A podcast that navigates the complex terrain of mountains and life
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Latest Episodes
EP 45 Holly Mackin
Impact and Network
01:12:03
Born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, Holly grew fond of fresh air and natural spaces early on as a child. When Holly left for college in Colorado at 18, she never expected to pick up a passion for being in the outdoors, skiing and climbing. Holly spent many summers playing in Grand Teton National Park where she planted roots as a mountain guide. Her passion for rock climbing takes her to the Southwest every spring and fall frequenting areas like Indian Creek, Red Rock Canyon and Joshua Tree. In the winter, Holly is usually found in the Tetons hunting for untouched powder and teaching snow science. Holly is currently based in Jackson, Wyoming, as a guide and manages the Women’s Programs for The Mountain Guides.
EP 44 Jessica Baker
The Ski Diva
02:02:06
Former World Tour Freeskiing champion, professional mountain guide, and mother, Jessica Baker, has a knack for seeking out remote adventures. From a young age Jessica developed a love for wild and mountainous landscapes while growing up on a small farm in North Idaho. From the Arctic to the southernmost Andes, Jessica has spanned the globe with her ski and alpine endeavors and broken the ceiling for women in the mountain guiding profession. Jessica lives in Jackson, WY with her husband, a fellow mountain guide, and her two young daughters.
EP 43 Brigitte Denton
Beyond Toughing It Out
01:30:21
Brigitte has lived in the Eastern Sierra (Mammoth Lakes, CA) since 2007, moving from Southern California, where she grew up with the ocean on one side and the mountains on the other. She has a Bachelor of Science degree and teaching credential in Biological Sciences. Before moving to the Sierra, she spent 18 years as a Los Angeles County Fire Department Ocean Lifeguard and EMT, protecting the lives of beachgoers. She also spent seven years teaching middle school integrated science. In 2003, she became a Wilderness EMT and later left traditional K-12 teaching to pursue outdoor education.
Since 2007, Brigitte has guided and instructed courses in mountaineering, backpacking, and sea kayaking, exploring areas of Alaska, the continental U.S., and Europe. These days, Brigitte works for Mono County EMS as an Advanced EMT. She also runs her own business, Beyond Limits Education (BLE), teaching a variety of medical courses and providing education consulting and instructional design services.
EP 42 Izzy Lazarus
Power of Metaphors
01:35:40
Izzy grew up in NYC, playing hockey, skateboarding, and finding a connection with the ocean. Her mountain pursuits began with a pre-orientation backpacking trip in the thick Vermont woods, and she’s been hooked ever since. Courses in rock and ice climbing and outdoor leadership led her to work at the Colorado Outward Bound School after college. Izzy spent several years working multi-week climbing, mountaineering, backpacking, and backcountry skiing courses, both domestically and abroad. In 2017, she moved to the Tetons to work as an alpine and backcountry ski guide. Between Teton seasons, she traveled and worked in the Southwest desert region and various peaks in the Northwest and Cascades.
Several years later, life took her back to Vermont to work for the UVM Outdoor Programs Dept and guide on the side. Izzy has a passion for adventure that is only surpassed by her love of education, teaching, building connections with people from around the world, and cooking!
Izzy is a Certified Rock Guide, Assistant Splitboard Guide, and Apprentice Alpine Guide.
EP 41 Laurie Watt
Challenge the Narrative
01:10:05
Laurie fell in love with hiking and skiing in the mountains as a kid, but it wasn’t until she had sent her kids off to college that she was able to fully embrace mountain life. While raising her family, she also cultivated a 32-year career in physical therapy. In 2006, she moved to Switzerland with her family for her husband’s job. Living in the Alps quickly reminded Laurie of her love for adventuring in the mountains. After returning to the States in 2011, she expanded her skill set to rock and ice climbing. Once the kids were off to college, Laurie decided to make a major career change and committed to becoming a guide. Through training, mentorship, and many days out, she is progressing through the American Mountain Guides Association’s rock, ice, and alpine disciplines.
Laurie works full-time as a guide for Mooney Mountain Guides in New Hampshire, guiding rock climbing, ice climbing, and mountaineering. In the summers, she travels to the Pacific Northwest and guides on the glaciers of Mt. Baker. She offers women-centered programming in rock, ice, and mountaineering. In addition, Laurie also works as a climbing coach for the Holderness School Climbing Team.
