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 In North Carolina and across the USA roughly 70% of climbing instructors and guides have not taken any evaluation exam and do not hold climbing instructor certifications. You would not dream of taking your pet to an unlicensed vet so why would you let an unlicensed person take you or your child out rock climbing?! We expect formal training and testing of Doctors, Pilots and other professionals responsible for our safety. Shouldn’t we expect the same from Climbing Guides? So what can you do?
Whether you decide to climb with us or another guide service be sure to ask these questions before parting with your money and heading out on the rock:
- Will my guide be certified by the American Mountain Guides Association and are they trained and certified to the level required for my booking? I.e. Single Pitch, Multipitch certified, etc.
- Does your Guide Service currently hold liability insurance?
- Do you hold $1million or more 'per occurrence' of liability insurance?
- Does your Guide Service have a guiding permit to guide in the area that we are going to?
- Does your Guide Service hold Accreditation from the American Mountain Guides Association?
If the Guide Service answers 'no' or 'I don't know' to any of the above it would be a prudent idea to keep searching for a guide service! Unfortunately as anyone can start a guide service without State or Federal checks all you need is a website. Do your research, ask around: climbers, climbing gyms, climbing stores, climbing clubs or the national association for climbing instructors and guides, the AMGA.
What is Accreditation and Certification?
AMGA Certification ensures a guide has completed an set amount of personal experience, training and finally has passed a technical examination. This assesses a guide’s individual skill, knowledge and judgment to ensure that they have met the standard. AMGA Accreditation reviews the Guide Service as a whole looking at its risk management procedures and protocols, insurance, permits, guides training and certification. AMGA Accreditation also looks at the Guide Services standing in the community, relationships with local land managers, clients and employees.
The American Mountain Guides Association
The American Mountain Guides Association provides Accreditation, training and the only nationally and internationally recognized certifications in the USA for Rock, Alpine and Ski Mountaineering Guides and is recognized worldwide as the highest American standard of training and certification in these disciplines.
The AMGA was founded in 1979 and is based in Boulder, Colorado. The AMGA is the sole US representative of the International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations (IFMGA), and run a variety of courses in several locations in the USA throughout the year in order to offer several different credentials. The AMGA offers three levels of certification in the rock discipline:
“AMGA Single Pitch Instructor”, “AMGA Rock Instructor” and “AMGA Rock Guide.”
AMGA Certified Single Pitch Instructor
This is the certification for climbing instructors who teach on single pitch rock climbing areas. There are prerequisites that the Instructor must meet before enrolling for the three day course, and to successfully gain the certification must pass the ongoing evaluations and final separate two day certification exam at a later date.
AMGA Certified Rock Instructor
This is the certification to guide on multi-pitch routes up to “grade III” in length (up to 6-10 pitches, or 400-1000ft long in rough terms). There are many prerequisites before the guide can enroll on the AMGA Rock Instructor Course, such as years of climbing experience, amount, grade, and length of climbs. After the course Guides must then gain more experience and meet the AMGA’s prerequisites before presenting themselves for the intensive 6 day AMGA Rock Instructor Exam.
AMGA Certified Rock Guide
This certification is for guides wishing to guide routes that are extremely long and complex in nature. This is the certification normally sought by guides wanting to work out West in places like Yosemite and Red Rocks, although the skills are just as at home on Whiteside and the North Face of Looking Glass in N.C. After the gaining the AMGA Rock Instructor Certification or completing the Rock Instructor Course, Guides must take the AMGA Advanced Rock Guides Course, continue their personal training and meet the AMGA’s prerequisites before presenting themselves for the 6 day AMGA Rock Guide Certification Exam.
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