Glacier Adventure Guides

What Glacier Adventure Guides does

Glacier Adventure Guides is a privately-held adventure tourism company headquartered at 24 7th Street West in Columbia Falls, Montana, operating in and around Glacier National Park. Founded in 1986 by Dave Streeter, the company has passed through two ownership transitions and is currently owned by Greg Fortin, who acquired the business in approximately 2004. The company describes itself as the longest-running winter guiding service in Glacier National Park, offering customized guide services including snowshoeing tours, cross-country skiing tours, driving tours, and winter camping expeditions, and has extended its portfolio to include summer tours (hiking, rock climbing, backpacking) outside the park and a specialty film scouting and production support service.

The company operates a direct-to-consumer business model with customers booking tours through a FareHarbor-integrated online booking system on its Squarespace-hosted website. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and customers transact on a one-time, per-tour basis. Its primary customer segment is individual adventure tourists visiting Glacier National Park, ranging from novice to expert skill levels; a secondary segment comprises film and production companies (including BBC, National Geographic, Columbia Sportswear, and the State of Montana) that require local permitting expertise and logistics support across National Park Service, Forest Service, and State Lands. Discovery channels are organic — Tripadvisor reviews, search, and word-of-mouth referrals — with no paid marketing infrastructure evident.

The company has no proprietary technology platform and does not disclose any AI, software, or data capabilities. Its competitive position rests on the credentials of a small guide team: owner Greg Fortin serves as National Ski Patrol Avalanche Director for North America, Rusty Wells is a 40-year National Ski Patrol veteran and 2023 Hall of Fame inductee, and Dena Rissman joined in 2024 with multiple National Ski Patrol certifications. With approximately five employees, a single Montana geography, no external investment, and no disclosed parent or subsidiary structure, the business operates as a niche, expertise-led service company whose scale ceiling is constrained by the labor-intensive nature of guided outdoor adventure.

Name

Glacier Adventure Guides

Legal name

Glacier Adventure Guides

Website

https://glacieradventureguides.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Glacier Adventure Guides is a privately-held adventure tourism company in Columbia Falls, Montana, offering customized guided winter and summer tours in Glacier National Park and a specialty film scouting service for enterprise media clients since 1986.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Adventure Tourism and Outdoor Guiding Services

NAICS

Tour Operators (561520)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Winter & Mountain Guides (Ski, Snowshoe, Avalanche, Ice Climbing) (THAAALAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Nordic & Cross-Country Centers (XC Skiing, Biathlon, Snowshoe Trails) (THAAAJAE), Mountain Safety & Patrol Services (Avalanche Training, Rescue, Medical) (THAAAJAI), Hiking, Trekking & Mountain Guiding (THAJABAA), Mountain, Glacier & Alpine Nature Tours (THAJAIAF)

Keywords

• Guided winter tours
• National park guiding
• Adventure tourism services
• Snowshoeing excursions
• Film scouting logistics

Headquarters

HQ city

Columbia Falls

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Adventure Tours and Guiding Services: Revenue is generated through one-time booking fees for guided adventure tours including snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, driving tours, winter camping expeditions, and film scouting/logistics services. Customers pay per tour or expedition.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Glacier Adventure Guides provides customized guided outdoor adventure tours in and around Glacier National Park, including snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, driving tours, winter camping expeditions, and summer hiking, rock climbing, and backpacking tours. The company also offers specialized film scouting, production logistics, permitting, safety, and support services for documentary and commercial film projects.

Product overview

Glacier Adventure Guides operates as a single unified guiding service rather than a platform-with-modules architecture. The company offers a portfolio of guided outdoor adventure services centered around Glacier National Park, including winter activities (snowshoeing tours, cross-country skiing tours, winter camping expeditions, driving tours) and summer activities (hiking, rock climbing, backpacking). Additionally, the company provides specialized film scouting and production support services for film and media projects. All services are delivered through a team of expert guides with over three decades of combined experience.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS): Large, established wilderness education and expedition provider with deep guide talent pool. Comparable in outdoor guiding expertise and former-affiliation of key personnel (Rusty Wells was a NOLS instructor), though operates at much broader scale.
• Big Sky Resort Guides: Montana-based ski resort offering guided mountain experiences. Comparable in Montana winter tourism market and ski instruction offerings, though integrated into a larger resort operation.

Others

• FareHarbor: Booking platform provider used by Glacier Adventure Guides and many peer tour operators. Comparable as ecosystem/enabling technology rather than a direct competitor.

Direct peers

• American Alpine Institute: Guide service and outdoor education school offering mountaineering, climbing, and ski touring courses. Comparable as a multi-discipline mountain guide outfit with certification-backed instructors.
• Jackson Hole Mountain Guides: Teton-area mountain guiding operation offering ski touring, climbing, and backcountry experiences. Comparable in offering portfolio, seasonal model, and credentialed guide team.
• Whitefish Outfitters: Montana-based outdoor adventure outfitter providing guided winter and summer experiences near Glacier National Park. Comparable in target market, geography, and adventure tour offering.
• Mountain Trip: Mountain guiding company specializing in mountaineering expeditions, ski touring, and alpine climbing. Comparable as a guide-led boutique adventure operator with technical certification emphasis.
• Glacier Guides and Montana Alpine Guides: Established Glacier National Park area guide service offering hiking, climbing, and backcountry trips. Directly comparable as a regional Montana mountain guide operator with similar customer base and outdoor adventure offerings.
• Yellowstone Safari Company: Boutique guided wildlife and nature tour operator in Yellowstone/Grand Teton region. Comparable as a small-team, guide-led adventure tourism business targeting national park visitors.

Regional players

• Sierra Mountain Guides: California-based mountain guiding service offering backcountry skiing, climbing, and avalanche education. Comparable in service mix and credentialed guide model, though operating in a different U.S. region.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/glacier-adventure-guides

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Glacier Adventure Guides