Yoshiko Miyazaki-Back – 2016 Brooks-Range Mountaineering Scholarship Recipient
Brooks-Range Mountaineering generously awarded me a Scholarship for 2016, which I applied towards the Alpine Guide Exam.
I have had a close connection with Brooks-Range and their products ever since I was introduced to them during the Ski Guide Course in 2010. Brooks-Range kindly supplied all candidates with a hugely generous range of product. These included Map Tool, Snow Science Kits, Rescue, Shelter and Sleeping systems, many of which have accompanied me since and held up over 4 busy seasons ski guiding in Japan and elsewhere.
The item I love the most is the Elephant Foot Sleeping Bag which is paired with a down jacket for a complete sleeping system. In my case, I have a 2010 version of the Alpine Mountain Anorak I reserve for the colder nights. As a short person, the ¾ length bag comes up to my neck to keep me warm making it an excellent choice of lightweight sleeping system. It has been a lightweight and compact companion, not only during this Alpine Guide Exam but also as I guide in Antarctica, Alaska and the North Cascades, and the Spearhead Traverse in British Columbia during the Advanced Ski Guide Course. Ever since the first time using the Elephant Foot on the complete Tournier Spur on the North Face of Les Droites, Chamonix, I’ve grown fonder with each use and am reminded of the generosity and support of Brooks-Range Mountaineering.
As mentioned above, Brooks-Range Mountaineering made a significant contribution towards the cost of the Alpine Guide Exam I took in September 2016.
The path towards becoming a certified guide is a tough one. It requires not only preparing for and performing in exams in the unforgiving environment of the mountains, but also continuously working as a guide almost year round while completing the prerequisites for each course while also constantly honing of fitness, strength and technique. For me, this means long periods of travel away from home and my husband – over the course of a year, I probably spend more time in a tent than at home with my husband! The path towards IFMGA certification sometimes takes forced detours, for example when my husband and I were applying for his green card so that we could be together in the USA; or running down from Mont Blanc when I received an emergency call of an unexpected sudden illness to be by my father’s side back in Japan. The award of an IFMGA pin is not an easy or quick accomplishment. However, the opportunity and education is open to all willing to work and persevere.
Climbing, mountaineering and skiing are an integral part of my life. It takes me to beautiful, difficult to reach places and provides me exquisite moments of joy as I glimpse the fleeting ray of light on harsh granite, sparkling snow and ice, surrounded by simple sounds and scent. It is the pre-dawn starts, at times arduous approaches and the agony of the ‘screaming barfies’. But it is also the moments of camaraderie and shared experience, the sense of achievement. It is testing oneself and finding depths of strength – physical and mental – to achieve a goal. It is enjoying incredible places around the world with people from many backgrounds, of different abilities but sharing in the same grandeur of the mountains.
I would like to extend huge thanks to Brooks-Range Mountaineering for their help and generosity; to all the friends I have made along the way and those I am yet to meet; to the guides who have taken me under their wing and mentored me; to the clients who have placed their trust in me in reaching their dreams and goals; and to my family for their support and encouragement.
Yoshiko Miyazaki-Back
