John Furneaux

Born in St. John’s, Newfoundland, John Furneaux’s love of climbing began at Gros Morne National Park at an early age. At 12 years old, after reading an article about a mountain guide in B.C., Furneaux knew he wanted to learn as much as he could so he too could be an experienced climber and guide. At 15, Furneaux left home and headed for Squamish, BC, where he lived in a storage locker and maintained a minimalist lifestyle in order to ski and climb more often. After meeting his mentor at 18, he was given more opportunities and life skills that would eventually set him up for success as one of the country’s most diverse guides.

At the young age of 25, he fulfilled his dream of becoming a certified ACMG and IFMGA Mountain Guide, internationally recognized credentials. John spent many seasons as Lead Guide for Canadian Mountain Holidays, and later he worked as Operations Manager for Whistler Heli Skiing before landing his dream position as Director of Mountain Operations at Bella Coola Heli Sports.

Now, after guiding individuals and groups around the globe for nearly 20 years, he brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from guiding expeditions in places such as Alaska, the Yukon, Tibet, Pakistan, Russia, Baffin Island, Africa and Patagonia. His impressive accomplishments include two summits of Mount Everest and many challenging first ascents in the mountains of Nepal, BC and the Canadian Arctic. He also now guides his clients to that very spot he read about when he was 12 years old.

When not guiding, John lives an active life in Squamish with his wife and two young children skiing, biking, climbing and mountaineering