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Coming soon:*An all-new website ... with a big announcement!*Toofast's "Triple Topo" - a combined topo for three new routes on the Sheepshead! Certified!On April 5th, I passed a week-long American Mountain Guides Association Certified Rock Instructor Exam. Obtaining AMGA Rock Instructor Certification has been a goal of mine for several years, and I was very honored and excited to reach this milestone in my climbing! This certification is for
guiding routes up to Grade III
5.10a, teaching multipitch climbing and its associated skills, and
teaching lower-level AMGA rock courses such as the Single Pitch
Instructor
course. The Rock Instructor Certification is one of
two tiers of
rock guide certification; between both there are about 170
certified guides in the country, three
of whom are in Arizona.Examiners Mark Hammond, Tom Hargis, and Adam Fox traveled across the country to join myself and four other examinees for the week. Mark, Tom, and Adam are tremendously experienced and talented guides, great teachers, and genuinely good people. While they made great effort to make the exam as fair and stress-free as possible, it was still a very challenging and mentally tough experience. The exam is five days long. Each examinee guided two "clients" - an examiner and one of the other examinees - on various multipitch routes. We often linked up routes in order to get climbs of sufficient length to assess our guiding ability in a variety of terrain. This assessment extends far beyond movement skills in 5th class terrain. It also includes technical systems, risk management, terrain assessment, instructional technique, client care, and professionalism. Preparing for the exam was a huge commitment of time and energy. To qualify for the exam, participants must build a significant climbing resume and complete the Rock Instructor Course. Between the course and exam, we had to document additional guiding days, complete more grade IV climbs, and dial in the skills we learned in the course. I've been working on this process for several years. Several of my friends have asked my why I'm doing this. After all, there isn't a certification requirement to guide in much of the US. There are several reasons: it has made me a much better climber and guide, it gives credibilty to me as a guide, and it's really a lot of fun. Climbing guiding and instruction in southern ArizonaSouthern Arizona offers excellent year-round rock climbing. The weather, rock quality, and variety of climbing available here yield amazing opportunities for adventure. The climbing season is year-round, and the climbs range from single-pitch roadside sport routes to scary, long backcountry traditional routes.There are, however, relatively few guide services in Arizona. I am proud to be associated with one of the best. I work for Rocky Mountain Climbing School / Aspen Expeditions in Tucson. Why? RMCS is insured, permitted, and run by Jeff Fasset, who has operated for years as the only certified guide in southern Arizona. (Jeff's also been my primary resource as I've pursued my own certification.) RMCS is the only guide service in southern Arizona with guides certified for multipitch climbs. If you're looking for certified guides for Cochise Stronghold or Mount Lemmon, this is the place to go. For further information or to arrange a booking, go to http://www.climbarizona.com. Ten years of climbing...2008 marks the start of my 10th year of climbing. While 10 years is modest experience compared to many climbers, I've packed them full by climbing 100-150 days a year and obtaining AMGA certification.
My goal has always been to become the most competant climber I can be, and to climb increasingly longer and challenging routes. For me, the most appealing part of climbing is that greater skill leads to greater adventures. Climbing allows us to visit remote, beautiful places with sense of accomplishment and an appreciation of the magnitude of the world we live in. And it draws people closer: it one of the few ventures in which your life is dependant upon the skill and judgment of your partner. Few sports offer so much.
Gear Selection ArticleRead Gear Selection in the Digital Age, an article I wrote about using computer software to analyze your traditional rack. For more information, click the RackPRO link above. |
And what a 10 years
this has been! They have
been
filled with tremendous adventures, personal triumphs, and countless
miles traveled. I've been hung
upside-down by a carabiner meat-hooking my leg, climbed 4000
feet
in
a day, been questioned by federal authorities, torn a bicep tendon,
taken some big falls, and made some bigger
saves. 
As
I reflect back on these last 10 years, I realize they have been the
most
pivotal of my life. I grew in faith tremendously in my
outdoor
ministry career in the east, and now in the west I've discovered a
whole new level of adventure. My website "glyph"
reflects what has become become central to me - faith
and
adventure. 
