Everest Guide Adrian Ballinger to speak at 2014 Annual Meeting

We’ve sold out registrations, and we have more than 200 people attending the Annual Meeting! We can’t wait to see you. Here’s a taste of what’s to come… Adrian Ballinger will be speaking on “Skiing the Himalaya – Type II fun on the world’s tallest peaks.” Ballinger has guided full-time for 15 years and has […]

Lisa Van Sciver reflects on her scholarship-funded Rock Instructor Course

Lisa Van Sciver received the 2013 Julie Cheney Culberson Educational Fund, which paid for her Rock Instructor Course I began this year’s guiding season with AMGA’s Rock Instructor Course. This course offered me ten days of learning and working with others to enhance my guiding skills. The instructors offered a wealth of knowledge and constantly […]

Durability is the Key to Success (in mountain guiding & in life)

By Kyle Lefkoff “Contestants must be present to collect their prize money” – Peter A. Roshko, Venture Capitalist Peter and I took a ski tour in Zermatt in 2011 with our Swiss partners, Dominik Meyer and Uli Geilinger. Zermatt is the birthplace of mountain guiding, and we were privileged to have as our guide Hermann […]

Spoiler Alert: I passed my AMGA Rock Guide Aspirant Exam

By Cliff Agocs, the 2012 Marmot Scholarship recipient The pressure was on after receiving the Marmot scholarship. It wasn’t about my money anymore. Now it was about my reputation. If I fail, I reasoned, they’ll never give me another scholarship. I practiced rock-rescue all winter long. My climbing partners grew suspicious every time I suggested […]