Show Notes:

Angel’s Links:

• Rock Iguana
• Coast to Bluff Recreation Access and Conservation
• Angel Robeldo’s Instagram

Episode Intro:

Dear listeners of the Female Guides Requested Podcast, happy Wednesday! This is your host, Ting Ting. In this episode, I have guest Angel Robeldo from Rock Iguana, a guide service located in the Cayman Islands. Towards the end of last year, one of my SPI students told me he needed certification to work in the Caribbean, which piqued my interest. As soon as I knew the owner of the guide service was a woman, you can probably guess what happened next!

Angel was born and raised in Sao Paulo, Brazil. She left Brazil in 2005 to discover the world and ended up discovering herself. She has climbed around the world and done a lot of high-altitude mountaineering, including in the Himalayas, Andes, and Denali. Angel has traveled through more than 80 countries but found Cayman Brac to be the perfect place to live and enjoy her lifestyle. Since 2013, she has promoted and helped develop rock climbing in the Cayman Islands. She also helped build a non-profit boulder gym in Grand Cayman where a climbing community started to grow. Angel is an AMGA Certified Single Pitch Instructor.

One might say Angel is truly living the dream, but I’d say that is the guaranteed result because she has always followed her mind and heart. Now please enjoy the episode of Angel Robeldo.

What We Talked About:

• From ocean to mountains and back to both ocean and mountains
• An injury changed Angel’s life trajectory
• Fulfilled her dream of living in the Caribbean
• Personal and Professional climbing journey in Cayman Brac
• Growing up in Brazil
• Fear of height | Fear of Exposure
• Where are the clients from?
• Climbing courses and adventure travel
• Climb Iguana & Coast to Bluff Recreational Access and Conservation
• Work & life balance
• Being away helps strengthen the love of her residence Cayman Islands
• Holiday guiding

Quotes:

• I was terrified of heights. And that was one of the biggest thing why I stick to climb because I want to investigate that fear and I want to go over that fear.
• I love to guide people afraid of heights. That’s my favorite because I know exactly where you are.
• Have the fear and go for it. And then suddenly there is no more fear.
• I keep doing what I love and what drives me and what makes me feel very alive.
• When you owe a guiding company when it’s just you working it’s way easier because you just have to manage you when it started to get big and they have all the employees it’s just like sometimes it’s way more work and no more money
• Most of the time what stop all of us doesn’t matter if you are on a female body, on a masculine body, all stop us is on our heads

Show Notes:

Amy’s Links:

• Fifth Class Climbing

Episode Intro:

Dear listeners of the Female Guides Requested Podcast, happy Wednesday! I’m your host, Ting Ting. I’m currently working and playing in the Pacific Northwest, escaping the heat of Las Vegas. Early this year, I finally caught up with Amy Shore from Fifth Class Climbing, based in Bishop, California! And I’m excited to share our conversations with you.

Amy grew up in North Dakota and spent her young adult years traveling the world while pursuing her college degree in International Studies. After finding climbing at the age of 21, it became her life’s passion and has been a main focus of her life for almost two decades.

Bouldering, sport & trad climbing, establishing big wall first ascents in the Sierra and Patagonia, guiding 14,000 ft peaks… Amy loves the vast array of disciplines that climbing allows one to pursue. Establishing Fifth Class Climbing School in 2016 allowed her the freedom to guide what really inspired her, which was not big mountain objectives, but rather women’s events and courses that focus on teaching women to be independent climbers.

In 2021, Amy became the lead safety manager for a National Geographic TV show, combining guiding with rigging and logistics, and traveling the world to do it.

Most recently, Amy became a mom and now has a 20-month-old son. She still runs and guides for Fifth Class and is currently most interested in a new pursuit: projecting sport climbs. The day after our interview, Amy sent her first 5.13.

