Here we are, as I’m finishing on this article, it’s already the beginning of August. The days are long, and the temperatures are hot, I have found myself looking toward winter, hoping it might arrive a little earlier this year. I have even started working on my skis to call to Ullr! I explain this, not to complain about summer, but because this is usually the point in the season when things begin to change for most mountain guides. The excitement of spring and the anticipation of guiding different routes and objectives have faded into the reality of long days, early mornings, and instant coffee.
For many, this is when a majority of the work for the season occurs. It is also when the physical and mental demands of the profession begin to take hold. The mountains are still beautiful, and the experiences are still meaningful, but the reality of guiding is that the season requires a lot from the people who choose this profession. The early mornings, constant travel, the responsibility of caring for guests, and the thousands of high-stakes decisions that happen throughout each day all slowly accumulate.
These are just some of the reasons why I make a point to check in with our guides around this time of year. We are always communicating, but there is a difference between discussing schedules, conditions, and logistics and REALLY asking someone how things are going. Those conversations are important to me for so many reasons. I want to understand what our guides are seeing, whether our systems are working, whether guests are arriving prepared, and whether there are things we can do better to support them. More importantly, I want them to know that they are not carrying the responsibility alone.
Each season tends to bring its own set of challenges, and this year has certainly been different for many in the industry. Like so many others, I personally have dealt with challenges I did not anticipate. In my case some were brought on by my own doing, and others from things I did not even know I was still carrying around with me. Regardless of what I may be working through personally, I have always believed that taking care of the people around me matters most. Guides spend so much time focused on the well-being of others that it is easy to forget they also need someone asking how they are doing.
A few days ago, I was having one of those conversations with a guide. The conversation started the way they normally do. We talked about conditions, recent trips, guests, equipment, and whether there were things that could be improved. Those are all important topics, but the discussion moved beyond the normal details of guiding and touched on something much more personal.
They shared that they had started to feel drained and were carrying some emotions from their recent trips. It was not simply the physical fatigue that comes from climbing, hiking, or working in the outdoors. Every guide knows what it feels like to have tired legs after a long season, and that is part of debt we must pay for this profession. This was something different than they had expected.
Knowing this person, I was not surprised that they were struggling. They are an extraordinary guide and take their profession seriously. They are an exceptional climber, a thoughtful individual, and exactly the kind of person you would want beside you in the mountains. However, what they were feeling is something most guides experience at some point in their career, but few talk about.
As we continued, I asked a question that I have asked many guides throughout my career. It is a question that seems simple on the surface, but it becomes more complicated if you give it its full weight.
“Why do you want to be a guide?”
When asked, most people will answer with the things that initially brought them to the mountains. They say they love being outside. They love climbing. They want to spend their lives in wild places. Those are all honest enough answers, and they are often the reason someone starts down the path. However, after a while in this profession, most will conclude that those answers alone are not enough for a lengthy career. They may be enough to get someone started, but guiding will eventually ask more from a person than those things can provide.
Eventually, they must look deeper into themselves and truly understand why they are willing to accept the responsibility of taking someone else into the mountains. They must know what it is about this profession that draws them to it? There is a significant difference between enjoying time outside and choosing to dedicate your life to guiding others into the mountains. A career guide knows that guiding is not simply about being outside or getting paid to climb. It is about making decisions that affect another person’s experience. It is about recognizing hazards before they become problems, adjusting plans when (or often before) conditions change, and understanding that the goal someone arrives with may not always be the right goal for that particular day. It requires technical skills, but it also requires patience, humility, honest communication, empathy, and the ability to put someone else’s experience ahead of your own.
Every person we work with comes to us with their own story. Some may have spent years dreaming about that specific climb. Some are stepping into an environment to try and get over a fear. Some are simple trying to challenge themselves, build confidence, or find something that has been missing from their everyday lives. Others simply want to experience a place they have admired from a distance. There are thousands of distinct reasons, and we must find a way to connect, understand, and deliver on each one.
First, a guide must understand that every person is there for a different reason. The summit may be the same for everyone, but the experience getting there is unique for each individual. To deliver this in a meaningful way, it requires something beyond technical ability. It requires caring about the people standing beside you. It requires noticing when someone needs encouragement, when someone else might need more time, and when the best decision is to change the plan altogether. Sometimes those decisions are not what people want to hear, or might even notice, but they are often the decisions that matter the most.
This is why finding your why matters so much for a career guide. You may have just disappointed someone with your decision. Even if it was absolutely the right thing to do. However, your why will connect you in a way that is more meaningful than just the summit and allow you to deliver in a way that the climb alone cannot.
A love for climbing can surely carry someone through the best days in the mountains. It can fuel beautiful mornings, perfect conditions, and blue bird summit conditions. Those moments are all a huge part of why many of us fell in love with this life. However, it quickly breaks down when people are challenging, conditions are less than stellar, or you are working alone for extended periods of time.
Working outside is waking up tired and still delivering your best for everyone depending on you. It is having the same safety conversations over and over. It is watching someone struggle and finding the right way to support them. It is making the decision to turn around when the conditions are not right, even when everyone is putting pressure on you to keep going.
Those are the moments when a guide discovers whether their reason for doing this work is actually their reason.
The passion for climbing may be what brings someone into guiding, but purpose is what allows them to stay.
Written By Caleb Burns