Our base camp. A place to begin, build skills and pursue a real objective.
Backcountry skiing, avalanche education, rock climbing, desert towers, alpine objectives and expedition preparation—all based from Utah.
Our base camp
Two Landscapes. One Extraordinary Mountain Base.
Utah gives BBE access to two very different mountain environments.
The Wasatch rises directly above Salt Lake City. From city streets, the landscape changes to granite walls, quartzite ridges, deep winter snow and high alpine terrain.
Farther south, Moab opens an entirely different world: sandstone cracks, desert towers, long routes and objectives that demand their own movement, protection and route-management skills. Moab climbing is operated and guided by Wasatch Mountain Guides (WMG), so established desert-climbing objectives are part of our Utah program.
Together, the Wasatch and Moab make Utah BBE’s North American base camp—a place for a first experience, continuing education, private objectives and preparation for larger mountains.
Find your way
Find Your Way Into the Mountains
You do not need to label yourself a beginner, intermediate or advanced climber. Tell us what you have done, what you want to learn and where you hope it may lead.
Strong downhill skiing is a useful starting point. Backcountry travel adds touring equipment, uphill movement, transitions, terrain selection, avalanche awareness and group decision-making.
Start with a guided day of Backcountry Skiing & Splitboarding if touring is new to you.
Continue through avalanche education, guided touring, mentorship and ski mountaineering according to your goals.
Gym climbing gives you movement, strength and familiarity with ropes. Outdoor climbing adds real terrain, changing conditions, route-finding, communication, anchors, rope management and judgment.
Begin in the Wasatch with Learn to Rock Climb Outside, then continue toward leading, private guiding, mentorship, multi-pitch objectives and alpine climbing.
A private day in the Wasatch can focus on longer routes, multi-pitch systems, efficiency or alpine movement.
Moab offers a different next step. Desert cracks and towers introduce unfamiliar movement, protection, exposure and commitment in one of North America’s defining climbing landscapes.
A half-day or full private day can be an introduction, a memorable objective or focused time with a guide.
We choose the location and route around your experience, goals, weather and current conditions. Complete beginners, visiting climbers, families and experienced partners looking for a local objective can all begin here.
Utah gives us room to work on the parts of an expedition that can be developed before departure: movement, systems, equipment, pacing, transitions, physical preparation and decision-making.
Objective-specific preparation is available for Kilimanjaro, Aconcagua, Denali and Everest. The purpose is practical preparation, not a certification or promise of readiness.
Winter in the Wasatch
Skiing and Avalanche Education
Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons provide access to a broad range of winter terrain. The right objective changes with snow, weather, avalanche conditions, group experience and what you want from the day.
A guided day may be your first time using touring equipment, an introduction to the Wasatch, focused ski-mountaineering instruction or one step in a longer season of development.
Start here
Full day · Wasatch, Utah · 1–4 Guests
A guided day selected around your experience, conditions and objectives.
From $280 per person · full day
Lifts, then backcountry
6+ hours · Utah · 1–3 standard (contact us for 4+)
Ski Alta or Brighton with a guide who uses the lifts to reach the backcountry beyond them — more vertical, less skinning. One day is enough.
From $250 per person · full day
Build skills
2 days · Wasatch, Utah · Up to 4 per guide
Two field days and an evening session — transceiver rescue, terrain, tour planning. The step before Avalanche Level 1.
$550 per person
Avalanche education
2 field days · Wasatch, Utah · 2–4 clients per guide
A structured introduction to avalanche terrain, snowpack and decision-making.
$615 per person
Avalanche education + camping
3 days, 2 nights · Wasatch, Utah · 2–4 clients per guide
The same certification, with three field days and two nights out in the snow.
$1,150 per person
Across a season
6 field days · Wasatch, Utah · 2–4 clients. Guides rotate across the weekends.
Build judgment and practical experience through repeated days across a season.
$2,000 per person
Technical descents
8–12 hours · Wasatch, Utah · 1–2 clients per guide
Steep couloirs, ice axe and crampons, occasional rappel entrances.
Prior approval required.
From $400 per person · full day
Granite, quartzite, limestone
Rock Climbing in the Wasatch
The Wasatch offers granite, quartzite and limestone climbing within easy reach of Salt Lake City. A first outdoor climbing day, focused instruction, private guiding, mentorship and longer alpine routes can all begin from the same base.
