About Us

We are an active travel and activity company with a strong commitment to learning about nature in the outdoors.

White Mountain Adventures is in the business of: providing experiential, fun, creative adventures and activities with a learning component to groups and individuals. We focus on the natural environment in the Rockies and western Canada and emphasize the local components of history, culture and heritage as much as possible.

Since 1987 we have been leading trips and running events which focus on nature and ecology and on gaining a better understanding of the world around us. All of our programs, including corporate team building events, embody this ethic and whereever possible we incorporate this into our programs. Our primary goal is to stimulate not only your body but also your mind... and to leave you with lifetime memories of your experiences.

White Mountain Adventures is accredited by the Interpretive Guides Association (formerly know as Mountain Parks Heritage Interpretation Association). The association recognizes those businesses that encourage excellence in the interpretation of nature, history and culture in Canada's Rocky Mountain national parks and surrounding areas.

About Our Company and Guides

Our base is the mountain town of Banff, Alberta inside Banff National Park. It is centrally located in the midst of some of North America's most majestic mountain ranges.

Most of our corporate events and programs take place in Bow Valley corridor which includes Banff, Lake Louise, Canmore, Kananaskis and Calgary, but any of the programs we offer here are also available in other locations.

Our hiking, walking, sightseeing and touring programs are available in Banff, Jasper, Kootenay, Yoho and Waterton National Parks, as well as numerous provincial parks in Alberta and British Columbia.

* Most national and provincial parks now require companies to be licensed and insured. White Mountain Adventures has permits for all of the areas we operate in.

Our trip leaders are the heart of White Mountain Adventures and each guide is selected based on their skills, knowledge and unique personal characteristics. All of our guides are local residents and when you join one of their trips you'll be on the inside track to all of the local flavor and culture. You'll benefit from their expert safety training, guiding and interpretation qualifications. White Mountain Adventures is also the area's leader in interpretive training. Our guides spend considerable amounts of their free time training with us and taking extra courses ranging from natural history to native culture. Our guides love to learn … and they love to share this with you.

For more information on our key staff, please see below.

White Mountain Adventures is proud to be the recipient of the following awards:

