Lindsey Hamm – 2016 Gore-Tex Scholarship Recipient
On June 14, 2016 I participated in the Alpine Guide Course in Bishop, California with the American Mountain Guide Association. In 2015, I applied for a scholarship through the AMGA, hoping one of the sponsors would pick me so I could participate in this amazing guide course, and GORE-TEX North America picked me!
We started out in Bishop, particularly in the Buttermilks to work on transitions to and from short-roping to technical descents, building and using alpine anchors, belay techniques and much more. After a couple days in the Buttermilks we transition to Cardinal Pinnacle to put our skills to the test on bigger terrain. With a rock-hopping approach we reached the base of the climb. Niels, John and myself started up the climb giving each other tips and cheering each other on through the technical climbing. We all had a chance to be in front working on route finding and transitions from short-roping to 5th class systems and vis versa. Our next objective was Crystal Crag, Niels and me teamed up following Howie (instructor) and John. Once we reached the summit, we quickly ran into a perfect short-roping ridge, but we all got a little stumped on how to approach keeping our clients safe. With Howie by our side we all had a chance to fail and succeed on this day. In complicated short-roping terrain it is important to use your terrain wisely, to keep your clients safe and most importantly keeping yourself safe.
John Muir once said: “the mountains are calling and I must go” and we did go into the mountains, we went into the the Minarets. We were all pretty stoked to be out in this environment to be able to work on snow travel and alpine rock techniques. Since we had pack mules carrying our gear out to our camp some of us brought fancy food! Ted Teegarden and Niels Meyer both decided to bring a baguette and cheese for an eloquent appetizer for dinner.
Once we settled into camp we went right into snow school to work on all different types of anchors such as dead mans anchor (t-slot) with pickets, ice axe and a cliff bar, rappel anchors just using the snow and later on crevasse rescue. Moreover, traveling with clients on snow can be challenging, finding the right pace and kicking adequate steps will help you keep your clients moving in a forward perpetual movement without stopping.
Ted, Jesse and myself were on a team throughout the four days in the Minarets. We all had a chance to be in front. In the picture above, I am pointing out the couloir we would climb that day. I took the lead getting us to the base of the couloir and many of the pitches leading up to the base of the Leonard Minaret. S.P. Parker was our instructor that day, he taught us valuable lessons on where to place our clients on a snow pitch, informing us how to pitch out the route and how to keep our clients anchored in at each anchor station. Short-roping up snow can be challenging so keeping a good eye on your clients, kicking good steps and setting an appropriate pace will help limit your clients from falling. After we had time on snow it was onto the Leonard Minaret. S.P and I were a team that day, he taught me valuable lessons on how to use my terrain and body for belays, how to transition from each belay with style and how to keep my clients safe on traverses. Going up is usually easy for me, but going down is a different animal. Being able to down-climb and make the decision to lower your client then figuring out how to get yourself down to them is a challenge. This course really implanted the concept of ‘guide safety’ in my brain. You need to be able to use your terrain wisely to get everyone down safely, and always thinking 5 steps ahead.
The next day it was off to the Waller Minaret to climb the Eichorn route with Ted, Jesse and Geoff (the instructor for the day). The previous day we watch the other group climb the route, I believe they did not climb the correct line, but they still had a great time. Ted took the lead for climb, and I took the descent since it is something I believe is a weakness in my guiding. I believe having Geoff there giving me just enough guidance without coddling me, really help me make mistakes then learn from those mistakes. Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment.
In the end, I was sad to leave this amazing area but it was time to say good-bye, until next time. I believe alpine guiding is an art and I believe I found the artists to instruct me on this course. I truly want to thank all the instructors Howie, Geoff and S.P. Parker for an amazing course and to all the candidates who participated. But I want to thank GORE-TEX North America for giving me the opportunity to take this course! Thank you everyone, climb on!
