Jason_Martin

The American Alpine Institute is currently seeking a Bellingham-based intern to assist with the planning of an event in early December. The intern will begin working on the event in October, putting in a few hours a week. The time commitment will be minimal until just before the event, at which time the intern will be asked to put in 20 hours or so. Prerequisites: --Must be at least 21 years of age --Must have access to a car --Must be well spoken and able to communicate effectively via telephone or email. --A background in event planning of any sort is desirable Compensation: In return for the work put in, the American Alpine Institute will provide an intern with a $1200 course credit and free rentals for any course that the credit is used on. Application: To apply for this internship, please click on the following link and fill out the Administrative Internship Application: http://www.aai.cc/Employment/ If you have any questions whatsoever, please feel free to email me at jason(at)alpineinstitute.com or call me at 360-671-1505. Jason Martin Director of Field Operations American Alpine Institute

Does anybody care? Jason

It now looks like we may have two positions open. Jason

Please check out the Mountain Project threat and help to save Red Rock Canyon! Jason

There's a great thread right now on Mountainproject about the proposed development across the street from Red Rock and what we can do to stop it. Check it out at: Mountain Project Red Rock Threatened Thread And sign the petition to stop the development at: Save Red Rock! Jason

Bump.

American Alpine Institute Job Announcement: Northwest Programs and Expedition Coordinator The American Alpine Institute is seeking an individual for an entry-level program coordination position. This is a year-round full-time position at one of America’s leading mountain climbing schools and international guide services. Duties: *Coordinate the Northwest programs and oversee client bookings for AAI’s programs in Washington State and Canada. *Assist in the management of programs in Alaska, California, Nevada, Colorado and Utah. *Advise AAI’s executive director on Northwest mountaineering programs, risk management, and human resource issues. *Participate as one member of a dynamic team in strategic and operational planning and in the design and completion of special projects. Requirements: *Knowledge of the Cascade Range and a willingness to learn about “off-the-beaten-path” areas in Washington State and Canada. *Abilities to write and speak articulately, creatively, and effectively *An ability to work with a high level of energy, commitment, and responsibility. *Climbing experience is required. *Guiding experience at any level is helpful, but not required. Location: *Bellingham, Washington, a beautiful and environmentally conscious town ranked #1 in the US by Outside magazine for quality of life in a community with exceptional opportunities for national caliber outdoor sports (cragging, alpine rock, glacier climbing, sea kayaking, mountain biking, trail running). Compensation: *$24,000 to $29,000 (DOE). Vacation pay, holiday pay, and health insurance benefits increase with time. For a prospectus and application, please visit: http://aai.cc/Employment/ Submit application, résumé, and cover letter to info@aai.cc Please feel free to contact Jason Martin at 360-671-1505 or at jason@aai.cc with any questions. Thanks, Jason Martin Director of Field Operations American Alpine Institute

The idea student will be somewhat new to climbing, will have rock shoes, a helmet, and a harness, and will be willing to be there on time... Jason

The American Alpine Institute is running an American Mountain Guides Association Single Pitch Instructor Exam on Tuesday in Leavenworth. We are currently seeking individuals who would like to play the role of student for the exam candidates on: TUESDAY, JULY 19 Primarily we are interested in climbers who haven't spent a great deal of time outdoors. The exam candidates will provide a day's worth of climbing instruction to those who are interested under the supervision of an AMGA Certified Rock Guide for FREE. Mock students will work with the guides from approximately 9am to 4pm. If you need to leave early, that's certainly fine. The American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) Single Pitch Instructor Course and exam is the first in the AMGA sequence of climbing instructor and guide training programs. The SPI course was designed to help capable recreational climbers transition into capable and effective climbing instructors. The course focuses on the technical skills required by an instructor as they are applied in all forms of single pitch climbing instruction. In addition to this, the course addresses the essential educational and environmental tenets required to teach climbing. Those seeking certification may go on to take a two day field examination following the course. Certified Single Pitch Instructors are expected to demonstrate the technical and educational proficiencies necessary to instruct a variety of single pitch rock climbing skills in a safe and effective manner to both groups and individuals. To read more about the AMGA Single Pitch Instructor course and exam, please click on the following link: http://www.aai.cc/ProgramDetail/spi/ If you would like to participate in this guide assessment as a mock student and to obtain some free training, please call JASON or KATY between 9am and 5pm on a business day at 360-671-1505. Thanks, Jason Martin Director of Field Operations American Alpine Institute

Dan, It's my understanding that the fatality on Baker was in the same hole that you pulled those people out of all those years ago... Jason

Does anybody know where we should send letters commenting on this situation? It says that the State Senate's Natural Resource Committee will take this up today... Jason

