Show Notes:

Related Resources:

• AMGA Single Pitch Instructor Page
• SPI handbook (2024)
• EP 20 – Everything SPI 01 – Professionalism and Risk Management
• EP 29 – Everything SPI 02 – Site Selection & Group Management
• EP 34 – Everything SPI 03 – Current SPI Eval System with Andrew Megas-Russell

Episode Intro:

Dear listeners of the Female Guides Requested Podcast, happy Wednesday! This is your host, Ting Ting, from Las Vegas, and welcome back to another episode of the Everything SPI series. Today, Spencer and I will be discussing the important topic of Teaching and Curriculum Design. Both Spencer and I are thrilled about this episode.

We’ll start by discussing the types of courses that can be taught utilizing single pitch terrain. Then, we’ll dive into our guiding principles, RACK and FIRE. We’ll use a case study to explore the “F” in FIRE, which stands for Formulate, in detail.

Both Spencer and I are AMGA certified Rock Guides and SPI Providers. We co-taught an SPI course back in October 2023 and found that our teaching style was quite compatible and complimentary. Therefore, we decided to do this podcast series, Everything SPI, to create supplemental material related to the SPI programs.

Spencer and I both have deep roots in climbing education. We have over 20 years of field instructing experience and are confident that we can provide valuable insights. We also recognize that the field of climbing instruction is dynamic and we can’t possibly know everything. So, if you have any questions, feedback, please reach out to help us improve. Now please enjoy!

Things We Talked about:

• What can we teach utilizing single pitch terrain?
• Guiding principles – RACK (Risk management, Ask questions, Collect information, Keep it simple)
• FIRE Overview (Formulate, Implement, Reflect, Enhance)
  • Formulate:
    • Who are the students? Define ratio, prerequisites. (Potential trouble here, students’ level are quite different)
    • Course goal, objectives, outcome. Set priority.
    • Structure/visualize the day and write/prepare lesson plans
      1. Progression and regression (make sure we have the flexibility to scale up and scale down)
      2. Divide and conquer, break the whole course into different sessions and classes. Utilize overlaps, so people practice new skills based on the foundations of learned skills. Many times less is more
      3. Hands on practice and mini evaluations – Give students ample opportunities to get hands on. Ask questions to encourage reflection and self-evaluation. Also build in mini evaluation (this will help instructors to know where students are at and when to push to the next phase).
      4. Time management (check back with priority list)
    • Pack/gather gear
      • Client harnesses/helmets/shoes
      • Program ropes (how many??), etc.

Show Notes:

Paloma’s Links:

• Paloma Farkas (website)
• Paloma’s instagram

Episode Intro:

Dear guests of the Female Guides Requested Podcast, happy Wednesday. This is your host Ting Ting from Las Vegas. Our guest today is Paloma Farkas from Bishop California. Paloma is only 25 years old, but she already has 6 years of guiding under her belt. Right after she graduated from high school, her parents gifted her a NOLS backcountry rock course at the Wind River Range. Paloma then listened to the callings of mountains and followed her heart towards alpine rock climbing and started her guiding career.

Paloma grew up in Seattle, Washington where she discovered her passion for the mountains through family backpacking and climbing trips in the Cascades. In 2017 she traveled to South America and fell in love with the granite towers of Patagonia. Since then she has split her time between Patagonia, Chile and the US. Paloma spends as much time as possible climbing and some of her favorite areas are Patagonia, the Peruvian Andes, the Cascades, Indian Creek, the Wind River Range, and the High Sierras. Her favorite type of climbing is big wall alpine climbing, but Paloma also enjoys single pitch trad and sport climbing, bouldering and ice climbing. When Paloma isn’t pursuing her own climbing goals, she finds fulfillment in sharing her passion with others and teaching the skills necessary to be self-sufficient in the mountains. She is currently an AMGA Rock Guide, Apprentice Alpine Guide, Wilderness First Responder, AIARE Avalanche Pro 1, and Leave No Trace Trainer.

I admire Paloma’s attitude of going for it when she knows what she wants. She works hard and remains optimistic. We had so much laughter during our conversation and I know you’ll laugh with us too when you listen to this episode.

