Kickin’ it in the Cascades: Notes on Guide Training
In June 2012 I spent five days alpine guide training with Jeff Ward and Larry Goldie from North Cascades Mountain Guides. This was my third trip to the Cascades and fourth alpine climbing trip in the past 5 years. I had been looking for some time to expand my skill set and further myself as a climbing guide. I am not the first person to say it but I will repeat it if you want to be a better guide surround yourself with great guides. I got a recommendation from my climbing buddy Ryan @ bigfootmountainguides.com to contact Jeff. Jeff had been one of Ryan’s instructors during his AMGA Alpine course and he said he was an exceptional teacher. Being gear nerds, Ryan also assured me that Jeff has his systems dialed in to perfection. I am lucky to have a great community of friends to garner professional and climbing beta from and after talking at length with Jeff I felt training with Jeff and Larry would be perfect fit.
I guide in the Gunks in upstate, NY. I have the opportunity to live in an exceptional area that is ideal for learning how to rock climb. The Gunks are a front country climbing area with easy access. At its tallest point the Gunks is about 300 feet tall and has a lifetime of climbing routes of varying grades. While the Gunks doesn’t have Grade II or III climbs many routes are complex and demand a skill set beyond the AMGA SPI. I am privileged to teach many technical classes at EMSCS and I also teach many introduction to rock climbing course. During the winter I teach ice and basic mountaineering skills in the Catskills. At EMS I work with some remarkable people. Actions speak louder than words so I don’t wanna get all effusive but I love guiding with team of people around me. Being a guide, teacher, instructor means having a commitment to getting better at your craft. And I want to get better. I don’t want to coast in my labor of love. I want to expand my skill set honed and developed ice climb and rock cragging. Every summer I look to bigger mountains in the Cascades. When people think of alpine climbing they most often think of climbing outside of the US. But the Cascades are the Alps of the US. From “roadside alpinism” in Washington Pass, to complex multi day challenging and big un’s like Rainier and Mount Shuksan. Its a magical place that is an ample training ground for bigger objectives. It’s no surprise that the AMGA teaches many of its alpine courses in the Cascades. I may be more than a few steps away from taking that course but I am committed to take steps in that direction applying what I learn to my guiding.
What it takes
What does it take to be an alpine guide? Many people will say to be an alpine guide you need to be the consummate badass. You need to lead hard in mountain boots and carry a freaking heavy pack loaded up with food, sleep gear and a rock rack. And its true – try leading or following wet 5.6 with a 25 pound pack on in 40 degree temperatures. Dude it’s freaking hard. Others might posit your non-climbing technical skills and point to your snow science, compass and GPS skills while still others will remark that you need cardio for days to guide in the big mountains. I think all of these are true. At the most basic you need to have a passion for climbing and hunger to learn. You need to climb. You need to have excellent movement skills at all the mediums: rock, ice and snow. But all these are skills you learn, apply, learn apply, over and over again until there both second nature. And perhaps most importantly you have the comfort in applying the right technique at the right time.
Growing up in Brooklyn far away from the mountains I learned to be self sufficient and take care of myself. Not having the best parents (have you been following my blog?) I learned how to parent myself. I am good at operating as a self contain being. This is a strength and a weakness. Sometimes I shoot myself in the foot because of this though. I am not good and admitting how challenging climbing is and I’ve struggled to advance my movement skills to the level I would like to be and can be. All guides. Heck all climbers talk about wishing they had more time to climb but its a little deeper than that for me. I need to put myself out there more and ask for partners and utilize the great community i know I have. I am not good at failing in front of my peers. And failure is a good thing. learning to fail is a good thing (tip hat to http://www.gymjones.com). I try to absorb this knowledge but its hard. I fail at this and its a real weakness. I think it can be hard because of how climbing is a physical body centered thing and as women it’s hard to have our bodies critiqued, analyzed and dissected in a freaking sport. I remember the first time a climber, an average sized 5.6 male climber about 140 pounds said to me “how much do you weight?” How much do I weight. F.U. I thought. Climbers sometimes get D-‘s in social skills. On bad days I wonder if I’ll ever be able to gain entry into the AMGA RIC, the IC or the Alpine discipline. I wonder if I got too caught up in a romantic dream of being a climbing instructor. Perhaps I started too late in life. Add a few injuries into the mix, and well, I wonder. Oh man climbing is for real though. Alpine climbing is very real. I am drawn to the complexity of alpinism. its purposefulness. Alpinism or alpine mountaineering is DIY climbing. You are the safety net. You keep you safe. You gotta do your homework. You gotta go into a new trip with all your ducks in a row. Alpine climbing isn’t about the summit but everything that gets you there. I like that a lot. If its easy I don’t want to do it. If it looks like we might fail. I’m in. I want to struggle. No half measures. I want to earn it. Alpine climbing means dealing with more failure than success. It means being patient with yourself and knowing when to pull the plug and knowing when its the right time to push onward.
