Apparent differences in the magnitude or timing of alpine glacier advances may stem from a variety of factors that include regional climate variability, the complex history of deglaciation near large ice caps or ice sheets, or errors in interpretation or dating. In the North American Cordillera (NAC), non-climatic factors must be resolved before regional climatic variability can be determined. Neoglacial records in the NAC are generally consistent except that the onset of the Neoglacial occurred thousands of years earlier in British Columbia (BC) than in the Sierra Nevada, probably due to latitudinal variations in climate. In Alaska, BC, and Washington the timing and relative magnitudes of late Neoglacial advances and those of the Little Ice Age generally accord. In contrast, the timing and magnitude of latest Pleistocene and early Holocene advances are variable. The Recess Peak Advance in the Sierra is believed to be pre-Younger Dryas (YD) in age, but pre-YD glacier advances are not found in all areas to the north and east. Glaciers underwent minor advances during the YD in Alberta, southern BC, Washington, Wyoming, and Colorado, but apparently not in the Sierra. Some moraines that extend significant distances downstream from cirques in northern BC may simply reflect the complex response of the decaying Cordilleran Ice Sheet to YD cooling, or they may record a pre-YD advance. Some allegedly early Holocene advances have been challenged by further work (e.g., on Mt. Baker) and some are not well established (e.g., in the San Bernardino Mtns.). Meanwhile, many outer cirque moraines in the NAC once thought to be Neoglacial in age and later YD in age are now proposed to range from pre-YD to early Holocene in age. The general consistency of late Neoglacial advances across these sites suggests a common climatic signal, but it is premature to suggest the same for earlier events because non-climatic effects have yet to be unraveled.