Brandon Phillips – 2016 Aspiring Young Guides Scholarship Recipient
I am a believer in the idea that an experience can change someone’s life. I choose to believe this because it happened to me. I tied in for the first time at age 22 and on that day my life changed. When I reflect upon it, it’s probably a pretty common story for most people with a passion for climbing.
I grew up on the coast of Mississippi, about an hour east of New Orleans. The house I grew up in is 7 feet above sea level. By any definition, these are the flatlands. There is great access to sport fishing, but that’s about it. There are no mountains, crags, boulders, or climbing gyms.
I’m on the tail end of the generation that grew up without climbing gyms, helped in part by the relative isolation of the coastal south. That means I learned it the old fashioned way. Without a dedicated mentor, you could also say I learned the “dangerous” way, often relying on partners barely more experienced than myself. You know the type—not beginners, but the ones who know just enough to be dangerous. Mine is not an uncommon story.
A couple of weeks ago I completed the Rock Guide Course in Boulder, Colorado. This opportunity was only possible because of the Young Aspiring Guides Scholarship. I had put some thought into the RGC in previous years, but cost and prerequisites seemed prohibitive. I live in Birmingham, Alabama so multi-pitch routes are hard to come by, much less Grade III routes. That means travel, time, and money.
Last year, after a particularly stressful week at work, I found myself needing a career change. I racked my brain to think of days at work I felt were particularly fulfilling. Almost all of them were from years before when I was teaching climbing regularly. I remember belaying a kid on an overhanging route in the gym. He was up there for a long time, but wouldn’t let go. He fought his way to the anchor and I lowered him down. As soon as his feet touched the ground he ran across the gym and vomited in a trash can. I approached to see if he was ok, and he just looked up and said, “That was awesome.” That’s psyche. If you are a climber you know that feeling. How could you not want to share that?
I found out I received a scholarship in August 2015. That’s when my dreams solidified and the real work began. For months I began a cycle of work, train, plan, travel, climb, repeat. It meant long weekends in North Carolina and flights to Vegas. My goal was just to be prepared for the course. Now I realize I just completed one step in the process. I left Boulder with a lot of new skills that need a lot of practice. Soon that cycle will start again. This time it’s longer routes, better rope work, and more efficiency.
I don’t have any misconceptions about guiding—it is work. I’m sure at some point I’ll look back and question if it was all worth it, but I already know that answer. There are millions of psyched people out there. We can give them the skills and knowledge so that they can rewrite the course of their lives. For many it will be a weekend hobby, but some will be lifers. That’s what we’re selling: life-changing experience. None of us got where we are without some help along the way. I’m still psyched, and appreciate all the help I received. Thanks to the Young Aspiring Guides Scholarship, which paid my full tuition to the Rock Guide Course. Without this help all of this would still just be a daydream.
_ Brandon Phillips
