The Berlin Wall is about capitalism vs. socialism. That’s fitting for this trip report because this discussion is about capitalism, affluence, and the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA). I passed a group in the AMGA advanced ski guide course on Thompson Pass while climbing Berlin Wall’s north ridge.
I want to start by stating that I couldn’t agree more that the mountain guiding industry in the United States (in fact, the outdoor guiding industry in general) is in many ways backward and severely lacking. I think there’s a very telling reason for this, and it goes against a fundamental tenet of capitalism: meritocracy.
The American guiding industry desperately needs to be further professionalized and part of that process will be providing better training, pay, and benefits for guides (and this process should be equitable – not based on affluence). The American industry is awash with subpar guide services and guides (at least relative to European and Canadian counterparts), but that shouldn’t be a surprise given that the Canadians and (especially) the Europeans make professionalism more attainable through some semblance of a meritocratic training system.
In the United States, mountain guiding is hardly meritocratic. Quite the contrary, it’s based almost solely on affluence. Affluence is the only way in. It doesn’t matter how much ability, skill, and potential an aspiring US mountain guide may have. It costs ~$15,000 to get certified in just one AMGA discipline (e.g. ski guide). The cost to get International Federation of Mountain Guides Association (IFMGA) status is upwards of $50,000. That’s more than a four year college degree, but there’s basically no financial aid available for AMGA and IFMGA training (and there definitely isn’t any socialized apprentice sort of system or subsidized financing for the training). The AMGA also does not accept Veterans Affairs or Americorps benefits.
Increasingly, as there’s a push for public land managers to impose regulation of guide services based on AMGA certification for a scope of practice, those that can’t afford ridiculously and prohibitively expensive AMGA training won’t be able to stake a claim in the US mountain guiding industry. On the other hand, spoiled trustafarians (that have had everything in their lives handed to them on a silver platter – including that pimped out Sprinter van Mom and Dad gave them for their birthday a few years ago) are taking over. AMGA guide status is based more on how much money Mommy and Daddy have to fund son or daughter’s adventures, than on how much skill, ability, and potential an aspiring mountain guide possesses.
For example, when I crossed paths with the AMGA advanced ski guide course group on Berlin Wall’s north ridge they were roped up for a short ( and very easy) fourth class section (corniced and steep snow slope on one side, scoured steep Chugach choss on the other). One student was hip-belaying the others as they climbed along the leeward and corniced side of the ridge. I soloed past them by scrambling up the steep choss. What I noticed when I crossed paths and chatted with the belaying student and the instructor at the belay was startling.
The hip belayer’s stance was pitiful. First, he wasn’t firmly planted with his heels solidly dug into a supportable surface by which he could brace against a fall. Rather, he was loosely planted on top of semi-exposed loose scree and heavily faceted snow. Second, as students made it through the section and unroped they awaited their peers in a position that was exposed to the rope pendulum should a climber fall. This would have tripped and swept the unroped students waiting at the belay over the cornice and down the big, steep slope they had roped up to avoid. And, as mentioned, a fall would most likely have uprooted the precariously positioned hip belayer. That means everyone besides the instructor (who, perhaps unconsciously, was positioned safely outside the swing of the rope pendulum) would have potentially been goners if a student on rope had fallen. Luckily, they all made it through this section safely.
In regard to affluence vs. skill and ability, what I’m getting at is that I noticed all of these glaring mistakes as someone with no AMGA approved training. According to the AMGA, land managers that only approve the operations of AMGA accredited businesses, and guide services that hire only AMGA guides to practice within their scope of certification; I don’t know shit and would be prohibited from guiding.
Why don’t I have AMGA experience? Well, I definitely can’t afford it – especially given their current paradigm: there’s no way to demonstrate competency and get the lower level courses required for AMGA certification waived. I’d have to start at step one of five to get AMGA ski guide certification despite being arguably more competent in ski alpinism than some AMGA instructors. This is an absurd paradigm that further hinders the development and professionalization of mountain guiding in the United States.
Back to capitalism vs. socialism. What I’ve discussed so far is characteristic and typical of American society: the rich matter (and are showered with endless opportunity), while the rest of us don’t. Increasingly, the middle class doesn’t even matter. The middle and lower classes fight imperial wars of aggression for the rich capitalist masters (which their children generally avoid) and take on massive sums of student loan debt to get a higher education in order to serve the masses of our society in fields like education, healthcare and social work. All the while, rich kids jet-set around the world and Sprinter van around the country without a care, worry, or making a contribution to our society (besides perhaps getting AMGA certification so they can offer their services to exclusively wealthy clients). That’s quite fitting for contemporary America: the rich serve the rich and leave everyone else behind.
How should the paradigm change to really benefit the US mountain guiding industry? Well, yes, more regulation should be required by public land managers to assure guide service concessionaires are worth a damn. But, the ability for individuals to take part in this industry and get the required training and experience necessary to be true professionals should be equitable and meritocratic (not based on affluence and how much money one’s family has). If AMGA training is to be the industry standard, requisite training should be made available (at a reasonably financeable level) to those that merit it based on their skills and ability. Furthermore, the AMGA should serve as a union for mountain guides – ensuring that guides make a living wage and receive livable benefits like healthcare. Otherwise, the AMGA is just another facet of the oppressive capitalist system that is destroying both our society and the biosphere.
Berlin Wall’s north ridge:
The crux of the north ridge, and where the AMGA group was roped up, is where the red ascent line veers slightly left around the first big rock outcropping. It’s through this section that the AMGA group climbed right along the cornice, while I climbed left (to pass them) through the scrambly choss. My second run of the day, down the north face, is shown in green. It’s steeper than it may appear in the photo and, despite scoping it closely on my second ascent of the ridge (after skiing the west couloir), is hard to navigate down even with landmarks as the exit choke through the lower cliffs is very hard to identify on the descent due to the convex steepness. I unnecessarily weaved through rocks and went way skier’s right trying to spot the exit choke through the cliff band.
Here’s a look a look at the north ridge and west aspect of Berlin Wall, including my first run down the west couloir:
A close up of the west couloir in slide-for-life, melt-freeze conditions:
Summit views south across the Lowe River’s Heiden Canyon at famous sled access and heli-ski terrain:
Summit views east (Mt. Wrangell far left on the distant horizon, Python, Cracked Ice, Mt. Diamond, and Rhinestone Cowgirl left to right in the left foreground):
Summit views west (Big Odyssey down the ridge line, 27.5 Mile and Worthington Glacier zones in the center distance with Sapphire, Hershey’s Kiss, and Acapulco on the skyline):