Announcing the 2018 Squamish Alpine Ambassadors

Alpine Ambassadors are a group of climbers looking to push their limits together, learn from the mentorship of guides and highly accomplished climbers, and mentor others. The group is comprised of leaders from all branches with climbing programs! These climbers will head to Squamish in July to refine their skills and be better situated to give back to their branches as a result. 

The Alpine Ambassadors program is one piece of the Progressive Climbing Education (PCE) initiative, an organization-wide, multi-faceted approach to develop leaders, enhance skills for our volunteers, grow curriculum, conserve climbing areas, and foster the highest quality climbing programs.

In 2018, we introduced the Alpine Skills Development Program aimed at skilled climbers who've given a substantial amount of their time to help new climbers through The Mountaineers, and who want to take their own climbing skills to the next level.  

In February 2018, we kicked off the newly named "Alpine Ambassadors" program when seventeen climbers went to Canmore, BC, to work on ice climbing skills. Comfort, skill, and efficiency leading on multi-pitch rock directly translates into experience and proficiency leading in alpine terrain. In short: it grows our coalition of volunteers' skills, making us better leaders and increasing the types of trips we can offer to our students.

To help grow the group of ambassadors, we invited Mountaineers climbers to apply for an opportunity to spend a week in Squamish, BC, to develop multi-pitch rock lead skills with support from each other, skilled volunteers, and professional guides. 

Selection Process

We want to thank everyone who applied for the program, making a commitment to your own personal skill development and the future of The Mountaineers. We wish we could accept everyone who applied! 

Participants for Squamish were selected by a committee comprised of current Alpine Ambassadors, including Jenn Carter, Nick Wilson, Krissy Fagan, Kyle Breakey, Ian Lauder, and Chase Gruszewski, along with education program staff members Becca Polglase and Steve Smith and Board Member Steve Swenson.  

When reviewing applicants, we considered:

• Recent history of volunteerism within The Mountaineers
• Relevant climbing skills and experience
• Desire to use this experience to further your leadership within The Mountaineers
• Mountaineers references

Congratulations to 24 climbers selected for the program!

We'll have two ambassadors from the Canmore trip also participating in Squamish:

• Kyle Breakey (Bellingham)*
• Krissy Fagan (Bellingham)*

And we'll welcome the following new Ambassadors:

• Carl Marrs (Seattle)
• Tim Duryee (Bellingham)
• Jill Uthoff (Tacoma)
• Tristan Steed (Olympia)
• Elizabeth Muller (Olympia)
• Doug Cole (Seattle)
• Michael Berry (Bellingham)
• Nate Moore (Seattle)
• Lawrence Stewart (Everett)
• Scott Braswell (Everett)
• Jason Speer (Bellingham)
• Leigh Ann Wolfe (Seattle)
• Jordon Boss (Seattle)
• Juliet Liu (Seattle)
• Michael Young (Seattle)
• Sean Albert (Seattle)
• Peter Gonda (Seattle)
• Joanne Frank (Seattle)
• Alex Byrne (Seattle)
• Jay Hoover (Seattle)
• Stephanie Bostwick (Bellingham)
• Galen Shea (Seattle)

This group of climbers will convene in Squamish, BC, from July 27-Aug 4, 2018. They'll spend a week climbing with professional guides and volunteer instructors to help each other develop their skills, and they'll participate in  a series of structured, educational field trips  to get outside and push grades and skills to the next level. The program will be rounded out with a combination of evening sessions, classes, and presentations in an intensive, but highly educational, experience. 

Those who were not selected are highly encouraged to apply for next year's Ambassadors programs, and to keep developing their skills and volunteerism meanwhile.