Need Some Help from a (former or current) Guide.

[rocky_joe]

I'm about to gradumate der college and I'll have this degree in Financial Economics and absolutely no interest to do anything of that sort. I've wanted to try my hand at guiding since I got into the sport, I figure if I love it so much I may as well have someone pay me to do it and teach new people, right?

 

My problem isn't that I haven't got all the basic certs companies are looking for or that I can't climb as hard as they want (I do, just barely). My problem is that, when I look at my resume, it screams average. I mean I've got a fair few climbs on there, but by no means is it littered with Grade IV 5.10 or WI6 FAs. I worry that because I'm new (3years) to this sport I won't get the consideration, but I know if I get an interview I can nail it.

 

What I'm really looking for is anyone to chat with who knows exactly what I need to say in my cover letter to get that interview, and how to explain that my resume is lacking, not because of skill or desire, but because of money (lack thereof) and the fact that oregon is shit for alpine. If you're a guide, have been a guide or are in charge of hiring in any industry and are willing to chat with a college kid trying not to get stuck in a desk job, please pm me, or post here. I hope I'm not the only youngun trying to climb for a living.

[nels0891]

I know its unrelated to your question, but i just have to ask. Why get a degree in financial economics if you dont have any interest in it?

 

 

[DPS]

I tried my hand at guiding, and I sucked at it. I have a number of friends who are wonderful guides and some of them were very mediocre climbers. One thing to remember is guiding is NOT climbing. You are not being paid to climb, you are being paid to teach, coach, and make decisions that affect the safety of your clients. There is a big difference.

 

Apply to RMI (Rainier Mountaineering Inc). They set the lowest bar for new guides. Basically you need WFR, CPR and LNT before you apply. If you don't have WFR or CPR, sign up for them now. RMI offers the LNT training if you are hired. They don't care whether you can climb or not. They are looking for specific physical and personality types. If you fit their mould, you stand a good chance of being hired.

 

If you are selected from your application you will attend a two day try out the first week of May. Make sure you are in good physical shape as part of the try out will be to sprint from Paradise to the top of Panarama Point. If you are a dude, cut your hair, take out any earings or other jewelry, hide any tatoos, and shave any facial hair. Also if you can help it, be caucasion and tall with a thick head of hair.

 

Make sure you know all the basics including rest step, self arrest, anchor building, hip belay, how to tie all the knots including (especially) the butterfly knot. Be prepared to teach all of these skills during the try out.

 

Any certifications you can get before you send in your application will look good, like avalanche courses. AIRE 1 only takes 3 days and is pretty reaonsably priced. If you want to stick with guiding you will eventually want/need to take AMGA courses.

 

You will need to fill out both their application and climbing resume. Go here for new guide requirements and how to apply: http://rmiguides.com/about/employment.php

 

I wouldn't worry about a letter of intent or even a traditional resume. They will determine if you get a try out based on your application and climbing resume.

 

You may also want to investigate Outward Bound or NOLS. They put more emphasis on 'soft' skills than other guide services.

 

Best of luck,

 

Dan

[justinp]

oregon is shit for alpine.

word

 

Joe - Locally a good place to start may be to talk with Josh Norris at the OSU Outdoor Rec Program. Another avenue for advice round here may be to talk with Tyler Adams (corvallisclimb) or Paul Water (checat) they have both done guiding in the past.

Best of luck

.

[Coldfinger]

My 2 cents--you'e got a little time. Change your approach.

 

Move to a smaller place with a good scene, climb like a loony while you wash dishes, make some contacts and it'll happen. You can get an OEM cert through a lot of Ski Patrol programs and I wouldn't discount becoming a patroller or other ski industry professional first then doing that in winter and look to move into guiding in the summer.

 

There's a lot of crossover (look at BD) between the two industries and ski is easier to get into.

[ARob]

Doing OEC through Ski Patrol is good advice and a great way to find a job in the outdoors. I am currently a volunteer on Mt. Hood Ski Patrol and plan on moving to Pro Patrol in a couple seasons. I know that John Race at the Northwest Mountain School is on the AMGA board and would probably be happy to answer some specific questions. I have climbed with a few guides and guide companies and I can tell you there are great climbers who make shitty guides. Just to echo what others have said, you are there to care for and often teach first and climb second. There are a lot of outdoor programs these days that take folks climbing. To build your resume you can get top rope certified as a start and work your way into more multi-pitch guiding. RMI is usually looking for snow sloggers to take gear up to Muir most years too.

