Marmot Athlete Adrian Ballinger Earns IFMGA/UIAGM Guide’s Certification
Adrian Ballinger
Three and a half years ago I found myself in the Cascades taking an AMGA (American Mountain Guides Association) Advanced Alpine Guides Course from Keith Garvey and Miles Smart. I had been teaching climbing and guiding almost 10 years already, and came to the course skeptical of the process and unsure of the necessity. I was fortunate enough to have an excellent course – strong fellow students, dedicated and knowledgeable instructors, and challenging conditions. By the end of the ten days, soaked to the bone from too many days in a Bibler tent in the Northwest rains, I knew I wanted to earn my full IFMGA/UIAGM certification (to become one of fewer than 40 guides in the USA to have earned their full Rock, Alpine, and Ski certification).
Today, I am sitting in Chamonix, sipping a grand café at the end of a day of guiding five Brits on the Vallee Blanche in 50 cm of fresh snow under blue skies. I earned my full certification and began wearing the pin two weeks ago, completing my final step of the certification process, the ski mountaineering guides exam, here in the Chamonix Valley. Completing the process in just over 3 years was a significant financial strain, both from the costs of the courses themselves, and all the time spent training and learning new areas instead of working in the same venues I have been guiding over the past decade. Support from companies like Marmot and K2, along with scholarship funds like The Chad Vander Ham Memorial Fund, are some of the reasons this was possible for me, and the only way I could have accomplished my goal this winter.
The exam itself was a worthy finish for me and another guide who completed his pin process, Mark Puleio. Joined by Dave Vallet, Jean Pavillard, and Rob Hess, we had a challenging snowy week in and around the Valley. Highlights included skiing the Tour Glacier from the Col du Passon in knee deep untouched powder (1800 meters of it!), skiing the Belvedere Face in the Aiguilles Rouges in similar conditions, white-out navigation across the Trient Plateau to climb the Aiguille du Tour, and more fresh tracks below the Dent du Geant on a big bluebird powder day.
Even better, with almost daily new powder refreshing everything throughout our exam, the K2 Coombas were the ideal ski for the touring and the downhill. They have turned out to be the perfect Alps ski – light enough to tour with and not feel ridiculous, yet wide and stable enough to really enjoy the turns in the powder, crud, crusts, and hardpack that we inevitably find on the long 2,000+ meter runs. And of course my Marmot clothing kept me warm, dry, and comfortable while always feeling lightweight in my ski pack.
I just want to say thank you to Marmot, K2, and to Chad’s friends and family for the support of the AMGA and of me this year. I have myself as an example of how much certification can improve one’s guiding, and of the doors it can open. Over the last 3 years in the AMGA, I have met some of my best ski and climbing partners, trained and guided in countless new venues, and skied and climbed some amazing lines. I look forward to being an active part of the AMGA in the years to come.
Thank you,
Adrian Ballinger
April 19, 2008