Geoff Lodge – Strength of Character Scholarship Recipient
“Crampons on.” “Axes out.” “Here, snap into this loop for me.” The first day of the Advanced Alpine Guides Course in the North Cascades is off and running! Its my lead as we step onto the Eldorado Glacier. I make the call as to how I want to protect the opening moves. Five experienced guides are standing behind me. Everyone is guarded in their demeanor (not for long, though!). Instructors and participants are still trying to figure each other out. Pressures on as we start up. Then it comes from the back of my rope team. “Hey Geoff, I thought what you did there was pretty good, but heres a little tweak to make that better…..”
Yes, that’s exactly what I signed up for! The little tweaks. The tricks. The improvements in how I view terrain and the things that make us better.
I always find these courses to be a valuable learning experience, not only from the instruction brought by the instructor team, but also by the experience of the participants themselves. After eleven years in the industry, I find I work alone most of the time. I don’t get the same kind of feedback I used to get in my greenhorn days. It’s so refreshing to watch others dissect the terrain and make choices. We all come from different parts of country (and the guiding industry) and we all see the same problem being handled in different ways. I always feel I learn vast amounts from my fellow course participants (thanks fellas for a great course!) as we move through the program and get feedback from the instructor team.
If you haven’t spent a summer working in the North Cascades, you should. I’ve always loved my time there. After eight years, its one of the best training grounds, especially with real clients on your rope. It’s a great venue to hold this course and receive feedback. It has everything aspiring alpine guides need for training. Transitions galore. Glacier roping to steep snow, then to rock, throw in some ice, then go back to glacier travel. The decision making just keeps coming at you in this venue. It can be tough to master all this in an efficient manner, but this range will force you to learn. For some us, we learn better this way……
After taking this course, I definitely feel like I’m becoming a polished alpine guide. I know when my resume is complete for exam, Ill be ready. This course really helped me with figuring out where I need to spend my time improving my skill set between now and exam time.
I would like to thank the AMGA, the Instructor Team, and the Strength of Character Award for making my final Advanced Course possible. I’m really excited to now call myself an AMGA Aspirant Mountain Guide! Dare I say, I can’t wait to start my examination process in the coming months!
