MEET Jules

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park backpacking guide Jules Hanna.
Jules Hanna

“Find something that excites your heart and follow it to the journey’s end”

In the early 2000’s I found an opportunity to visit Alaska and it proved to shape the trajectory of my life. I found a wild Alaska to which nothing else could compare.

I keep coming back to Alaska, exploring more, and pushing further into the wild corners of the state.

Guiding, leading trips, teaching, and outdoor instruction became my path.

Sharing my passion for the mountains, rivers, and wilderness is what keeps me as a guide.

I take great joy in helping others realize their goals in Alaska.

The adventures have been far and wide. For some it was to ride the incredible snow capped mountains. For others it was to summit Denali, North America’s highest peak.

My summers are full with rafting, backpacking, climbing and packrafting. When not guiding I can be found working on my cabin in McCarthy or chasing the snow in Tahoe during the winter months.

Jules Hanna, Expeditions Alaska backpacking guide Seven Pass Wrangell St. Elias National Park.

“Plan ahead, prepare yourself, and be ready to embrace the wilderness experience when it reaches you.”

The Rundown

Philisophy

A good mountain guide works to minimize risk, completes the objectives, and has fun throughout the process. There will be many unexpected challenges along the way. Having an open mindset will allow for changes in weather, conditions, and the unknown. The unexpected will become a memorable part of the journey instead of nuisance toward the end goal.

Certifications

I am a certified splitboard guide with the American Mountain Guides Association. Past work has taken me to be a climbing ranger with the National Park Service at Mt Rainer National Park and as far as working as a mountaineer for the US Antarctic Program in Greenland and Antarctica.
Wilderness First Responder.

Favorite Trip

Any big adventure. A friend and I got dropped off by bush plane in the middle of the Chugach Mountains, walked for several days, inflated our packrafts, floated for several days and ended in Cordova.

A grand adventure to say the least.

How to get around?

Winter travel = split boarding. In the summertime, packrafting unlocks Alaska’s traversing potential.

It’s also quite a bit of fun.

On guiding

I enjoy guiding because it let’s me share my mountain passion with others. And again.

About Jules ...

Carl Says

I’ve known Jules as long as I’ve known any Alaska mountain guide. We bumped into each one afternoon many many years ago in the Wrangell-St. Elias backcountry, he guiding his clients and I my own. We swapped some route beta and moved on with our trips.

Later we ran into one another in town and caught up with stories from the field. Great guy.

It’s a privilege to have someone with Jules’ expertise and experience come aboard and work with me. He’s a savvy backcountry traveller and has completed some epic trips in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and abroad.

When I first even thought about working with additional guides Jules was the first person I thought of, and the first person I asked.

He’s a good friend, we’ve chatted mountain stuff, spent the evening playing music together in the bar and bumped into each other in the Alaska wilderness more times than I can remember. And I look forward to doing that some more.