How Does Mentoring Work?
Many climbers learn to climb from their friends. Some learn from their partners. Often their romantic partners. Others suggest there is an informal mentoring process in the climbing community. All of this is true but there are great limitations to these models. In short these models don’t take into account how age, class, gender, race, sexual orientation play in building the climbing community. Oh boy, I hear what your thinking, Carolyn is some commie left wing college kid. She’s lost me here. Well. sorry if I did but I suggest you continue reading and come along for the ride.
Look go to a climbing event and look around then go to Brooklyn and look around. Worlds apart. I’m a pretty privileged kid from Brooklyn but still the lack of diversity in the climbing community is intense. I recently went to a metal festival with one of the very few blue collar guys I know in the climbing scene and it felt like home. It was seeing a reflection of my childhood, neighborhood staring back at me. This is an experience I never have when climbing. Our lives are rich and different and that’s actually….okay. We can work with this. If we are committed to making a mentoring model that works for people. Yes mentoring is great. But mentoring, like climbing, too often takes place amongst younger gentlemen climbers with some money to burn and doesn’t include many pink collar ladies from BK. It’s not surprising that one of the powerful experiences I’ve had in the climbing community was at the wonder Chicks Climbing (www.chicksclimbing.com). Climbing weekends that foster young women climbers should be our entire communities responsibilities. Real mentoring requires a structure. Programs like Chicks and New Hampshire’s Kismet Rock Foundation (http://www.kismetrockfoundation.org/) have the abilities to bring together professional climbers with people new to the outdoors. Kismet does remarkable work. They might disagree with me but I do not see this as typical “do good” charity work, I am not into charity. I do this work because I love my people. And my people include the poor and working class from Bed Stuy in Brooklyn to Manchester, NH. This is real work that must be done to change the world we live in – our little climbing world and transform ourselves in the process.
The kind of mentoring I am looking for is specific to my goals of advancing my skills as a climber and guide. As an SPI instructor looking expand my skills but not yet ready to take more advanced programs with in the AMGA I think hiring more experienced guides, working w. a structured program and getting solid feedback is a smart way to go. I think also guides should look to there companies to do more of this work as well. Perhaps that’s another blog entry. Anyway going into the course I asked some general questions but more or less kept it simple. What I wanted to work on was:
a) Moving efficiently on 3rd and 4th class rock and snow.
b) short roping and short pitching on 3 and 4th class rock and snow.
c) snow – dialing in my movement skills and protective systems.
d) route finding and navigation. – using books topos, compass, GPS.
WHY THE CASCADES
It took me 22 hours to get from upstate NY to Mazma, WA. It was long trip. Traveling is hard on the body to travel that long, eat well, sleep a little and be ready for my first day. My first two days were climbing alpine rock. We climbed Southern Early Winter Spire and the Becky Route on the Liberty Bell. Graded 5.4 (the Southern Arete) and 5.6 (the Beckey Route/SW Face) the technical climbing wasn’t necessarily the crux. The Southern Early Winter Spire is the highest peak of the Liberty Bell group in Washington Pass. It includes, the North Early Winter Spire, Concord and Lexington Towers, the Minuteman Tower & the Bell itself. Its a marvelous area to hone your skills with managable approaches and interesting climbing that requires a variety of skills.