[rocky_joe]

nels, the degree in econ, is because I really enjoy studying it. The theory is pretty fascinating, and despite a lot of scrutiny from those who haven't got a clue, is quite accurate. However, I'm not good enough at math to continue to a Ph.D so, I chose to do the finance focus instead of the mathematical. Wish I was, because grad school would put this whole real world thing off a few more years. But, I really don't want to crunch data, which is what econ hires do.

[nels0891]

fair enough. i wasnt trying to criticize you by any means, im a student myself and was really just wondering.

[Hugh Conway]

The theory is pretty fascinating, and despite a lot of scrutiny from those who haven't got a clue, is quite accurate. However, I'm not good enough at math to continue to a Ph.D so

 

 

Most community colleges offer EMT programs.

 

[rocky_joe]

words.

Edited December 17, 2010 by rocky_joe

[genepires]

there is a wilderness EMT program that might be more beneficial than the WFR class. WFR is a minimum standard but the WEMT would put you ahead of others with similar skills but only wfr training. It also takes longer and costs more.

 

EMT is geared towards having a ambulance there.

 

There are quite a different kind of guide services out there. Just because you don't have alpine experience doesn't mean you can't guide in other areas. Rock guiding at smith? Troubled youth in the wilderness? (hoods in the woods)

 

Maybe you should find an area that really interests you (for guiding) and focus on it for a year or two. (like coldfinger suggest) Volunteer in any leadership and teaching capacity. (county and university rec program come to mind) Many companies will train you in the hard guiding skills (American Alpine Institute has a new guide training program that is very good) but the people skills have to be there first. So you have to demonstrate that you can lead a group of people, teach concepts and skills, and be able to handle emergency situations. If you could do those 3 things, I would feel good about giving you clients in the wilderness.

 

You don't need to be a climbing bad ass to be a guide. Trust me, 5.11 and wi6 is not a minimum. More like 5.9, wi3, a1, full glacier skills, and maybe a single foray into the thin air. I think the average weekend joe with a varied experience who has been doing it a while has the climbing skills for guide training. It is the people and emergency skills that make a guide. (this does not apply to the upper end of guide population like house, blanchard, ect)

 

If you want resume help, why not just call the offices of several guide companies and tell them your story. Ask for advice. Call them in the slow part of the day like the early morning or mondays.

[AlpineK]

The Outdoor Emergency Care (OEC) program is a good one. It's essentially the same as EMT training except you don't have an ambulance full of equipment. If you combined that with Mountain Travel and Rescue (MTR) you would have a lot of qualifications that guiding services would like.

 

Those programs are offered by Ski Patrol. If you're a skier think about it. The WFR program might be the thing to do if skiing isn't your thing and or you don't want to sign up with a volunteer/pro ski patrol.

[rocky_joe]

I've already got m WFR and am planning on doing a EMT within the next year to get my WEMT. And I'm doing Avy I this winter. So, I've got those, but not sure I want to invest in getting SPI or anything like that until a company tells me I need it to get hired anywhere, because, after talking a few guides in Maine who'd gone through it, it doesn't seem like I'm going to learn much and I don't want to pay for just a piece of paper if I don't need it.

[climbercam]

It helps to take rock/crevasse rescue courses from guides so you learn the industry standards.

[Maine-iac]

Dude keep in mind that the ones hiring arn't stupid either. They know you have a degree in economics so that means you not as thick as a brick (although....), and you live in OR. While not the mecca for climbing, your resume shows that you bust your ass and stand on top of what oregon has to offer.

 

Would you rather be bottom of the class in an Ivy League setting or top of your class in a public setting.... You make damn sure you are getting done what is realistic to be done in Oregon. Just like in a business nobody is going to be hired if they are a total fucking clown who happens to be good at crunching numbers, but they will be hired if they bust their ass and do their best.