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Due to the increased interest in climbing, more climbers are being hired to work as guides. It is important to know that neither the government, accreditation programs, nor most guiding operations require qualifications for Mountain Guides in the U.S. Being a good climber and receiving a couple of days informal guides training is generally all that is necessary. Therefore almost anyone can claim to be a climbing guide. Rely
on AMGA Certification The most important of these are certification and accreditation. Here are their definitions: ACCREDITATION is a three to five day review of a business. Its main purpose is to look at staffing, in house training, permits, and insurance. As the AMGA itself says "Keep in mind however, that accreditation is a general review not an in-depth evaluation of the companies guides or their skills." CERTIFICATION is the process that trains and examines individual guides. There are three categories an individual can be certified and endorsed in: Rock, Alpine and Ski. Within Rock and Ski there are two levels. Let's define each one of these categories:
To acquire international status Rock Guide, Alpine Guide and Ski Mountaineering Guide must be attained. Make sure the guide that you hire is at least trained for the terrain that he or she is taking you on, after all, the rest of the world relies on training and certification, shouldn't you? Begin your search by looking for an AMGA Certified Guide.
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© Chauvin Guides International, P.O. Box 2151, North Conway, NH 03860 Voice: 603-356-8919 |
Choosing
a Guide
Guiding is like any other technical profession, to become proficient
at it an individual needs to be formally trained and examined. There
are a lot of credentials to sort through when you begin your search
for a climbing guide. You'll see terms like in-house training, climbing
experience, insured by, permits, professional members and accreditation.
Some of these can be important, but the only credential that tells
you that the guide you are looking at has met an established minimum
standard in guiding skills is AMGA Certification.
