether you are an out-of-shape beginner or a seasoned expert, expect to be greeted warmly and openheartedly by the Rock Solid Guides.
Brazillian ultra-runner Theo had never been on glaciers before, here he is on the summit of Mt. Matier after traversing a massive glacier!
Please know that our clients are the widest variety of humans imaginable, and we mean that wholeheartedly, it is one of the great joys of being a guide to meet people from so many different walks of life. We’ve climbed with everyone from Christian school girls to elderly tradesmen, prisoners who’ve served their time and turned their lives around to active-duty police officers and military personnel. Scientists, teenagers, teachers, parents, lawyers, newlyweds, pilots, tree planters, firefighters, garbage men, surgeons, scaffolders, priests, and the list goes on and on and on.
And these people don’t just come from Canada, they come from all over the world with one common goal: to have a great time climbing!
Progress Pride Flag, we support all our LGBT+ and BIPOC friends!
Some of our very best clients are members of the LGBT+ and BIPOC communities, the youngest transgender person who has climbed with us was 7 years old and we once took an entire village of indigenous children rock climbing. Climbing can make such a difference in a young person’s life and we value every opportunity we have to make a positive difference.
The Straight Ally Flag - We are allies and everyone is welcome here!
Most importantly we believe in unity, in a world that is becoming more and more divided we tie ourselves together with a powerful rope and with courage and determination we tackle challenges that are bigger than humans. Mountain-sized challenges against which we could not be successful alone. Unity is key to our survival and will continue to be.
We are also bound by the ACMG code of conduct which asserts that all guides stand ready to help any people we meet who are in distress, as long as our clients are in a safe location we help with response in any emergency. We have trained extensively for rescue and we have helped in multiple real rescues in the field and will continue to do so. We are capable, positive, practical, and we use our skills for good.
Grace Rennie helps maintain the garden, growing spinach to take to the alpine! We want the planet to be habitable for her grandchildren and generations beyond!
Planet:
As climbers we are deeply connected with nature, the level of interaction we have with nature is tremendous. Our blood mixes with the granite as we jam our fingers and hands into cracks, and our souls come alive at dawn on a glacier in the high alpine. We make every endeavor to protect that which we love and one of our greatest joys is showing people these amazing places, places so compelling they will become enthusiastic about protecting them.
We follow the 7 Leave No Trace Principles, packing out all that we pack in, disposing of human waste in the proper way, respecting wildlife, being considerate of other users, travelling and camping on durable surfaces. Our trips are generally small group, infrequent, low-impact trips.
We encourage carpooling and make every attempt to reduce our carbon footprint from transportation. This also reduces travel costs for everyone involved.
Often we provide food for alpine trips and we grow a lot of that food in our extensive home garden near Golden, we provide locally harvested, organic, sustainably produced food for our clients whenever possible.
Also, on virtually every trip we pack out garbage left by other parties, unfortunately this is just the reality of how it is, garbage is usually left at campsites and throughout the mountains. A small percentage of this is what climbers refer to as ‘booty’, which is garbage that has been left that is still useful, most of what we pack out however is usually just plain old useless garbage left by careless, inconsiderate parties, or just climbers from decades past rappelling in a storm. We replace many anchors each season and contribute to bolt funds and access groups.
We recycle, and use compostable bags for food, as well as reusable containers over disposable plastic items. We support certified B corporations and purchase equipment from eco-friendly suppliers whenever possible. We invest our money in socially responsible funds and direct carbon capture technology.
We repair our own gear! Sewing is a critical skill for a guide, we’ve sewn up client’s clothes and tents before on trips too. Our clothes are beat up and repaired and beat up again, this cycle continues until the garment is unrepairable, we make the most of the clothing we have and avoid buying new clothes just to look better.
Please contact us if you have any advice on how we can make our business more sustainable!
Profit:
We haven’t really turned a significant profit in all the years we’ve been operating (since 2016), this business essentially breaks even and we collect our day rates which are the same as we pay guides who work for us and it would be similar to if we worked for any other guiding business. We are a small business, a “mom-and-pop” shop, and we are happy operating this way. We are not looking to make a million dollars here, we are in this business for the love of it!!
