My AMGA Rock Guide Course Experience

 

 

My AMGA rock guide course was an exceptional experience for me. I am incredibly grateful to First Ascent and AMGA for providing a scholarship.  Being awarded a scholarship was absolutely the final push I needed to join the program.

Natalie feeling right at home in the afternoon blizzard in Joshua Tree

Why I took the course?

I am what we like to call a ‘late adopter.’ I have been guiding since 2002 all over the world but have not gotten certified.  I have pursued lots of education, including taking the top rope site manager course back in 2007.  But I did not continue with actually certifying.  For me, taking courses has been more about gaining knowledge and less about having a certification.  Now, almost 20 years into guiding, I have a unique opportunity as a woman in the profession to influence how we integrate and build inclusivity.  I’ve come to realize that my voice will be stronger with certifications beside my name and appreciate the scholarship opportunity.
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This course not only reinforced my skills within the guide industry but also highlighted my potential to be a positive influence.  As luck would have it, my course had five women and one man, with two male instructors, making our ratios different than most courses in the guide training. It was really amazing to be surrounded by other women guides.

from left to right Lexi, Emma & Natalie

What it was like in a mostly Female Course

It was striking to see how the presence of so many women inherently changed the dynamics of the course.  Our pod, or covid bubble, was made up of three women.  I watched my instructor cultivate a tremendous amount of patience for a very different tempo than he was used to dealing with.  As a group we talked more, asked a lot of questions, needed plenty of clarification, and were nervous.  None of this may come as a surprise.  This is a really common challenge when communicating with a more diverse group and I have seen it often between men and women.   I was older than the other students in the group and I found myself naturally falling into a role of mentorship with the other woman, who appreciated my examples of communication. The whole experience helped open my eyes to the need for me to seek out more opportunities to provide mentorship within the industry.

 

I really give my AMGA instructor credit for being open to observing and adjusting to the differences in how women[i] interact.  In the past ‘chatter’ would be interpreted as non-constructive.  Likewise, frequent questions were interpreted as a sign of not understanding. When in reality, frequent questions often have to do with a desire to be 100% sure and to demand clarity and precision.  Being nervous about the assessment could also be viewed as a lack of preparation.  When in reality it has more to do with different lifestyle approaches and reminds me of the theory that men will often apply to jobs without meeting all the criteria while women will generally not. [ii]   There is a tendency for women to be very focused on being 110% ready and still being worried they aren’t qualified.  Neuroscience has begun to even show how our brains process risk and decision making differently.[iii]

Lexie Hunsaker soaking up the final section of No Calculators Allowed 10.a. Photo by Natalie Brechtel

Lessons Learned

I think being open to these types of differences is crucial.  Being inclusive means much more than just allowing someone different to stand next to you. It means reframing how we view ‘ideal’ guide personas.  True inclusion comes when we explore how the differences can be beneficial, which include cognitive diversity hypothesis used in management.[iv]  Because we’re not going to become diversified while remaining the same.  We aren’t going to improve as a community without expanding the styles and nuances of guiding.

 

The instructors also added value during the course with their deep level of knowledge.   Throughout the course I picked up ideas and techniques that will streamline the way I continue to guide. I found it incredibly confidence boosting because the class confirmed that I was experienced in the core skills, allowing me to focus more on refinement of technique and the harder to define realm of ‘soft skills’.

 

I now feel an incredible amount of motivation towards continuing the process of getting certified. Far more than I have felt at any other time. Now that I can see the value of certification as well as recognize that I have something to contribute, I hope to continue on a more rapid path toward certification. I am sure this would not have happened if I had not been awarded the scholarship.

Lexie Hunsaker, commanding the rope while short rope practicing with Paul Koubek standing by. Photo by Natalie Brechtel

Gratitude and a path forward

I really can’t emphasize enough the gratitude I feel towards First Ascent and AMGA for continuing to provide scholarships. Two other women in this course also had scholarships, one of whom traveled from Mexico!  As she pursues her certifications it will be groundbreaking within an entire country. It shows that reducing the barrier to entry helps people find their feet and motivation.  It is a good strategy for bringing more people into the industry.  I think it is one good step, in a larger path towards better inclusion.  A path we–the guides of our generation–are all still actively navigating, one that needs more voices in the dialogue.  The scholarship did that for me. Thank you.

 

[i] When I talk discussing gender differences, I’m referring to underlying biology & socialization. I recognize that genders are more diverse and behavior traits fall on a bell curve.

[ii] https://gender.stanford.edu/news-publications/gender-news/uncovering-gendered-dimensions-job-hunting

[iii] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3324572/

[iv] https://opentextbc.ca/principlesofmanagementopenstax/chapter/key-diversity-theories/

 


 

Some fun snippets of the course and my team

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