A few hours
About 4 hours · Wasatch, Utah · Up to 4 climbers per guide
A flexible introduction or private climbing experience when you have limited time.
From $125 per person · half day (group of 4)
Gym to rock
Full day · Wasatch, Utah · Maximum 4 climbers per guide
For climbers with some indoor, top-rope or sport experience who are ready for outdoor rock.
$295 per person · full day
First leads
Full day · Wasatch, Utah · Maximum 4 climbers per guide
For climbers ready to develop the systems and judgment required to lead outdoors.
$295 per person · full day
Private day
Full day · Wasatch, Utah · Maximum 2 climbers per guide
A day designed around your experience, objectives and preferred style of climbing.
From $375 per person · full day
Over a year
4 days in a year · Wasatch, Utah · 1–2 climbers per guide
A continuing relationship for climbers who want practice, feedback and progression over time.
$2,395 for one climber · $1,495 each for two
The Colorado Plateau
Desert Climbing in Moab
Moab is a destination in its own right.
The sandstone towers and crack systems of the Colorado Plateau require skills that are distinct from climbing in the Wasatch. Route selection, protection, movement, efficiency and descent systems all matter differently in the desert.
Our Moab program, operated by WMG, lets us match the objective to the climber. A Moab experience may be an introduction to desert climbing, a first tower, a multi-day program or a specific route for an experienced team.
Desert towers
4 days · Moab, Utah · 2 climbers per guide, always
Guided sandstone climbing and desert-tower objectives selected around your experience and goals.
$1,800 per person, team of 2 · $3,200 private
Between the crag and the big ranges
Alpine Climbing, Ice and Traverses
Utah also offers objectives that sit between the crag and the larger ranges.
Guided ice climbing introduces movement on frozen terrain. Wasatch alpine routes and traverses bring together endurance, exposure, route-finding and efficient mountain travel. These experiences may stand on their own or support preparation for future climbs elsewhere.
Winter
Half or full day · Provo Canyon, Utah · 1–2 climbers per guide
Provo Canyon and Little Cottonwood. All technical gear provided, no experience needed.
From $250 per person · half day
Ridges
6–10 hours · Wasatch, Utah · 1–2 per guide
Ridgelines linking summits, as a scramble or a trail run.
From $425 per person · full day
Two days
2 days · Wasatch, Utah · 1 climber, 1 guide
Our signature line: the Cottonwood Ridge in two days, from Mount Superior to the Twin Peaks at sunrise, fully self-supported.
$1,700
Before the big mountain
Expedition Preparation
Everest
4 days · Wasatch, Utah · 2 climbers, 1 guide
Four days, with a night at high camp: fixed lines, ascender transitions, ladder crossings and moving in an oxygen mask.
$2,000 per person
What comes next
Where Utah Can Lead
Utah does not prescribe one path or one definition of progress.
A first day outside may lead to independent cragging. Wasatch climbing may lead to a desert tower in Moab. A season of ski mentorship may lead to a technical descent. Expedition preparation may lead to Kilimanjaro, Ecuador, Mexico, Aconcagua or Denali.
What comes next depends on you.
Your people. Your objective.
Private & Custom Utah
Your schedule, group or objective may not fit a listed program. We can begin with the people involved, the time available and what you want from the experience, then determine the appropriate plan.
Private & Custom may include a family climbing day, a multi-day Wasatch program, a Moab climbing objective, expedition preparation or a combination of Utah experiences.
Our Utah partner
Operated by Wasatch Mountain Guides
Utah guiding programs featured by Benegas Brothers Expeditions are operated by Wasatch Mountain Guides (WMG), a separate guiding company co-owned by BBE co-founder Willie Benegas. BBE helps you explore the experiences and connect with WMG. WMG provides the guiding services and handles reservations, payments, required releases and applicable booking terms.
Your program’s guide and meeting details are confirmed before departure.
WMG holds the guiding permit for its Moab programs.
Start Where You Are
Tell us what you do now, what experience you already have and what you want to move toward. We will help you identify the Utah experience that makes sense—and tell you honestly when a different starting point would serve you better.