Ratio
Will not exceed a ratio of three participants to one instructor and a maximum of nine students on a course. A minimum of three participants is required to run this course.
Prerequisites
There are a number.
Please see the “Details and Itinerary” for these and use the appropriate links for resume forms.
Inclusions
Price includes instruction and camping fees. It does not include food and park entry fees. You need to be a member of the AMGA prior to starting the course.
The Alpine Guides Course is the 2nd step in the Alpine Guide education and certification process and is designed for aspiring guides who have a strong alpine climbing background and for instructors who are interested in improving their skills and increasing knowledge. The Alpine Guides Course places strong emphasis on maximizing client rewards while effectively managing risks. The Course is 10-days in length and is a prerequisite to taking the Advanced Alpine Guide Course. All candidates enrolled in the Alpine Guide Course must have first successfully completed the AMGA Rock Instructor Course or Rock Guide Course.
The AMGA Alpine Guides Course is designed for those with a strong alpine climbing background who aspire to become professional alpine guides and for currently working instructors and guides who are interested in improving their skills and increasing their knowledge. It is intended for guides, not climbers, so a high degree of familiarity with alpine climbing techniques is assumed.
This course is identical to courses offered by the AMGA and is also a prerequisite course for the AMGA Rock Instructors Exam. The SMC Alpine Guides Course (AGC) is a privatized version of the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) Alpine Guide Course.
Sanctioned by the AMGA, the curriculum and prerequisites are identical to that offered by the AMGA, but is taught by SMC and guest instructors. These instructors are some of the original core group that set the AMGA certification process in motion and devised the original curriculums and modified them over the years to the final high quality offering. The experience of this group in fact surpasses the experience of the current AMGA instructor pool and you can be assured of receiving the best instruction and meaningful feedback.
Skills taught and developed during the Alpine Guide Course:
• Efficient travel through 3 rd and 4 th class terrain
• Short-rope and short-pitch techniques on snow and rock
• Techniques for managing multiple clients
• Track setting
• Navigation skills
• Macro and micro-route finding skills
• Evaluating anchor construction as it relates to guiding
• Choosing appropriate belay methods for rock and snow
• Efficiently organizing belay stances for multiple clients
• Descending with clients
• Escaping belays
• Managing client safety in 3rd and 4 th class terrain
• Guide's anchors in rock, snow and ice
• Time and pace management
• Small team rescues
• Improvised ascending methods
• Strategies for rappelling and lowering clients
• Safety management in guiding context
• Lesson plans
• Pedagogy
• Coaching tips and effective communication
Course Location: In the Eastern Sierra of California.
Course Instructors:
The course is instructed by senior AMGA certified rock guides. Instructors are some of the original designers of the AMGA programs and have been teaching these courses for over twelve years. Their wide range of experience and home bases in different locations in the country offer an exceptional breath of experience in professional guiding
Robert SP Parker Originally from New Zealand SP lives in Bishop and is an owner of SMC. He is certified in rock and alpine disciplines and is a past AMGA Board of Directors member and current Technical Committee member. He was one of the original developers of the Alpine Program in the early 1990s.
Mark Houston. Mark is the original Mr. AMGA. He has done it all for decades and is one of the best in the USA. Now living in Europe Mark was one of the originators of the alpine programs, a past AAMGA president and a technical committee member.
Marc Chauvin. Mark is a UIAGM internationally certified guide and is certified in rock, alpine and ski disciplines. He lives in North Conway, New Hampshire and is a past AMGA Board of Directors member and Technical Committee member.
Physical difficulty