Things We Talked about:

• Cross Country Running was already there
• Family’s influence – climbing wall at home, backpacking and climbing trips in the Cascades
• NOLS backcountry rock course changed Paloma’s life path
• The year of 2016
• Wanting to head out of the country, and wanting to go to the mountains
• A powerful conversation between father and daughter
• Why Patagonia?
• From dirtbagging to hiking guide to weekend warrior
• 2020 now what?
• After AMGA Rock Guide Course, Paloma started technical rock guiding in Bishop
• Comparing the work environment between the US and Chile from a female guide’s perspective
• Paloma’s vision and business ideas – train climbers in the Sierras and bring them to Patagonia
• Does Bishop has enough work year round?
• How to make Bishop guiding career sustainable?
• Favorite type of guiding?
• The so-called “Gap Courses”

Show Notes:

Taylor’s Links:

• Tangent Climbing website: tangentclimbing.com
• Taylor’s IG: @tay_frag
• Tangent’s IG: @tangent_climbing

Episode Intro:

Dear listeners of the Female Guides Requested Podcast, happy Wednesday and welcome back to another great episode. This is your host Ting Ting from Las Vegas and our guest today is Taylor Fragomeni.

Taylor started climbing in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate NY in May of 2011 and moved to SW Montana shortly after. She has 12 years of competitive and commercial routesetting experience and a decade of instructing/guiding/coaching experience. Taylor often works with coaches, routesetters, and guides to streamline their training plans to balance the physical demands of work and play that allows sustainable long term progress. Her coaching style is highly collaborative. She sees herself as a supporter and educator who empowers each individual to become an expert on their own athletic journey.

Taylor was my movement coach and helped me to write my own training plans. It is always fun to chat about climbing with Taylor. In this episode we focused on principles of how to train for your climbing goal while you have a physical demanding job. We also talked about how to help intermediate climbers get better with their movements and keep climbing fun. People who are interested in Taylor’s service can visit her business website: Tangent Climbing or get in contact with her via social media. Links to those resources are in the “Taylor’s Links” in Show Notes.

Things We Talked about:

• Help people to train when they have physically demanding jobs
• Being flexible and how
• Prioritize rest and make high quality sessions
• Listen to your brain but sometimes not listen to your brain
• At the end of the day, it’s a giant experiment on yourself
• Find the minimum effective dose
• It’s okay to have fluctuations
• Patience, patience, patience
• Goal setting
• Load management
• Grade of a route and its RIC scale
• Take notes and keep a journal
• Make small changes to build solid foundation
• Movement coaching
• How to transfer indoor gain to outdoor
• What does Taylor do?

EP 35 – Kristin Arnold & Sheldon Kerr – Break Down Barriers – Female Guides Requested Podcast

Kristin’s & Sheldon’s Links:

• Moxie Website: https://www.moxiemountainguides.com/
• The indigenous organization Moxie supports in SW CO: https://store.southernute-nsn.gov/product-category/bgcsu/
• All In Ice Fest: https://allinicefest.com/
• DEI trainings Kristin and Sheldon have completed and activists from the community that have helped to support their learning: Check Your Privilege: https://www.checkyourprivilege.co/store & Habit Queer: https://www.habitqueer.com/about-me
• These Colorado Women Are Reframing What It Means to Be a Mountain Guide – 5280
• The Woman Who Is Pushing for Gender Equality in the Guiding World – Powder

Episode Intro:

Dear listeners of the Female Guides Requested Podcast. Happy Wednesday. This is your host Ting Ting from Las Vegas. Today we have two guests, Kristin Arnold and Sheldon Kerr, founders of Moxie Mountain Guides. I was super excited to finally pinned them down from their busy schedule to have this conversation. When I edited this episode, I paused multiple times to reflect and ask myself questions. What is a guide? What is a good guide? What are the so-called soft skills and how do they play a role in risk management? I learned so much from them and I’m so happy that they started Moxie.

Both Kristin and Sheldon are IFMGA mountain guides. IFMGA stands for International Federation of Mountain Guides Association, and their certification is the highest credential attainable by a professional mountain guide. As of spring 2024, they are 2 of 17 total women IFMGA in the US. Together they created Moxie Mountain Guides to align the profession of guiding with their values. Let me share a quote from their website “We guide for good. We believe representation matters. We want the mountain to be inclusive space for women, non-binary and trans-identifying backcountry athletes – no matter your body type, race, or gender.” Moxie strives to break down the social and financial barriers to accessing high-end technical instruction.

Kristin and Sheldon are also AMGA Instructor Team members. They teach AMGA mountain guide programs, including women’s Rock Guide course. I heard encouraging stories from their students and was curious to learn more about their philosophy and approach. In this episode we had a deep dive into what affinity space does, why inclusion is a fundamental component of risk management, how we should advocate equality and justice, and what professionalism means to guides. You will recognize their voices very quickly when you start listening, but to give you a head start. The first person talked was Kristin.

