About Us
Onward Mountain Guides (OMG) was established in 2024 to fill a need for personal, professional, and fun outdoor trips for anyone traveling through the Adirondacks. We pride ourselves on our quick and clear communication, top-notch personalized adventures, and regularly scheduled drop-in group hikes and clinics.
Read on to learn more about our mission and methods, and to meet our team!
What we offer
Onward Mountain Guides provides guided outdoor experiences for people of all ages and skill levels. Our adventures include hiking, backpacking, camping, rock climbing, ice climbing, mountaineering, and skiing.
If you have a will, we have a way.
We think outside the box to offer unique and exciting Adirondack adventures. We partner with other locals to enhance your experience, like offer professional photo shoots of your trip. We know education and practice are the cornerstones of a professional guide service, so we’re always out honing our skills. We take education a step further and provide regular skills courses so that others can learn best practices to be more proficient adventurers.
The OMG Promise
You’ll say, “OMG, I can’t wait to do it again!”
We pursue excellence in all that we do. That means prompt and thorough communication throughout booking and planning your trip. No handoffs or miscommunication. We’ll work tirelessly to meet and exceed your expectations. We work well with kids and older folks alike. We’re passionate about adapting to meet your needs. And we can’t wait to share this amazing place with you.
Our Mission
Our mission is to guide adventurers of all abilities onward through meaningful, fun, and challenging outdoor experiences, through which they foster a deep respect for nature, nurture personal growth, and spark a lifelong passion for exploration.
Taking you further.
Our Method
It can be summed up with O.M.G.
Outdoor stewardship: We are committed to fostering respect and care for the natural world, ensuring that every step we take leaves the mountains, forests, and waterways better preserved for future generations.
Meaningful challenges: We inspire adventurers to embrace the thrill of exploration, pushing their limits and growing through meaningful outdoor challenges that awaken a belief that they can do difficult things.
Guided fun & safety: Our guided experiences, though they come with inherent risk, combine fun and educational activities, sparking a lifelong passion for the great outdoors while ensuring the well-being and enjoyment of all who join us.
Meet the
Team
Jarrod Blundy
Founder, Lead Guide
Hey, I’m Jarrod Blundy, the founder of Onward Mountain Guides. I’m excited to guide you on an unforgettable journey in the Adirondacks.
A bit about me: I’ve been adventuring since I was a kid on my grandparents’ farm. I became an Eagle Scout, earned a degree in Outdoor Recreation from Central Michigan University, interned as a raft and climbing guide for Fort Carson in Colorado, worked as a camp director for Scouting America, and then moved to the Adirondacks and earned my New York State Guide License (#9000; hiking, camping, canoeing & kayaking, Tier I multi-pitch rock and ice climbing). I’ve hiked and climbed in many states, but I’m most passionate about exploring the Adirondack wilderness — the horizontal and vertical — by bike, boat, ski, and foot. Connecting with other people and helping them onward to their outdoor goals is my greatest thrill.
After years of guiding for other outfitters, I started OMG to offer more opportunities for adventure and to raise the level of excellence that guide services should provide. From our first contact to our last goodbye, you’ll receive top-notch service and care.
Katie Rhodes
Senior Guide
Hi, I'm Katie! My journey building outdoor skills started in college where I spent two years learning land navigation, wilderness leadership skills and outdoor program management — eventually earning my Outdoor Education Association Outdoor Leader accreditation. Since then, I've earned my New York State Guide License (#8363) for hiking and camping, my Leave No Trace (LNT) Instructor certification and have spent time leading a volunteer search and rescue organization, and instructing Wilderness First Aid, Wilderness Leadership and Adirondack Ecology courses.
I'm passionate about building a relationship with the trails, land and mountains I'm lucky enough to have access to, and empowering others to experience the magic and healing of the wilderness. I spend my days as a conservation ecologist and alpine researcher, and my free time as an avid trail runner. This gives me the unique opportunity to share my knowledge of both the trails and the ecosystems around them. While I feel a deep connection to all wild places, the Adirondack High Peaks are my home away from home, and I am currently working to publish my research on temporal changes in Adirondack alpine vegetation in order to further our understanding of this special place.
I recognize that I guide on the stolen lands of the Kanienʼkehá꞉ka (Mohawk) & Ho-de-no-sau-nee-ga (Haudenosaunee) people. A portion of all guiding payments I accept are donated back to the tribes whose lands we all benefit from.
Phin
Mountain Guide-Dog-in-Training
Phin is our four-legged guide’s best friend, and mountain guide-dog-in-training. He, too, can’t get enough of the ADK and loves to join on any adventures he can. He makes a great motivator, always encouraging you with that golden retriever grin to see what’s around the next bend.
As long as you’re cool with it, and the activity is dog-friendly, Phin just might come along for the trip. 🐾
Jo Moore
Supporter-in-Chief
We’d be remiss not to mention Jarrod’s wonderful wife, Jo, who supports the endeavors at Onward Mountain Guides. She’s the original Adventure Buddy, the emergency contact if things go south, and all-around encourager who made OMG a reality.
She provides sound feedback on trip plans, and offers her extensive medical training as a Physician’s Assistant in the local emergency room to make sure Jarrod’s up-to-speed on all things first aid.
Oh, and she came up with the name for Onward Mountain Guides!