2017 Mammut Scholarship | Trevor Ellsworth
I am excited and proud to announce that, two days ago, I finished my first step into the guide track programs with the AMGA. It was an extremely beneficial experience and I am excited for what my future holds with the American Mountain Guides Association. My attendance on this program would not have been possible […]
2017 Chad Vander Ham Scholarship | Ray Hughes
I hear he used to say “nice.” I hear he loved wine, to cook, to make soup. I hear he loved to ski. A decade later, I can still remember exactly what I was doing when the news came across Eurosport. Sitting in my apartment in Bern, Switzerland, 375km away, the words rang out, “Two […]
2017 Jim Ratz Memorial Scholarship | Paul Koubek
The 2017 AMGA Ski Guide’s Exam run by Evan Stevens and Jeff Ward at the Fairy Meadows (aka Bill Putnam) Hut in the Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia exceeded all expectations. Jeff and Evan demonstrated a skill level that well exceeded the expected standard, and conducted an exam that was simultaneously educational and rigorous. Days […]
2017 Millet Women’s Scholarship | Holly Barrass
In March 2017 I had the privilege of attending my Rock Guide Course with the AMGA. Having been through the SPI program I knew this course was the next step to expand my professional and personal climbing. Between injury and working for small non-profits with limited budgets I had not been able to make the […]
2017 F.O.R.G.E. Scholarship Recipient – Eddie Schoen
I would like to thank the F.O.R.G.E. scholarship fund, first and foremost, for giving me the opportunity to take the AMGA Ski Guide Course. For those unfamiliar with it, the Friends of Rick Gaukel Everywhere (F.O.R.G.E.) scholarship fund is awarded once a year to an aspiring split board guide and covers the full tuition cost […]
Brooks-Range Mountaineering Scholarship Recipient – Michael Wachs
The Foundation My first AMGA course was in Joshua Tree three years ago. I was the only one that had never guided a day in my life, and at 23 I was the youngest on the course. 6 years of recreational climbing had got me there and I felt humbled watching the instructors critique me […]
2017 Fallen Guides | Strength of Character Scholarship Recipient – Erik Thatcher
In the past year I focused heavily on growth in my skills as a guide. This growth started in March of 2016 with a Level Two AIARE course. It continued last summer with the AMGA Advanced Rock Guide Course in Estes Park, CO. This past February, it culminated with the AMGA Ice Instructor Course in […]
2017 Marmot Scholarship Recipient – Japhy Dhungana
As a Nepali immigrant who moved to the US when I was 15, I’ve nurtured a life-long goal to become an international mountain guide after seeing the likes of Guy Cotter, Mike Powers, Barry Bishop, and countless other illustrious guides come through Kathmandu and set their imprints on the mountainscapes of the Himalaya. My family […]
2017 Julbo Scholarship Recipient – KT Miller
I rolled down the trans Canada highway from Rogers Pass in the dark, semi-trailers buzzed by, in a rush to transport goods from east to west. Although I couldn’t see much, I knew the mountains were big, the biggest I’d been in since Chamonix or Alaska— inspiring and intimidating big. I had wanted to visit […]
How to Prepare for the AMGA Ski Guide Program | Part 1: The Skiing Standard – by Danny Uhlmann
How to prepare for the AMGA Ski Guide’s Program First, go read the prerequisites on the program website. I want to group the items on that list into three simple categories. This article only addresses the first category. 1) Skiing standard (raw ability) 2) Skiing experience (where/what/how have you done) 3) Toolkit contents (crevasse rescue, […]
