Mountain Challenge: Mission & Principles

Our Mission

"We provide high quality, safe outdoor experiences designed to change the world for the better, one person at a time."

Our Principles

First Principles are tenets so true and right that they are accepted without debate.

Safety - People perceive some of our activities as dangerous.  Sometimes those perceptions are accurate.  Because there can be real danger involved, we take extraordinary safety precautions.  If our participants don't feel safe, nothing else will happen.  We rely on our staff to make sound safety judgments.

Quality - We insist on quality in everything that we do.  Yvon Chouinard said, "Quality is not something that can be pursued piecemeal.  Either you believe in it or you don't; either it surfaces everywhere or it likely won't be seen anywhere."  For us, certain links have become obvious - between the quality of our courses, customer service, our workplace, and the lives of our staff.  If we miss any piece, there is a good chance that we'll miss it all.  We embrace high standards.

Supporting Principles

Have Fun - Doing what we enjoy shows itself in all the things that we do. No other single supporting principle has as much impact on quality as this one. When we no longer enjoy our work, we're done - even if we're still employed. And don't be fooled by our bicycles and running shoes - we work hard

Establish Difficult Goals - We need to get ourselves out of the habit of thinking in incremental changes. Average goals yield average outcomes. Individually and collectively we are more capable than we realize. Difficult goals make dreams come true.

View adversity as challenge - We teach clients that the "Oh No" moments in life signal important events. We should expect the same of ourselves.

Foster Flexibility - Supporting a flexible workplace will make us prosper. We should run when we can, ski when there's snow on the ground, and go to the playground with our kids whenever we can.

Grow and Take Care of Our Staff - Our staff is our most valuable resource. Trust professional staff to make professional judgements. Enhance staff competencies through training and development.

Believe in What We Do - Good begets good. The experience is powerful. We do make an impact. One more step. We just have to believe.

Work to Create Loyalty - Pay attention to all of our critical relationships - with our customers, with our strategic partners, and with our staff. Listen, be honest, and follow-up. Measure success by the quality of our relationships.