A Guiding Company Built by More Than Just a Guide - Beryl Artman 

Alaska Kosher Expeditions was built on the belief that adventure can be both wild and meaningful. As a mountain guide with years of experience in Alaska and a Yeshiva upbringing, I created this company to bring those two worlds together for travelers searching for an experience that doesn’t exist anywhere else.

I’ve spent the last five years working and training as a mountain guide in Alaska, leading guests through glaciated peaks, remote tundra, and wild coastal landscapes. I’ve led 14-day backpacking trips in the Arctic and served as an assistant guide on Denali climbing expeditions. I grew up attending Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy and Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School in New Jersey, where I developed a deep respect for Jewish tradition, discipline, and community. I went on to Johns Hopkins University, earning a degree in Mechanical Engineering while starting a blacksmithing club and working on a biological research device.

Born and raised in a Modern Orthodox Jewish family in North Jersey, I am the grandson of Auschwitz-Holocaust survivors. You might ask: how did a nice Jewish boy end up in the mountains of Alaska? The answer begins with my parents, avid adventurers who instilled a love of the outdoors from day one. Most of my childhood adventures were on the East Coast, but after high school in 2018, I made a life-changing decision: I took a gap year with AmeriCorps NCCC and then flew to Alaska to backpack alone.

In Talkeetna, a butterfly-effect moment changed everything. I met an incredible family who took me in for a few weeks and arranged a free high-altitude flight tour of Denali with a glacier landing. Standing at 7,000 feet on the Ruth Glacier, with Denali towering above, I promised myself: “Next time I am back, I will be scaling this peak!” I signed up for an intro-to-mountaineering course, fell down the rabbit hole of Alaska guiding, and three years later returned as an assistant guide on Denali—completing the full circle. Summer after summer, Alaska has held me in its grip. As John Muir said, “Never go to Alaska as a young man because you'll never be satisfied with any other place as long as you live.” On my trips, you’ll understand why.

From my first week in Alaska, I made a commitment: if I was going to guide here, I would immerse myself fully—its history, its stories, its culture, and its raw, unforgiving reality. That curiosity has taken me far beyond the usual tourist routes. I’ve driven the Dalton Highway in mid-winter—a 500-mile gravel road into the Arctic—aiming to reach Deadhorse and the frozen Arctic Ocean. But when I arrived, I discovered that the coastline is locked behind security checkpoints and seven miles of restricted oil-field land. I could get close, but not all the way.

So, with twenty minutes before the plane’s doors closed, I grabbed my pack and jumped onto a last-minute small prop flight to Utqiaġvik (Barrow), the northernmost town in the United States, chasing the chance to stand on sea ice and understand, firsthand, what early gold-rush pioneers and Arctic explorers endured when winter trapped their ships and cut them off from the world. While there, I had the rare privilege of witnessing Iñupiat whaling practices—an ancient, tightly regulated subsistence tradition that has sustained Arctic communities for thousands of years. These experiences have shaped the way I guide: with deep respect that Alaska isn’t just scenery—it’s a living story.

I founded Alaska Kosher Expeditions to create a space where travelers don’t have to choose between their values and their love of adventure. I operate by a strict code of humility and integrity. Safety is always my number one goal.

Experience & Background

• 5+ years guiding and training in Alaska

• Wilderness first responder and CPR certifed / medical training

• Glacier travel, mountaineering & backcountry navigation

• Experience in Arctic and remote terrain

• Kosher food handling in field environments

I can’t wait to share Alaska with you—on the trail, on the peaks, and through the stories and history these landscapes tell.