We've gotten away from the original topic, but I want to comment on guides too. I generally agree with Ken. However, not all guides are as considerate of the environment as we might like. The guides on my first Denali trip quietly dumped all our garbage into a crevasse, rather than bring it down as required.
On my second Denali trip, two guide services teamed up and shared fixed ropes in the couloir on the West Rib route. They also let a private group share the same fixed lines. We camped at 11,000 feet on the way down from the summit. Another guided group was on the way up, and one client was having altitude problems. Our guides welcomed her into our group and saw that she got off the mountain safely so the other guide service could continue up the mountain. This kind of cooperation appears common.
In 1989, I hired a guide to climb the Maroon Bells in Colorado. These peaks aren't terribly hard individually, but I didn't have the skills or equipment to do the traverse alone. As my guide and I were on North Maroon Peak preparing for the traverse to Maroon Peak, another climber appeared. He signed the register and asked how tough the traverse was. The guide told him it was class 5. The other climber looked disappointed and started back down the way he came. The guide called to him and said, "Wait! You can go with us!" Then he turned to me and asked if that was OK with me. I said "Sure! I was going to ask you the same thing!" The three of us had a great time doing the traverse together.
