FGRPodcast

Crystal is a second generation Haitian American and of Irish descent. She lives in Seattle WA with her life partner Keith who also adores climbing and traveling. She currently gives most of her DEIJ (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice) time in climbing to an affinity group in Washington called Climbers of Color. Crystal and her partner developed the Rock Instruction curriculum and she serves as Director of Rock Instruction, Rock Guide, and in any other capacity the organization requires.

Lani is an AMGA Certified Rock and Alpine Guide from Index, Washington. Lani is an AMGA Certified Rock and Alpine Guide from Index, Washington. Two years ago Lani started her own guide service called The Climbing School with her partner Sam. Her start to guiding wasn’t the easiest, not fitting into the typical guide mold. But, now she has found her stride and feels quite lucky to have made a career in guiding and instruction.

Bennett Rahn is a plus size outdoor athlete. She is a model, an influencer, an artist, a certified Single Pitch Instructor climbing guide. She is an advocate for a more inclusive outdoors and a more equitable world and she strives to inspire people of all kinds to pursue outdoor activities.

Jay Louie (they/them) is a licensed psychotherapist. With the AMGA SPI cert, they plan to take climbing therapy outdoors. They believe moving and intimate contact with nature is essential to healing. As a queer person who grew up in multilingual immigrant communities in Hong Kong, the US, Canada, and Central America, Jay is especially resourced to support queer, trans, and or BIPOC folks. They know that the outdoors isn’t always safe or welcoming, and want to be part of the change.

Kelly Khiew is an AMGA Assistant Rock Guide. Born and raised in Singapore, she runs a guide service, The Bivy Taiwan Rock Guides.
Starting 2018 she has run women’s climbing clinics every year to foster a community of strong, independent and confident female climbers in southeast Asia.

Josie McKee has been working in climbing industry for more than 15 years. She has spent years in Yosemite. She worked for YOSAR, sent gnarly routes and went fast on big walls.
 
Right now she lives in Lander, and has her own business called the Mind Athlete. She coaches people to harness stress and turn it into something beautiful for their own climbing.

Kat McKittens is an outdoorsy, nerdy extrovert who thrives on bringing energy and helping others. She has worked as a part of the climbing industry for over a decade. She started her career in climbing as a competition climbing coach and had trained athletes at the national level. Her love for the outdoors brought her to guiding. She currently holds her AMGA SPI certification.

Mia is an IFMGA / AMGA Mountain Guide, an AIARE Instructor, a fully certified PSIA Ski Instructor.

Mia loves giving her clients “wings” in order to accomplish whatever goals they set out for themselves. She also enjoys mentoring aspiring guides because she appreciated all the help and encouragements she gained from the community along the way and loves to pay it forward.

Mia’s secret for preventing burn-out is to diversify the terrains she guides. You can find her on rock, snow, and ice in CO, UT, and WY.

Selena is an AMGA Single Pitch Instructor and Apprentice Rock Guide. As a climber of color and a single mother, Selena is intimately aware of the barriers to entry to the outdoor spaces. She enjoys mentoring women in her community and looks forward to continual involvement educating, empowering and making the outdoors an inclusive and accessible space for all.

Aimee Barnes started guiding in1985 and is a legend in the guiding world. Her love towards guiding and her dedication to hard work is infectious. Aimee is also an advocate of education and mentorship. She has run the all-women Guide Protrack in City of Rocks for about 10 years. Both newer and seasoned female guides have benefited and learned much from the Protrack and built and grown their own network of support.