Pocatello man sharing Idaho’s mountains with the world through new business venture

POCATELLO – Rya Cameron has spent his life traveling the globe, and now he’s bringing clients worldwide to eastern Idaho through a new business venture.

The Pocatello man owns Alpenglow Experiences, which provides guided tours through City Creek Management Area, as well as the Sawtooth and White Cloud Mountains. The Pocatello City Council voted unanimously Thursday to approve a use agreement with the company.

“We want to provide busy professionals an opportunity to get out into nature and to recharge and reconnect with themselves and maybe others,” Cameron says. “That’s the purpose and mission of Alpenglow.”

Cameron came up with the name while batting around ideas with his wife and three daughters, who he calls his “board of directors.” Alpenglow is derived from the German word “alpenglühen,” which refers to the rosy hue of mountains after dawn and before dusk. Some of his and his family’s favorite memories in the mountains happened during this time.

“It’s the early morning when the sun’s just coming up and striking a peak across the valley and that last hour of sunlight before the sun goes down when the colors and the mountains are just spectacular. It’s a fleeting moment, but when you’re sharing that with somebody, it’s a really special experience,” Cameron says.

Cameron, who has lived in Idaho since 1984, has worked for 30 years in semiconductors and related technology fields. Though he enjoyed traveling the globe, he decided it was time for a change.

“I looked back on some of those long trips to Asia or to Europe and just said, ‘Where do I really want to be right now?’ I really wanted to be in the mountains of Idaho,” says Cameron.

When his international colleagues asked him what he enjoyed doing on the weekends, he would show them pictures he and his family took while hiking. They would tell him, “Wow, that’s just an incredible place. I’d love to do that someday.”

“We’re hoping that some of them will take us up on that and book a trip with us,” Cameron says.

Alpenglow Experiences operates under a special use permit with the United States Forest Service, which means Cameron can take people on four-day backpacking trips through the mountains and offer a curated experience tailored to their interests. When someone books a trip with Cameron, he first holds a pre-trip consultation to understand client’s expectations.

Though it’s targeted to people out-of-state, the tours are open to locals as well.

Cameron is excited for the opportunity to share the mountains he loves with people all over the world.

“I’m passionate about Idaho,” he says. “I think it’s such an underrated state. It has so many beautiful areas that we would like to show people.”

Alpenglow Experiences is booking trips for the upcoming summer season. To sign up or learn more, click here.