A few weeks ago I participated as an examiner in one edition of the alpine guide exam of the American Mountain Guides Association - AMGA. This was the first time I was called for the final step before the American aspiring guides receive their certification. Eight years ago I started to live in the US and in 2019 I was hired as an instructor for the AMGA. During this time, I have guided in many of the classic climbing destinations and instructed several courses at different levels of the US mountain guide program. in the past, I participated in similar exams, both as an aspiring guide and as an instructor of the Ecuador mountain guide program. Every time, the experiences were loaded with intense emotions, and this time was not an exception. Now that enough time has passed for proper reflection, I can conclude a couple of ideas.
First of all, I have realized that if I grew up in the US, It probably would have taken me much longer to become an internationally certified mountain guide (IFMGA guide). Not because of lack of motivation or because the program is necessarily more rigorous than in other countries, but because in the US, I likely would not have had access to climbing in my early years. The more I listen to folks that look like me, the more I realize that the access to recreation in the mountains is practically an exclusive privilege.
I accept that I have not conducted professional research to support the previous statement and I know it is a generalization. However, all you have to do is open your eyes in the climbing/skiing “hubs” of the US, to realize the clear demographics of those areas. I say this with no intention to point fingers at any individuals out there. I say this as a realization that I landed in this country as a privileged person. My journey to this point was not easy, in fact, I don’t think there’s an easy way to become an IFMGA guide, regardless of your origins. However, when I draw imaginary lines from my childhood, including the resources that my family had and I try to position myself in North America, I realize that my passion for mountains would likely have encountered more barriers. This is said by someone from Ecuador, who didn’t have access to local training at home and had to seek scholarships abroad to pursue the training. I can say that I know about hustling!
On a second note, comically I have to say that I didn’t know that I was “brown” until I came to the US. Of course I knew my latino origins and my color, but not the connotations of my race in the context of life in the US. To me, this created a ghost that has lived in the back of my mind since I made that realization. When I applied for the instructor position at the AMGA, they used the same filters as the other hires of that year and when the technical director called me to confirm the position, I celebrated it as one of the greatest honors of my career. However, when I learned that the AMGA has been a traditionally white-male dominated organization, the idea that maybe they hired me to help fix this image stuck in my mind.
Don’t take me wrong here. I am not accusing anyone of anything. Actually, the more I get to know the instructor team and the leadership, the more I am convinced of their good intentions to create a more diverse guiding community in the future. This is more about the inevitable feelings that can form in people’s minds given the circumstances. A lot has happened to make that ghost fade from the back of my mind.
I do believe I deserve to be part of the AMGA instructor team for pure technical reasons. Also, I agree with the technical director when he approaches diversity as a tool for better risk management. And finally, my colleagues at the instructor team have never treated me in a way that would make me feelhave tokenized. So, why did being part of this final exam mean so much to me in these regard?
Some time ago I was bouncing these ideas around with a female instructor of the AMGA. She related to my
‘token” feelings from her own side and we both concluded that taking part of a final exam was going to be a big step to make that ghost disappear. Indeed, this time, I feel it has happened for me. I could not help but feel honored that the AMGA program was selecting me, not only for the entry level courses, but they were giving me the power and responsibility to put that final stamp on those aspiring guides that will now represent the US with the highest possible credentials of the industry. It felt like the real deal!
We all have different journeys and struggles and everyone who makes it to this final step has worked very hard. As I continue my journey and rediscover myself in a different culture, I can not be anything but thankful for the opportunities to keep growing as a guide, as well as being part of a change that makes sure that the struggles remain technical and not social, when it comes down to access to the outdoors.
Acknowledgment:
Big shout out of respect to the leadership, Angela Hawse and Dale Remsberg for working hard for a more diverse community. Special thanks to the instructors that helped me along this process: Erica Engle, Andrew Cauncell, Christian Santelices, Dan Corn, Eric Whewell, Ian Nicholson, Jeff Ward, Karen Bockel, Matt Farmer, Vince Anderson, Mick Pearson and here and special underline to Joey Thompson for the good laughs.
Kyanjin Gompa, Langtang Valley, Nepal Oct 6 2022