Being mid June on routes best done in September meant dealing with cold temps and potential bad weather. on the long snow approaches Larry and I went over the little details that can make all the difference in managing an alpine route. For example caching gear – crampons, ice axe, trekking poles means you don’t have to carry a heavier pack than necessary. Climbing with the right rope. We used a 50m 9.2 can save weight but also enable you to make key rappels in a efficient manner. Using approach or even rock shoes on classic “boot routes” was invaluable. As well as keeping detailed notes on all the gear used, technical cruxes, the time it took making key transitions was all very helpful. After guiding me up the route and back down Larry had me guide him through the some of the sections utilizing short roping and short pitching on 3 and 4th class rock and snow. I can’t say enough of how inspiring and helpful this was. Having not taken the RIC my short roping experience has been limited. There aren’t many applications in the Gunks a few in the Catskills.
On our second day temps were in the 30s, it was cloudy with a dusting of snow. Climbing in my full winter kit is not the weather I usually rock climb in. I was definitely outside my comfort zone. 5.6 crux’s suddenly become wicked crux-y when wearing mountaineering boots on polished slabs and little gear add a part of gloves and 5.6 moves become 5.8 moves. Larry again brought me up and then it was my turn. This was more technical route with more exposure and varied terrain. I felt great bring Larry up and significantly guiding him while down climbing much of the upper section. Key was client and guide safety at all time. The environment was a great one and Larry did an awesome job of enabling me to ask questions and also figure some things out by myself. We utilized many terrain belays and lower systems that were new to me. And learning not to descend sideways (my go to) but instead face out was challenging. And while I have a lot of confidence in descent techniques the new terrain – often steeper than you think with less opportunities to plug in a solid cam was new.
Take Me to the River
When I initially put together this trip with Jeff I really wanted to do a bigger alpine objective. I figure 2 independent days combing with a 3 day overnight would be a well rounded training excursion. Two years earlier I climbed the Torment Forbidden Traverse with Ryan Stefiuk and I felt a similar objective would be necessary for me to truly make this a great trip. Here’s where the romance and desire to climb and the need to learn sharper skills parted. In the days before my trip to Washington I started to think about how much time I’d spend hiking and cooking versus learning guide specific technical skills on a multi day trip. Because it was early season I also wondered what it would be like getting hammered by bad weather, failing to summit x or y peak and being wiped out from the effort. The goal of this trip was not summits the goal was to learn as much as possible. After discussion my thoughts with both Larry and Jeff we made the decision to run the five days without a big overnight adventure.
My third day was out with Jeff Ward and I had heard a lot about him from my peers. I wanted to make a good impression. After two long days I was feeling a little worked. Being a single student learning a whole many new skills is a big challenge. There wasn’t any time for me to turn my brain off and “just climb.” At the same time you realize the stamina and competence you need for the AMGA Alpine Course. I was going to give it my all and do my very best on my first day. I ended up falling into a freezing stream. On my third and fourth day Jeff and I attempted routes including Cutthroat Peak that required immediate complex stream crossings. Having been to the Cascades and hiking in the catskills in winter I’ve built my share of bridges out of downed trees and moved many boulders to boot. On day three I slipped and fell into the stream for a minute but long enough to get soaked up to my chest.
Prior to coming out Jeff had recommended I bring two pairs of light or lighter weight boots on the trip. I, of course, chafed at this suggestion to carry more weight but I ended up bringing both my ice and my summer alpine boots on the trip. This enabled us to make a quick trip back to my hotel. Change and get back out there. Having a back plan is always a good thing and Jeff and I quickly formulated a good one.
