Marmot Athlete Angela Hawse Achieves AMGA Alpine Guide Certification
Marmot Athlete Angela Hawse achieved her Alpine Guide Certification from the American Mountain Guides Association this fall, 2008. She is one of only seven women in the United States to have completed the Alpine Examination process and joins the ranks of just over 100 guides in the U.S. to be Certified as an Alpine Guide. In addition to congratulating Angela for her accomplishment, we wanted to ask her a few questions about the process to gain insight in what it takes to become an AMGA Certified Guide.
Angela Hawse guiding clients in the Tetons, Summer 2007. Photo: Ace Kvale
What does a guide have to do to become a Certified Guide?
It takes a big desire to be the best you can be as a professional guide. The process demands dedicating tremendous time, energy and resources to the AMGA’s training and examination process. The American Mountain Guides Association is the sole member of the IFMGA (International Federation of Mountain Guides Association). The rigorous training and examination that the AMGA administers is equal to the toughest trainings in the world amongst IFMGA member countries. It could be considered the equivalent of getting your Master’s degree as a Mountain Guide.
There are three different disciplines of Certification a guide completes to become a fully certified Mountain Guide; Rock, Alpine and Ski. I have completed both my Rock Guide and Alpine Guide Certifications and am now focused on completing my Ski Discipline. Gaining Certification in each discipline entails taking two 10-12 day courses, an aspirant exam, and a final exam. The courses provide training and opportunities to practice the skills with other candidates and instructors, hands on in the field. There is a detailed assessment process in which candidates are given feedback on what they need to do to get to the next level. Candidates are expected to gain experience guiding and mastering the skills and techniques prior to taking the advanced course and ultimately, the exam.
The AMGA Alpine Exam for example, entails 10 days of rigorous assessment guiding at a 2:1 ratio (one other candidate and an examiner as clients), on big alpine objectives. This entails guiding routes up to Grade V with a combination of complex glacier travel, rock climbing up to 5.10, ice climbing up to Grade IV and usually a tremendous amount of 3rd and 4th class terrain that entails solid short roping techniques to ensure client security. The examiners assess candidates on their technical competence, terrain assessment, route finding ability, technical descents, rescue skills, client care and ability to perform at the highest level on challenging objectives, for many consecutive days.
What are the most challenging aspects of the examination process?
Managing the stress is the most challenging factor to overcome. The exams are intentionally more demanding than most guiding scenarios, because the examiners expect to see you perform competently and safely under stress, demonstrating an exceptionally high level of fitness to keep up with the fast pace and quantity of climbing big objectives. For myself, the challenge was moving that fast and keeping that pace for days on end with mostly guys that were in their 20’s and early 30’s. As a 45-year old, this was my greatest challenge!
What are the benefits of being a Certified Guide?
Only recently in the U.S. are the benefits of becoming Certified starting to emerge. These are exciting times in the U.S. for guides gaining Certification. The Certified Guides Federation is a new organization, created by the AMGA, that offers membership to Certified Guides and provides insurance and permits to work on a growing list of venues throughout the U.S. This is making it possible for Certified Guides to work independently in some of the most sought after climbing and skiing venues in the country.
Certification has never been required in the U.S. to guide professionally, however land managers are starting to seriously look at Certification as a real asset. In many countries, including Canada and almost all of Europe, where guiding has been a highly respected profession for over 100 years, all guides are required to go through the Certification Process in order to work legally as a guide.
For a U.S. guide to work in Canada, Europe or any of the 20+ IFMGA member countries, they must have either achieved their IFMGA Aspirant Status (having taken the advanced level courses and 3-day aspirant exam in all 3 disciplines) or, completed their full exams in all three disciplines. Full IFMGA Mountain Guides can work legally and independently in these member countries and IFMGA Aspirant Guides must work under the supervision of a Full Mountain Guide. The benefits of guiding abroad in the IFMGA member countries are certainly the access to some of the most incredible mountain terrain on earth to share with clients and most definitely the higher wages that a guide can earn abroad.
In the U.S., Certified Guides are being recognized in many guide services for their excellence and being paid slightly higher wages but that is certainly not across the board yet. Many Certified Guides, including myself, work as instructors and examiners for the AMGA, training aspiring guides going through the process themselves. The work is excellent and the opportunity to train young guides is very rewarding. There are a number of Marmot Athletes that are instructors and examiners for the AMGA’s Training and Certification Program.
Personally one of the greatest benefits of being Certified is a satisfaction of knowing that I have undertaken and succeeded in demonstrating the highest standards expected of a professional guide. Having gone through the process enables me to provide my clients with the highest possible rewards in some of the most phenomenal mountain terrain on earth. The benefit of knowing that I am at the international standard itself is a huge asset to me both personally and professionally.
Angela and her dog, Chile - September 2008. Photo: Ace Kvale
You mentioned other Marmot Athletes that work as Instructors and Examiners for the American Mountain Guides Association?
Both Keith Garvey and Miles Smart are AMGA/IFMGA Fully Certified Guides and instruct courses and work as examiners for the AMGA. They are both incredibly gifted guides, teachers and possess an enthusiasm for their work that is exceptional. I have had the good fortunate of having Keith as a mentor and working with him on Rock Instructor Courses in the past. I have known Miles foryears and worked with him in the Tetons for Exum Mountain Guides. He encouraged me a great deal to go through with my AMGA/IFMGA Certification process, and for that I incredibly gracious.
Other Marmot Athletes that have gone or are going through the process which I have enormous respect for are Full IFMGA Mountain Guides; Adrian Ballinger, Armin Fisher, Christian Santelices, Dick Jackson, and our greatly loved and much missed Doug Coombs. Jim Williams is both an Alpine and Rock Certified Guide, Mike Hattrup is a Certified Ski Mountaineering Guide and Liz Oaks is currently going through the full IFMGA training and examination process.
Any thing else you would like to mention about the process?
Mostly, I would like to acknowledge and thank Marmot for their support, not only of myself going through the AMGA/IFMGA Certifcation Process, but for their tremendous support of the American Mountain Guides Association over the years. Marmot is the one of the highest-level sponsors of the AMGA and this supports provides much needed Scholarships to AMGA members taking courses and exams every year. I am incredibly proud to be a Marmot Athlete and work with a company that walks it’s talk and supports both the guiding professional and endeavors that both protect and promote mountain culture and the mountain environment.
Angela has been a Marmot Athlete for over ten years and completing the AMGA/IFMGA Alpine Certification Process is the latest of many accomplishments in her career in the outdoors. Read more about her on marmotpro.com.
Angela has reviewed the following products on marmot.com:
Women's Wool Half Zip
Exum Jacket
Super Hero Jacket