Without further ado, let’s go and enjoy the Moxie ride!

Episode Intro:

Dear listeners of the Female Guides Requested Podcast, happy Wednesday. This is the third episode of the "Everything SPI" series. And yes I'm your host Ting Ting from sunny Las Vegas. Today we have a guest from the AMGA office, Andrew Megas-Russell. Andrew is the AMGA Climbing Instructor Program Manager. He oversees the Single Pitch and Climbing Wall Instructor Programs.

The main topic of the episode was the new evaluation system. We talked about the background of transitioning from the old system to the new system and what the AMGA is trying to accomplish with the new system. We looked at the new scoring system and what factors would impact the score. We discussed how the new system has been received by the providers and candidates, etc. We also talked about other general topics such as high standard versus minimum standard, continuing future improvements on the SPI program, interesting stats, and exciting upcoming changes.

Links:

Official AMGA Single Pitch Instructor Page

SPI Program handbook

EP 20 Everything SPI 01 Professionalism & Risk Management

EP 29 Everything SPI 02 Site Selection & Group Management

Andrew Megas-Russell Instagram https://www.instagram.com/megas_sends/

What We Talked About

• Andrew's role in AMGA. Why is he relevant to SPI programs
• From the old eval system to the new eval system
• Overview of the new system and major improvements of the new system
• How to interpret the score? Addition? Subtraction?
• How do SPI providers and SPI candidates feel about the new scoring system?
• What's a strong written evaluation?
• The different roles played by the post exam debrief and written evaluation
• Is there an appeal process?
• Is it appropriate to say that SPI is an entry-level course?
• Are there too many SPIs out there?
• Interesting stats

Show Notes:

Jo’s Links:

• Ladies Weekend Out (website)
• Golden State Guiding (website)
• Jo’s instagram : www.instagram.com/jessielyse
• Jo’s Jess of All Trades Instagram: www.instagram.com/madebyjessofalltrades

Episode Intro:

Dear listeners of the Female Guides Requested Podcast. Happy Wednesday. This is your host Ting Ting, and I have been teaching and guiding in Pacific Northwest for the past month. I know you all have been waiting for another episode and I finally had a few rest days to edit this one out and present it to you!

Today’s guest is Jessica Olson. She often goes by her initials Jo. Born and raised in Southern California, Jo grew up traveling with her family and growing an appreciation for the outdoors. She was introduced to climbing through some college friends, and has been growing in the industry for over a decade. In 2016, Jo took an SPI Course and became a Single Pitch Instructor, where she went to work a summer in Alaska before moving to the PNW to grow more as a Rock Guide. She is now based in Bishop, CA, is an Apprentice Rock and Alpine Guide, and runs the Ladies Weekend Out programs, facilitated through Golden State Guiding. These programs focus on gathering like minded women to learn foundational skills in setting oneself up for the adventures ahead.

I met Jo when I worked with her at one of the Ladies Weekend Out events in Red Rock this past spring. I was impressed by her enthusiasm, the way she connected with the group of women, and her philosophy of giving climbing instruction! During the interview, I had so much fun. Jo was a good story teller and had a great sense of humor. She is also a handyperson, and runs a side gig called Jess of All Trades! Now please enjoy the show.

Things We Talked about:

• Jo’s backstories – managing horses, youth climbing coach, outdoor guides, handyperson
• Transition from gym to outdoors – the initial goal to becoming a guide
• Inspired by great mentors – learned the philosophy of climbing instruction
• Facing the reality, insurance?
• A summer in Alaska
• From CA to AK to PNW to van
• Ladies Weekend Out (LWO) programs and events
• Jo’s roles in LWO
• Why do many women keep coming back to LWO?
• Jo’s passion project – mentormovement
• What kind of mentorship ideas? Any structure?
• How to make passion projects sustainable to avoid burn-outs?
• Mentor Movement within LWO?
• Needed help and encouraged guides of LWO to collaborate organically.

Show Notes:

Mercedes’s Links:

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MercedesPollmeier
• Website: https://www.modusathletica.com/
• Modus Cafe Podcast: https://www.modusathletica.com/podcasts/modus-cafe-conversations-beyond-climbing
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/modusathletica/
• Simple Strength book: https://amzn.to/3LppunK
• Peak Nutrition Book: https://amzn.to/3zJIWch

Episode Intro:

Dear listeners of the Female Guides Requested Podcast. Happy Wednesday and welcome to another fantastic episode. I’m your host Ting Ting from Las Vegas and today’s guest is Mercedes Pollmeier. I got in contact with her because we’re both connected to the organization Climbers of Color. She offers classes to teach people on how to boulder outside safely and also helps them with their performance goals.