Driving back out to the mountains outside of Mazma picked an area and began practicing short roping and short pitching on snow. Leading Jeff up we practiced me catching his fall on the short rope or making a split second decision that the “client” has too much momentum, dropping the coils in my hand and self arresting. (SEE Emilie’s great video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r42vLVfMtk8). Having a near 350# dead-lift may have helped me because I caught every fall but two. Not bad for my first attempts. When then practiced a variety of techniques for building deadmen in the snow, using 1 or 2 tools or snow pickets for anchors. Under the supervision of Jeff I feel like I dialed in my skills and received invaluable feedback. Similarly my last day in Mazma we had a shorter day working on transitions in a local sport climbing areas, managing lowers, rappels and more lowers while keeping the clients safe and in the system. There’s something to be said about going on the sharp end in front of a climber and guide you deeply respect and having them critique your skills. It wasn’t always easy but I think it was immensely helpful.
We planned on climbing the Southeast buttress on Cutthroat Peak. The night before Jeff and I worked on a trip plan that included breaking down the elevation, plan for white out navigation, and compass bearings. Like a lightbulb going off I was thrilled to be incorporating compass, GPS and map reading skills in my tool bag. Jeff and I made a good effort of finding a safe approach but were again stymied by the early season conditions. The streams were high and the ability to cross them didn’t make sense. Our back up plan was Lexington Tower which ended up being the most challenging day of my trip.
On my first three days in the Cascades, despite the overnight temps, the snow on the approaches was soft enabling us to get away without using crampons the majority of the time. The approach to Lexington ended up having hard snow, icy in sections, and was steeper. Snow is a complex medium you can screw in a bomber 19cm ice screw nor slot in a perfect DMM nut. Jeff gave me the challenge of guiding him safely up the approach and I savored the task. It was important for me to make every step count but also move quickly and efficiently. After first hiking toward Cutthroat and now the longer approach to the base of the rock section on Lexington ended up working me and taking us past noon. The 5.7 rock section was by no means the crux but there was some large loose rocks and interesting moves. This being an up and over required me to carry all my gear on the route. After finishing the rock section we approached what I would call the “crazy knife blade-y ridge.” Jeff led up and over and basically lassoed a pointy part of the ridge. There breath taking view and bug nuts exposure on this part of the traverse. Following I felt gripped and nervously made my way across and then down climbed a section to the raps down. I was scared and tired from the days in the mountains and learned a quick lesson about my limitations there. The raps down and long descent back to the car turned into a night at the brew pub in Whitney where we ate burgers and tasted many fine lagers and ales.
Do I want to be an alpine guide? I am taking it one day at a time. Working with Jeff and Larry was an affirmation to my love of climbing, my love of alpine climbing and my hunger to learn more of my craft. Looking at myself and giving a no bullshit assessment I don’t know if I can become an alpine guide. I’d like to guide in more complex terrain. I am also 44 years old. I need to be a better climber. I need to work harder. And I like living close to my hometown of Brooklyn. I love my community of friends, climbers, politicos and metal-heads. All of this matters and makes me a whole being. Becoming an alpine guide means making great sacrifices and commitments to the craft. It takes time and money, leaving loved ones, you best puppy and having a semi-stable income. It means stepping up on every level of your climbing ability. I think my five days working with Jeff and Larry have had a impact on my professional develop. The AMGA RIC is 10 days. So is the first stage in the alpine discipline. I am taking steps. They may be small but they are firm. I will do the work. I will put in time. I will try. I do know I want to take the AMGA Rock Instructor. I’d like to take the Ice and Alpine Course too. What i need to do is put in the work to earn the right to be in it. there’s no short cut. There’s a path. It helps to know how to read a map. I need to find my way. Existential hand wringing has no place in the discussion.
There is more than one path to get from where I am to being a more proficient alpine climber and/or guide. The AMGA has a concentration of skills and knowledge and has created a fantastic process where advance guides are constantly learning and honing their skills with young guns and experienced guides across the world. Working IFMGA guides Jeff Ward and Larry Goldie was a tremendous gift. They gave me their time and created a environment for me to learn. To paraphrase Bob Dylan, she not busy being born is busy dying.
FMI on Jeff and Larry: http://www.ncmountainguides.com/
Brooklyngoilinnewpaltz's Weblog 