Heading to the North Cascades

I'm all packed up and ready to make the 2 day drive to the North Cascades in Washington to train for and take my Alpine Exam with the AMGA. Having already completed my Rock Guide Certification a few years ago, along with both Alpine Guides Courses, I have a good idea of what to expect. But as with most things in life there are no guarantees so I felt it was best to get myself to the North Cascades plenty early to have some time to re-familiarize myself with the range, get in great shape, and do some fun climbing in one of the country's best mountain ranges.

The North Cascades is situated approximately 2 hours east of Seattle and Bellingham Washington, and is a massive complex of interconnected peaks, ridges, glaciers, etc. Given the alpine nature, much of the rock is not of a high quality, but certainly more quality than say the San Juan Mountains in CO, my home range.

I'm both excited and nervous for the exam, which is as I think it should be. Performance on an exam or in any other stressful situation should elicit a healthy degree of the case of the butterflies. It's what helps to keep me sharp and focused on making sound decisions. It goes without saying that safety is of the utmost importance in the mountains, and I strive to control what I can control, but am realistic that control is largely a perception rather than reality, no matter what you are doing.

Learning how to control your actions to the degree that you are able to limit exposure on a given route and effectively increase team safety through the use of specific techniques is part of becoming a better mountain guide. I can say without reservation that my courses and exams with the AMGA have helped me to become a better guide.

It might seem weird to do this first, but I think it's appropriate given the fact that I wouldn't be in this position if it weren't for the many that have helped me in some way to get to the point where I'm able to take this exam.

I'd like to thank a few people for helping me out with gear, support, etc. Matt Gowar at RAB provides Southwest Adventure Guides with all their technical outerwear needs and I'll be sporting RAB outerwear during my time in the N. Cascades. Sam Mix at Osprey Packs makes sure I have all the right packs to carry my gear in. The Mutant 38 will be the perfect pack for this exam. Tom Adams at Petzl recently informed me that I'm the recipient of the Petzl Guide's Scholarship! This was fantastic news and thanks to Petzl for all their support of the AMGA as well. Petzl gear (headlamps, ice axes, ropes, belay devices, carabiner) are the best around and I'm glad to have plenty of Petzl gear on hand to use on the exam.

I'd like to also thank my folks for their unwavering support of everything I've ever done. Hopefully I can be as great a parent to my son as they were to my brother and I.

Lastly, I'd like to thank my wife Keeton for everything that she has done and is doing for me so that I can be here in Washington for almost 5 weeks! Taking care of our son Mason, running our business, and doing all the things that day-to-day life requires. It's more than a full time job and I simply could not be doing this without her love and support!

I will be posting regular updates on this blog about my whereabouts and climbs that I do with other exam participants over the next couple of weeks. I will also try to post between exam days, if there is time left in the day!