Mercedes is a seasoned climbing coach and founder of Modus Athletica. She has a Master’s Degree in Human Movement and Sports Conditioning and holds certifications in NSCA strength and conditioning, Precision Nutrition, and GMB training. She is also a former semi-pro tennis player and competition climber.

Her approach to coaching is grounded in experience and fueled by a commitment to fostering a vibrant community culture within Modus Athletica. She believes that climbing is more than just a physical challenge; it’s an enriching journey that reveals our true potential, thus she offers a holistic approach to climbing training that prioritizes longevity, health, and personal growth.

I had so much fun interviewing Mercedes. I got to ask many questions about guiding bouldering and explored many aspects on learning and teaching movements. I even got to ask some self-serving questions about how to train when my guiding schedule gets crazily packed. Mercedes really cares about what she does and invests deeply in things she is passionate about. If you are a climber who is looking to enhance your performance while nurturing your well-being, check out Modus Athletica. Now please enjoy this episode with Mercedes!

Things We Talked about:

• What is like guiding bouldering outside?
• Mercedes Bouldering I & II curricula – safety, warm-ups, climbing, ethics, resting, project tactics, video reviews
• Coaching movements online?
• Some common issues – foot precision, extension, rotate, dynamic movements
• Being intentional is important
• Give people a path to self correct
• Big categories such as do they trust their positions? Their mindsets
• How to manage frustration
• Bridge inside climbing and outside climbing
• Rethink grading
• Movement is movement, think about global movements
• Learn a variety of movements help problem solving outside
• At the end of the day, ask “do you like to climb?”
• Outside climbing tends to be more static and controlled since the risk is higher
• What do outside and inside climbing share in common?
• And More...

https://femaleguidesrequested.com/podcast/ep-31-sof-petros-question-the-establishments/

Show Notes:

Sof’s Links:

• Sof Petros on Instagram
• Climbers of Color

Episode Intro:

Dear listeners of the Female Guides Requested Podcast, happy Wednesday. This is your host Ting Ting from Las Vegas. Today we have a young and inspiring guest whose name is Sof Petros. I got to know her a little last summer when I taught an SPI course for the Climbers of Color. She was the assistant Rock Director of the organization and helped me with many tasks. She was thorough, an excellent communicator and her emails were always filled with loads of positive energy and humor.

Sof is an AMGA SPI and a PSIA AASI Certified Alpine Ski instructor. She does rock guiding with Climbers of Color in Washington, Out in the Wild in Oregon, and Flash Foxy in California and teaches skiing in Stevens Pass Washington. She does admirable work in affinity space providing safe and supportive learning environments. To quote her words, she is “amped to join and lead affinity programming that not only brings communities together, but also challenges and questions systems and values of supremacy, domination, and oppression that manifest in climbing spaces, even ‘diverse ones.'”

In this episode, she recalled that her family always liked to play outside. Even though the activities they chose were not “technical recreation,” the sense of connection to nature and the land was very impactful. We of course talked much about affinity programs. Sof shared valuable insights on how we could make the environment more inclusive, which would also help guides manage risks and provide better student experience.

Beyond climbing and skiing, Sof can be found baking lots of bread, crying over just about every dog she sees, making jewelry, taking outdoor naps, eating really good pickles and hot sauces, and trying to make craft cocktails on her truck tailgate. Now let’s dive into this lighthearted yet serious conversation with Sof Petros.

Things We Talked about:

• Sof’s upbringing
• Central park bouldering started her climbing path
• Wearing multiple hats for her career
• Starting guiding in college at Columbia university in New Your City
• In summers guiding long multi-week trips in CO and WY
• What brought Sof to Pacific Northwest
• After college, Sof started a job in Chilean Patagonia and found her love towards ocean
• Why Sof uses the term “technical recreation”?
• How should we define outdoors and outdoorsy?
• How does Sof’s family see her now?
• Camping and backpacking with mom; skiing and climbing with little brother
• Working with and in affinity spaces
• What are the social and emotional risk factors?
• Feedback she got from non-affinity groups after she brought the practices used in affinity space
• Contemplating where she can make the most impact
• How can we make the principals we practice in affinity space more common sense?
• Why is it that hard for changes to happen?
• Sof’s personal experience going through the first BIPOC Guides Development Program hosted by Alpine Ascents
• Inclusive guiding practice
• Is how hard you climb and hard fast you ski important?
• And more…