It's tonight! Jason

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International Mountain Day is on Saturday and we are literally swimming in gear donations that we're going to give away! Yep in the middle of the picture there, there is a stack of passes to Stevens Pass that is nearly an inch thick. And yep, that is a Hilleberg tent in the foreground...and we still have more donations coming in from SMC and Petzl! Donations have been made from the following companies: Stevens Pass, Egear, Tendon, Mountain Gear, REI, Backcountry Essentials, Hilleberg, Fairhaven Runners and Walkers, SMC, Petzl, The Mountain Runners Film, Outdoor Research, Black Diamond, the YMCA, American Museum of Radio and Electricity and Boundary Bay! Raffle tickets are five dollars each and of course, all profits will go to Greg Mortenson's Central Asia Institute. We still have plenty of space in our rock rescue clinics at the Y. If you don't know if you can make it, you're welcome to just show up and we'll probably have space. And of course there's tons of room at the Museum of Radio for our avy awareness seminar! Looking forward to it! Jason

There's a rumor going around that I unfortunately have to set straight... There will be beer at our event on Saturday in Bellingham, but it won't be free. We were initially telling people that there would be free beer at our Avy Awareness event on Saturday night...but the Museum of Radio and Electricity has told us that this is against their rules. They have to charge for it. All proceeds will still go to the Central Asia Institute...so you will have to buy beer, but it's for a good cause... If you don't know what's going on, check out the write-up in the events forum or log onto: http://aai.cc/imd.asp Jason

So there will be BEER and pizza at our avy awareness event on Saturday night. There is a rumor floating around -- which can be directly attributed to us -- that the beer on Saturday night will be free. We wrongly believed that since we were getting beer donated to us that we could just give it away... Unfortunately, this is no longer true. The rules at the Museum of Radio and Electricity don't allow for that. So we will have to charge for it. But rest assured, all of the proceeds from beer consumption will go to the Central Asia Institute. We look forward to seeing you there! Jason

Just a quick reminder... While most of our events celebrating International Mountain Day will be on December 11th, we will be having a free avalanche awareness seminar tonight at Western Washington University at 7pm in Viking Union #552. We will be raffling off some prizes with all donations going to the Central Asia Institute. If you buy a raffle ticket tonight, that ticket will be eligible for the raffle on the 11th as well. Jason

The American Alpine Institute just received the following email from Denali National Park: "The National Park Service (NPS) is examining approaches to recover more of the cost of the mountaineering program in Denali National Park and Preserve. As part of the public involvement process, the NPS is hosting two public open houses in December and two in January to provide information on the mountaineering program and how the special mountaineering use fee is utilized. The cities, dates, locations, and times of the open houses are: Talkeetna, Alaska, Tuesday, December 7, Talkeetna Ranger Station, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. Anchorage, Alaska – Wednesday, December 8, REI, 1200 W. Northern Lights Blvd., 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. Seattle, Washington – Monday, January 17, REI Flagship Store, 222 Yale Ave. N, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Golden, Colorado – Tuesday, January 18, American Mountaineering Center, 710 10th St., 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Park staff will give two 20 minute presentations on the mountaineering program and fee at each open house, beginning at 15 minutes after the hour. Official public testimony will not be taken, but park staff will be available before and after the presentations to provide additional information and answer questions. Currently each climber of Mt. McKinley and Mt. Foraker pays a cost recovery mountaineering use fee of $200. Income from this special use fee funds some of the cost of the mountaineering program, including preventative search and rescue (PSAR) education, training for rescue personnel, positioning of patrol/rescue personnel (including volunteers) at critical high altitude locations on the mountain, the CMC (human waste) program, and administrative support. Since the cost recovery fee was implemented in 1995, the number of fatalities and major injuries has decreased significantly. This is directly attributable to the increased educational and PSAR efforts made possible through the cost recovery program. When the special use fee was initially established it covered approximately 30% of the cost of this specialized program. Even though the fee was increased from $150 to $200 in 2005, current fee revenue only covers 17% of the cost. McKinley/Foraker climbers make up less than 1⁄2 of 1 percent of the park’s visitors, and in 2011 Denali will expend approximately $1,200 in direct support of each permitted climber. The average cost for all other visitors is expected to be about $37. In recent years, the park has diverted funds from other critical park programs in order to fully fund the mountaineering program. This has negatively impacted funding available for interpretation, wildlife protection, resource management, and maintenance. The NPS is seeking input and ideas regarding two key questions: 1) Is the current mountaineering program the most cost effective, efficient and safe program we can devise? 2) How much of the cost should be recovered from users, and what options are there for how those costs can be distributed? Comments from the public will be accepted through January 31, 2011. Comments may be submitted via email to: DENA_mountainfeecomments@nps.gov or faxed to (907) 683-9612. They may also be sent to: Superintendent, Denali National Park and Preserve, P.O. Box 9, Denali Park, AK 99755. For additional information on the mountaineering program or the cost recovery special use fee visit the park website at www. nps.gov/dena. If you have questions about the fee you may contact Chief Park Ranger Peter Armington at (907) 683-9521 or peter_armington@nps.gov. Media inquiries should be directed to Public Affairs Officer Kris Fister at (907) 683-9583 or kris_fister@nps.gov." We have written about this issue on the American Alpine Institute blog and have come up with a handful of comments that could help you to counter this proposal if you would like to send in comments. To learn more about Denali fee issues, please click here. Jason Martin

