Meet Craig Van Hoy

Craig Van Hoy is recognized as one of the finest mountain guides in the world. He has over 400 summits of Mount Rainier by 19 different routes. In 1989 he reached the summit of Kangchenjunga as part of the first American ascent. 8568 meter Kangchenjunga is the third highest mountain in the world. Craig has participated on three expeditions to Mount Everest, two via the Northridge and one from the South Col which led to a successful summit in 2004. Craig has also summited the “Seven Summits”. As owner of Northwest Mountain Shop & NW Mountain Guides, Craig is a year-round guide and leads the Northwest Climbs as well as expeditions to Aconcagua and the to Mexican Volcanoes. Craig is an AMGA certified Alpine Guide.

He is fluent in Spanish and proficient in Nepali. In Latin America he has guided many expeditions in Bolivia, Ecuador, Argentina and Mexico. In 2013 Craig completed his 20th successful summit of Aconcagua and 53rd summit of Pico de Orizaba (more than any other American guide). As a year round guide in the summer months he enjoys guiding in The Pacific Northwest including his favorite mountain, Mount Shuksan in the North Cascades.

For Craig it all came about after climbing one of the “smallest stepping stones”, Mount St. Helens in Washington State. Before that experience Craig was just an ordinary hiker. However, putting on crampons, grasping an ice axe and tying into a rope put him into a whole new realm – that of the Mountaineer.

It wasn’t long before Craig was, “taking the next step” and asking what mountain he should climb next. In the late 1970’s he had his first invitation to climb in the Himalayas of Northern India. The word H-I-M-A-L-A-Y-A-S resounded in his mind and conjured up names of famous explorers like Sir Edmund Hillary and Jim Whittaker.

Since then Craig has traveled in over fifty countries around the world with over 400 summits.  Much more then all the lofty summits are the PEOPLE and the friendships has has discovered along the way. Climbing mountains has been a “good excuse” to travel for Craig!

Craig’s focus now is helping people find the summit and adventure that is both rewarding and exciting. The mountains of the Pacific Northwest are a great place to get started and from here who knows how far you will end up going.