I recently returned home from a two week trip to Red Rocks, just outside of Las Vegas, Nevada. Red Rocks is home to some very classic long climbs, many of which are moderate. The approaches are fairly long and the descents are complex. This area has become the venue for the AMGA Rock Guide Exam because of the long climbs with challenging approaches and descents.
Like many other things in life (relationships come to mind) it’s easy to get complacent as a climbing guide. Professional development is important for staying current on your skills and knowledge. AMGA courses are one great way that guides can receive extra training and work towards greater certification. Most guides that work exclusively on the east coast don’t need the full highest level of certification. The terrain is mostly rock, and much of the climbing is on smaller, single or multi-pitch cliffs. However, if you want to guide in places like Red Rocks, Yosemite, the Sierras, the Wind River Range or many other national and international locations extra training is pretty helpful (I think it’s necessary).
The American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) is a relatively young organization that helps U.S. guides train to become internationally certified. There are several other professional development organizations in the U.S., but only the AMGA has the full support of the IFMGA (International Federation of Mountain Guides). Passing your AMGA Rock, Alpine and Ski exams leads to full international certification and the ability to legally guide in many countries worldwide.
It’s fairly common for exam participants to show up in Red Rocks ahead of time to train for the exams. Additionally, spring exams are tough because most people are in ski or ice climbing mode up until early April. Prior to my exam I agreed to rent a condo in west Las Vegas with three of the other exam participants. This may have created the best possible scenario for training and preparation for what many guides consider a stressful 6-day period. It’s hard to have someone watch you do everything throughout the day. If you’re not absolutely confident in your skills it can make you second guess your decisions, even if you have very solid judgment.
So, the condo seemed like a great idea to me, and apparently it seemed like a very good idea for a few other guys too. Rentals in Vegas are relatively cheap and very abundant, especially with the soft housing market there right now. Jeff Witt of Exum Mountain Guides sent out an email expressing interest in a rental and Bill Dyer, Tico Gangulee and I had a place booked in about and hour or so. Upon arrival we met up with one of the other participants, Matt Pickren. He stuck around and slept at the place for the duration of the exam too. It ended up being a great way to relax, shower, hang out and make some new friends.
AMGA exams (I took a Rock Instructor Exam in 2006) are a great learning experience. They’re not a time for gaining new skills so much as refining your current skills so that you can become better at the subtleties of guiding. This exam helped me build confidence in my shortroping and shortpitching abilities. For those unfamiliar with the terms “shortrope” and “shortpitch” they refer to times when you and your climbing partners use the rope for security but stay close together. Security is a relative term and is frequently dictated by the type of terrain one travels over. If the terrain is easy (and frequently loose), yet not easy enough to remove your rope, you can move safely and faster with half the rope or less between the climber(s) and the belayer.
The exam went really well for me. I passed comfortably which was reassuring, as I’ve been honing my skills and teaching the AMGA Single Pitch Instructor Course for almost three years now. I’m thrilled to be done with the rock discipline and very excited to begin working towards my alpine and ski certifications. I didn’t have the chance to take too many photos during the exam but managed to snap a few of my new friends on our training days in the week leading up to the exam. For now I’m happy to be back on the east coast enjoying our fine spring weather.