At the American Alpine Institute, we love mountains for their beauty and challenge, and for the livelihood they provide us as guides and teachers. But there are ample reasons for flatlanders to love mountains as well. Mountain ranges function as engines of water production, provide habitat for game, and supply resources for industry. In view of the universal value of mountains, the United Nations General Assembly established International Mountain Day of each year to celebrate this shared natural heritage. This year, we have decided to benefit the Central Asia Institute with our International Mountain Day activities. The Central Asia Institute is a non-profit organization with the mission to promote and support community-based education, especially for girls, in the remote mountainous regions of northern Pakistan and Afghanistan. Greg Mortenson, whose story was chronicled in the best-selling books, Three Cups of Tea and Stones to Schools, started the Central Asia Institute in 1993. Mortenson was inspired to develop a program to build schools at the foot of the Himalaya after he stumbled into a remote village in northern Pakistan following a failed attempt to climb K2. The villagers took him in, fed him, and gave him a place to rest while he recovered from his Himalayan failure. After Mortenson regained his strength, he vowed to come back to the village in order to help them to build a school. His return some months later marked the start of his quest to bring education to some of the poorest and most remote reaches of the world. Since 1993, Mortenson has helped build 145 schools throughout central Asia. You can develop your personal climbing skills, your avalanche awareness skills and help us to benefit this important cause by participating in our International Mountain Day events. You can now register online at aai.cc/imd.asp. Registration is optional, but space is limited and those who register will be given priority. Rock Rescue Clinics (Free with a suggested donation of $25) We will be offering four two-hour rock rescue clinics at the YMCA Climbing Wall in downtown Bellingham. The clinics will focus on the baseline skills required to perform a rescue in a high angle environment. We will be offering these from 8am-10am, 10:30am-12:30pm, 1pm to 3pm, and 3:30-5:30pm. Those who donate $25 will receive a raffle ticket. For every additional $5, participants will receive additional raffle tickets. Rock Rescue Clinics (Free with a suggested donation of $25) Avalanche Awareness Seminars We will be offering two avalanche awareness events to celebrate International Mountain Day. The first event will be at 7pm at Western Washington University on December 2nd and the second event will also be at 7pm on December 11th at the American Museum of Radio and Electricity in downtown Bellingham. Food and drink – including beer donated by Boundary Bay – will be available at the event on the 11th. At all events we will be selling raffle tickets ($5 per ticket) to raise money for the Central Asia Institute. Our sponsors have generously donated many thousands of dollars worth of prizes that we will be giving away. Sponsors include REI, Fairhaven Runners and Walkers, Backcountry Essentials, Boundary Bay, Black Diamond, Tendon, Outdoor Research, Fairhaven Bike and Ski, The Mountain Runners, Mountain Gear, the YMCA and the American Museum of Radio and Electricity. More sponsors are joining every day! For more information, log onto www.aai.cc/imd.asp or call me at 360-671-1505. Jason Martin Operations Manager American Alpine Institute

This will be the last one of these that we run locally this season... The American Alpine Institute is running an American Mountain Guides Association Single Pitch Instructor Exam this weekend at Mount Erie near Anacortes. We are currently seeking individuals who would like to play the role of student for the exam candidates on: SUNDAY, OCTOBER 24 Primarily we are interested in climbers who haven't spent a great deal of time outdoors. The exam candidates will provide a day's worth of climbing instruction to those who are interested under the supervision of an AMGA Certified Rock Guide for FREE. Mock students will work with the guides from approximately 9am to 4pm. If you need to leave early, that's certainly fine. The American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) Single Pitch Instructor Course and exam is the first in the AMGA sequence of climbing instructor and guide training programs. The SPI course was designed to help capable recreational climbers transition into capable and effective climbing instructors. The course focuses on the technical skills required by an instructor as they are applied in all forms of single pitch climbing instruction. In addition to this, the course addresses the essential educational and environmental tenets required to teach climbing. Those seeking certification may go on to take a two day field examination following the course. Certified Single Pitch Instructors are expected to demonstrate the technical and educational proficiencies necessary to instruct a variety of single pitch rock climbing skills in a safe and effective manner to both groups and individuals. To read more about the AMGA Single Pitch Instructor course and exam, please click on the following link: http://www.aai.cc/ProgramDetail/spi/ If you would like to participate in this guide assessment as a mock student and to obtain some free training, please call JASON at: 360-671-1505 (work) or at 206.459.8753 (cell - after 5pm on Friday) Thanks, Jason Martin AMGA Certified Rock Guide American Alpine Institute