2003
Grand Prize Winner
Heritage Excellence

2004 & 2005
Alberta Tourism Award Finalist for Sustainable Tourism

			Order
	Gordon Stermann - President and General Manager Owner and founder of White Mountain Adventures. In addition to being the chief bottle washer, Gord is active in the planning, operation and promotion of our multi-day adventures. He occasionally leads some of the active adventures and teambulding programs and is still our main recruit for trail maintenance at Sunshine Meadows. email: gordon@whitemountainadventures.com
	Tomoe Yamagata - Operations Manager Tomoe joined our team in March of 2008 as the Sales and Events Manager and spent considerable time putting together many of our most popular teambuilding events. Her enthusiasm and high energy helped to create the right atmosphere of fun, excitement and expectation during our corporate events. She has now recently moved over to the position of Operations Manager where she oversees our daily operations and group bookings with the same level of enthusiasm and expertise. email: tomoe@whitemountainadventures.com
	Caroline Green - Bookkeeper and Accounting Caroline has been with us since early 2006 covering a variety of roles, from operations manager to multi-day manager. In her current role of bookkeeper, she now makes sure that we have enough money to pay the bills! email: caroline@whitemountainadventures.com
	Eva Sylvestre - Guide Born in Switzerland, Eva worked as a teacher for 10 years. In 1989 she came to Banff for a short visit... She never left! Keeping with the tradition of Swiss Guides in the Rockies, Eva became a member of the A.C.M.G in 1997 and is also a Professional Interpreter of natural and human history with IGA. When she's not out guiding, you'll still find her doing exactly the same: enjoying the beauty of the Rockies by hiking, canoeing, snowshoeing and skiing!
	Paul Price - Guide Paul is White Mountain Adventures' longest serving guide and has been with us since 1992. While working as a summer hiking guide Paul has also been successful in a number of other careers including being an elementary school teacher in Canmore and a park ranger in Kananaskis Country. He is fluently bi-lingual English-French, and is always more than happy to regale listeners in either language with tales of his adventures and experiences!
	Dave Booth - Guide Dave joined our team in 2005 after spending many years in the Royal Air Force as an engineering officer. Having spent some 25 years on part-time mountain rescue duties he finished his military career in charge of the 2 RAF mountain rescue teams in Scotland. A hiking guide with the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides since 2004, he is also a Professional Interpreter with the Interpretive Guides Association. Dave and his wife Sue run the Ambleside Lodge B&B in Canmore. Dave is extremely versatile and loves the variety of different work that White Mountain Adventures offers him including hiking and heli-hiking, snowshoeing, leading teambuilding activities, and conducting interpretive guide walks and tours.
	Michael Turcot - Guide Michael is a long time resident of the Bow Valley and like many of his fellow colleagues pursues a variety of interests, mostly related to the outdoors. He has been guiding since 2006 and his past managerial experience is also finding a good outlet as a corporate event leader.
	Paul Sylvestre - Guide It's taken quite a few years but Paul has finally realized that the kind of work his wife Eva does is a heck of a lot of fun. He's been guiding with us since 2006, has incredible knowledge of the area and simply loves working with people! Paul is also a professional interpretive guide with the Interpretive Guides Association, a day hiking guide with the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides and has lived and hiked extensively in Banff National Park for 32 years.
	Darren Squires - Guide Darren has been with the company since 2009 as an Interpretive Guide and team building leader. Following a flying career in the Royal Air Force, Darren and his wife have been pursing an active lifestyle in the Bow Valley. A full-time ski instructor in the winter, Darren's other passions are road biking, scrambling and treking around the local peaks.
	Kristi Beetch - Guide A long-time resident of Banff, Kristi had been one of our part-time guides when she decided to make a major career change and turn to guiding full-time in 2000. Needless to say, we're very happy she did. She became a certified ACMG Hiking Guide in 1998, as well as a Professional Interpreter with the Interpretive Guides Association (IGA) in 2001. Kristi has a great rapport with guests, knows the Bow Valley well, and we only wish she had made her career change 10 years earlier!
	Alex Mowat - Guide Alex has been part of the White Mountain Adventures since 2008. He was born in Calgary, has a B. A. in Psychology and worked for a decade with international students at the U of C. In 2004, Alex moved out to the Canadian Rockies and he has been involved in environmental advocacy, parks and guiding work every since. He is certified as a professional interpretive guide by the Interpretive Guiding Association and feels blessed to be sharing and learning about the wonders of natural diversity each day. When he is not trail-running or headed into the backcountry, he can be found sitting in what he calls a “nature sweet spot” - observing and listening - to an orchestra, for which there is no need of a ticket!
	Jocelyn Lang - Guide Jocelyn has worked with White Mountain Adventures since 2006 as a multi-day adventure guide. Her ability to provide significant customer care and pay attention to details make multi-day walking/hiking adventure trips unforgettable! Fluent in German too! In winter, she spends most of her time leading trips as a heli-ski guide.
	Jonathan Klisko - Guide Jonathan has been with us since 1998 and leads a variety of trips from half-day nature walking to heli-hiking. He had also worked for Parks Canada for many years. His extensive knowledge in wildlife and National Parks management helps visitors understand our beautiful nature in the Rockies! He is currently working on his master in biology.
	Tamara Dykshoorn - Guide Tamara has worked with us since 2008 and has been one of our key multi-day adventure guides. Her experience in mountains is vast and she also teaches winter survival courses in high alpine for British Military groups. Her friendly personality with great knowledge in outdoor expeditions make our clients feel safe and comfortable!
	Vanessa Plimley - Guide Vanessa has been guiding with us since 2006. Her great energy and passion for outdoors make our trips very fun and exciting! Her big smile is always there too! Being a personal trainer also helps understanding each client's fitness level and leading a trip at a right pace for everyone.
	Mark Thorsteinson - Team Building Guide Mark has been working with us since 2005 strictly on the team building event side of things and now finds that he has an equal interest in guiding hiking groups as well. He is great as an event leader and his creativity helps us put that little bit of something extra into our programs.