Stepping into the AMGA Alpine Guide Program
Continuing education as an adult learner is a daunting task; life is often already full of family, work, and other commitments. However, if you choose to take it on, you will be rewarded with professional growth and challenged to learn new skills and apply them under peer review.
I had been happily running my own business, Arctos Guides, as a certified ski guide since 2018. Then, in 2024, during a family climbing trip to the City of Rocks, I decided I wanted to go back to school and finish my IFMGA certificate. I realized taking the time to learn and develop the skills required to become a certified mountain guide would not only make me a better ski guide but would also add credence to my business. The 14-hour drive home provided my partner and I plenty of time to discuss the pros and cons of this decision, and ultimately, we decided the juice was worth the squeeze.
Two years later, I sit here reflecting on the journey so far. Countless hours have been spent training, beginning with a solo road trip to the High Sierra for the Alpine Guide Course in June of 2025. The rest of that summer was spent training and working as an apprentice alpine guide in the PNW. Then, last fall, we loaded our family into our van and spent a month camping in the desert as I prepared for my Rock Guide Exam in Red Rocks. Last winter, while juggling a full ski guiding schedule, I felt like a delinquent father because I spent so much time away from home climbing ice and preparing for my Ice Instructor Course.
It has been a lot, but each step along the way has been a good one. The monumental course and exam load that once seemed insurmountable is nearly done. Last summer, after an extensive amount of training and work as an apprentice alpine guide, I passed the AMGA Advanced Alpine Guide Course and Aspirant Exam. This leaves me with just one more hurdle to cross to achieve my goal of becoming a certified IFMGA mountain guide: the ever-challenging Alpine Guide Exam.
As a tenured ski guide, I found the Alpine Guide Course to be nothing short of excellent. The short-roping skills we learned and the various types of rope work we practiced augmented my guiding skill set immensely. Over the course of last winter’s ski guiding season, I was able to implement those skills to keep not only my clients safer, but also myself.
As a powder skier and ski mountaineer, I had dabbled in ice climbing. However, living in Revelstoke and other parts of the Columbia Mountains, there was always better powder to be skied than ice to be climbed. Over the past two winters, I took time away from a busy ski guiding schedule to round out my ice climbing resume and put in the time to exceed the movement standard required to pass the Ice Instructor Course.
Surprisingly enough, last winter I was decidedly more stoked to ice climb than to ski on my days off. The positions and situations ice climbing presented, alongside the exhilaration of a steep learning curve, were nothing short of fantastic. Those efforts paid off on the Ice Instructor Course, as fluid movement skills allowed me to focus my full bandwidth on absorbing and implementing the course material.
The Advanced Alpine Guide Course and Aspirant Exam was another awesome part of the learning process. The course format is completely field-based with a small-group learning environment. Our program was comprised of eight candidates and four instructors/examiners. Each day, we were given an objective and the opportunity to practice 2:1 alpine guiding in varied and complex alpine terrain while under the direct supervision of experienced IFMGA guides. Each instructor had their own style and shared their respective knowledge and insights into the craft of mountain guiding.
The AAGC/AE was an exceptional program that provided ample learning opportunities coupled with phenomenal instruction. Suffice it to say, our family's decision to let me embark on this learning journey has been a positive, albeit challenging one, and we have realized nothing but benefits from doing so. I would like to thank the AMGA Endowment and Scholarship Committee for providing me with a scholarship to continue this learning journey.