Guiding & Certification
in the News
December
1999 issue, The Secret Life of Guides- An excellent cover story
on the glamorous (or not so glamorous) profession of mountain guiding.
The article attempts to describe what it is like to be a mountain guide
in the U.S. It is neither pro nor anti- certification but we believe
paints a pretty accurate picture of the state of guiding in this country
today. Issues such as lack of training, illegal guiding, low income,
lack of access and hiring practices are all discussed. A quote from
the article:
"Some guides will admit to getting their start with chancy, youthful stints at "boot-legging" or "bandit guiding"-in other words, going it alone with no training, no certification, no permits, no liability insurance...Yet it's difficult for many mountaineers, who stake their professional reputations on boldness and self-sufficiency, to completely condemn them. It may be how they got started in the business themselves." Many established guides still work this way.
The article also states that American guides often look at the European system of training and certification with envy. Because guides can't work in Europe without being certified (which requires intense formal training and rigorous exams) guiding is considered a real profession and guides make good wages. The article goes on to state, "Unfortunately, most American guides are not AMGA certified-...and many veterans balk at the idea of taking costly and time-consuming courses to "certify" the expertise they've spent a lifetime acquiring."
It's too bad that more American guides don't feel that they could learn something from other experienced guides in a formal course. Also, if guides had to prove they could meet a minimum acceptable level of expertise, guiding would become a more viable means of making a living and potential clients would have a much easier time when choosing a guide. Both the profession of guiding and people looking to employ guides would benefit. Someone interested in hiring a guide would know that their guide was qualified. They would no longer have to take their guide's word for it that he or she was capable.