Would have loved to have you Gene, but alas, we finished this afternoon. Thanks to those who participated! Jason

The American Alpine Institute is running an American Mountain Guides Association Single Pitch Instructor Exam this weekend at Mount Erie near Anacortes. We are currently seeking individuals who would like to play the role of student for the exam candidates on: SUNDAY, OCTOBER 3 Primarily we are interested in climbers who haven't spent a great deal of time outdoors. The exam candidates will provide a day's worth of climbing instruction to those who are interested under the supervision of an AMGA Certified Rock Guide for FREE. Mock students will work with the guides from approximately 9am to 4pm. If you need to leave early, that's certainly fine. The American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) Single Pitch Instructor Course and exam is the first in the AMGA sequence of climbing instructor and guide training programs. The SPI course was designed to help capable recreational climbers transition into capable and effective climbing instructors. The course focuses on the technical skills required by an instructor as they are applied in all forms of single pitch climbing instruction. In addition to this, the course addresses the essential educational and environmental tenets required to teach climbing. Those seeking certification may go on to take a two day field examination following the course. Certified Single Pitch Instructors are expected to demonstrate the technical and educational proficiencies necessary to instruct a variety of single pitch rock climbing skills in a safe and effective manner to both groups and individuals. To read more about the AMGA Single Pitch Instructor course and exam, please click on the following link: http://www.aai.cc/ProgramDetail/spi/ If you would like to participate in this guide assessment as a mock student and to obtain some free training, please call JASON at: 360-671-1505 (work) or at 206.459.8753 (cell - after 5pm on Friday) Thanks, Jason Martin AMGA Certified Rock Guide American Alpine Institute

The American Alpine Institute has an extremely intensive guide training program. Every guide must participate in the three-week training program or complete the equivalent AMGA programs (rock instructor course, alpine guides course, advanced alpine guides course). The guide training program is run by Michael Powers who was the AMGA Technical Director for a number of years. During his years as Technical Director he was involved in the development of many of the current certification standards. Indeed, AMGA certification courses were originally modeled on AAI's guide training program when the AMGA began to develop its programs. The AAI guide training is a pre-requisite to starting work at the institute. To remain employed at AAI, every guide must continue with AMGA coursework and participate in yearly guide trainings run by AMGA certified guides or by IFMGA certified guides. Every guide at AAI is currently either certified or on the certification track. American guiding is changing dramatically. Educated students create a demand for highly educated guides. Considering the fact that our director was one of the early presidents of the AMGA (as well as one of those who helped LNT become a non-profit) and that our educational director was the technical director of the AMGA, it is clear that AAI has been at the leading edge of internal company guide training in the US for a long time. If you'd like more information about our guide training program or what we expect of our guides, please feel free to email me at jason@aai.cc or call me at 360-671-1505. On the issue of pricing...pricing is regional. It's impossible to compare the prices of Canadian guides to those of American guides. Instead, it would be better to look at regions. Some regions in the US are more expensive than others and the same can be found in Canada. Lastly, on the difference between American and Canadian guide training...when they finish everybody is supposedly at the same level. In other words, guides who have completed all of their certification courses in either country become IFMGA guides. It's unrealistic to argue which is better. As an American I'm certainly going to argue for the American system. My Canadian counterparts are likely to do the same for the Canadian system. As a result, it's not really even worth arguing about... Jason Martin

We did buy stock photos for significantly less than we're offering for this catalog and catalogs in the past. We're a small business and all that we have to give away is trip credit or gear...it's what we have. So like I said, if someone would like to get that, then they should submit. If they feel that they have a better chance submitting to Patagonia, then yes, they should definitely submit there. Jason

Yep, being a photographer is a hard job. I know for a fact that newspapers only pay $35 for a photo...and many other resources don't give anywhere near $200 for a photo including many of the magazines for their smaller photos spots. And most gear catalogs don't pay anywhere near $200 for photos... Sure, if you're selling to Patagonia, maybe you'll do better...but it is climbing photography and there aren't that many places to sell it, period. If you don't want $200 worth of climbing gear then don't submit. We're not running a magazine or a newspaper and we're not soliciting from professional photographers because we don't have the resources that such companies have. Instead, we're offering $200 worth of gear or a trip credit for anybody who wants to send us their photos. This is what we can give...it's up to you to submit if you want it. Jason