EP 40 Joann Garbarini
Motivated for the Motivated
01:15:03
Jo grew up on the East Coast and began climbing in The Shawangunk Mountains as a teenager. She has been hiking and rock climbing for over 20 years all around the United States, Canada, and Europe. Jo spends her time bouncing back and forth between The Eastern Sierra and Red Rock. She loves living and guiding in these places because of the access to climbing. During the warmer months, she loves climbing long alpine routes in the backcountry. As the weather gets colder and snow appears, you can find her climbing in the Owens River Gorge in Bishop or on sandstone in Red Rock.
Joann is a certified Wilderness First Responder, holds an AIARE Avalanche Level 1 certificate, and has been trained by the AMGA as an Apprentice Rock Guide. Jo loves guiding clients and sharing her passion for the outdoors with them.
EP 39 Genevive Walker
Stay True
01:19:41
Genevive Walker is a professional rock climber, rock climbing guide, and active lifestyle model with a passion for promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the outdoor industry. She began climbing in the Shawangunk Mountains in 2012, sparking her love for steep routes, roofs, and anything that requires kneebar trickery.
After seven years in the sport, she started her career as a Single Pitch Instructor (SPI) certified by the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA). Being part of the first all-female SPI cohort in 2018 opened her eyes to the disparities and inequalities within the climbing industry and ignited her mission to build community and offer representation for BIPOC climbers. Genevive is an athlete for Mountain Hardwear, DMM, Sterling Rope, and Gnarly Nutrition. She was also an athlete on Race to Survive: Alaska along with climber Favia Dubyk.
EP 38
Everything SPI 04
Teaching & Curriculum Design I
00:52:50
Welcome back to another episode of the Everything SPI series. Today, Spencer and I will be discussing the important topic of Teaching and Curriculum Design. Both Spencer and I are thrilled about this episode.
We’ll start by discussing the types of courses that can be taught utilizing single pitch terrain. Then, we’ll dive into our guiding principles, RACK and FIRE. We’ll use a case study to explore the “F” in FIRE, which stands for Formulate, in detail.
EP 37
Paloma Farkas
Follow Her Passion
01:34:09
Paloma grew up in Seattle, Washington where she discovered her passion for the mountains through family backpacking and climbing trips in the Cascades. In 2017 she traveled to South America and fell in love with the granite towers of Patagonia. Since then she has split her time between Patagonia, Chile and the US.
Paloma spends as much time as possible climbing and some of her favorite areas are Patagonia, the Peruvian Andes, the Cascades, Indian Creek, the Wind River Range, and the High Sierras. When Paloma isn’t pursuing her own climbing goals, she finds fulfillment in sharing her passion with others and teaching the skills necessary to be self-sufficient in the mountains. She is currently an AMGA Rock Guide, Apprentice Alpine Guide, Wilderness First Responder, AIARE Avalanche Pro 1, and Leave No Trace Trainer.
EP 36
Taylor Fragomeni
Keep Climbing Fun
01:26:42
Taylor started climbing in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate NY in May of 2011 and moved to SW Montana shortly after. She has 12 years of competitive and commercial routesetting experience and a decade of instructing/guiding/coaching experience.
Taylor often works with coaches, routesetters, and guides to streamline their training plans to balance the physical demands of work and play that allows sustainable long term progress. Her coaching style is highly collaborative. She sees herself as a supporter and educator who empowers each individual to become an expert on their own athletic journey.
EP 35
Kristin Arnold & Sheldon Kerr
Break Down Barriers
01:40:45
Both Kristin and Sheldon are IFMGA mountain guides. IFMGA stands for International Federation of Mountain Guides Association, and their certification is the highest credential attainable by a professional mountain guide. As of spring 2024, they are 2 of 17 total women IFMGA in the US. Together they created Moxie Mountain Guides to align the profession of guiding with their values.
Here is a quote from their website “We guide for good. We believe representation matters. We want the mountain to be inclusive space for women, non-binary and trans-identifying backcountry athletes – no matter your body type, race, or gender.” Moxie strives to break down the social and financial barriers to accessing high-end technical instruction.
EP 34
Everything SPI 03
Current SPI Eval System with Andrew Megas-Russell
00:52:54
The main topic of the episode was the new evaluation system. We talked about the background of transitioning from the old system to the new system and what the AMGA is trying to accomplish with the new system. We looked at the new scoring system and what factors would impact the score. We discussed how the new system has been received by the providers and candidates, etc. We also talked about other general topics such as high standard versus minimum standard, continuing future improvements on the SPI program, interesting stats, and exciting upcoming changes.