Things We Talked about:

• From Whitney Base Camp to Fifth Class Climbing
• Wanted to work with different clientele to focus more on instructions
• Instructed before she became a climber
• Upbringing – explored outdoors and tried different sports
• Travel and then Travel & Climb
• From pebble wrestling to big walls
• Mom & projecting single pitch sport climbs
• Training entered her life
• Guiding is an empowering profession
• Started her own business in 2016 – Fifth Class Climbing and School
• Rigging for TV shows
• Changes and transitions after having a kid
• Why Amy loves logistical challenges

Quotes:

• There’s a small amount that is a part of me that likes to suffer and push myself and see what I can do.
• When you’re in that kind of mindset of doing big wall first ascents and alpine climbing and then guiding, you’re in a very much no fall territory.
• I get to be the places I love being. I get to teach and I get to give people an amazing experience that is maybe once in a lifetime for them. maybe get them hooked so that they’re doing this all the time. and it was empowering
• It’s nice to be able to facilitate programs that people are excited about offering and helping them make that happen through the permitting and stuff.
• As adults, we kind of take ourselves seriously and as a kid, you just do what you want to do.
• That risk tolerance thing changing [has] been a really interesting part of it for me. And sometimes I think it’s good guiding wise because I do have a lower risk tolerance than I used to. And I think that I see things and maybe this is from spotting my son too, but I think I see things preemptively better than I used to.
• That’s why I really like doing the rigging work and the TV work as well is that I think I logistics is kind of my jam
• I love hearing that kind of feedback after guiding. And it’s a special industry we’re in. we get to help people realize their dreams.

Show Notes:

Alexis’s Links:

• @alexiskrauss – Alexis personal IG
• @riseoutsidecollective – Rise Outside IG
• @kinshipclimbingcollective – Kinship Climbing Collective IG
• Rise Outside Website
• The Transformative Power of Nature Connection | Alexis Krauss | TEDxBoston

Episode Intro:

Happy Wednesday! This is Ting Ting, and I’m currently in my home country, Taiwan, welcoming you to a new episode of the Female Guides Requested Podcast. I’m excited to announce that today’s guest is Alexis Krauss. Alexis wears many hats.

Alexis is a long-time lover of the outdoors and teaching, with a background in elementary education and human rights. She has been guiding outdoor adventures since 2016 and especially loves sharing the transformative power of nature with youth.

An avid climber, she is an AMGA Apprentice Rock Guide, a Single Pitch Instructor, and a NYS-licensed climbing and hiking guide.

She is an outdoor educator with Wild Earth, a New York non-profit that provides transformative outdoor experiences for youth in the Hudson Valley.

Alexis is also a co-founder of Kinship Climbing Collective, a climbing and leadership program for New York City girls and gender-expansive youth, and Rise Outside, a New York-based 501(c)(3)dedicated to creating access to outdoor adventures for underrepresented communities through inclusive and qualified mentorship.

Additionally, Alexis is a working musician and one-half of the band Sleigh Bells.

Chatting with her was so easy and fun. Her dedication and passion for uplifting youth and sharing the love of climbing were obvious. Without further ado, let’s enjoy the episode with Alexis Krauss.

Things We Talked about:

• Many hats – Sleigh Bells, Outdoor Education, Climbing etc. Things in different fields that connect
• How Alexis discovered outside climbing and why was that experience intense and life-changing
• Climbing and dancing
• Want to share this special thing and love to her community
• Alexis’s mentor at the Gunks
• Alexis’s always has a passion for working with young people
• Young Women Who Crush -> Kinship Climbing Collective -> Rise Outside
• The mentor and mentee relationships
• Time management
• Alexis’s personal experience taking an affinity AMGA Rock Guide Course (All women)
• Self and the community
• Motherhood

Photo credit: Trevor Riley

Show Notes:

Emma’s Links:

• Emma’s website: https://www.emmarwalker.com/
• Emma’s book: https://www.falconguides.com/9781493052783/dead-reckoning/
• AIARE website: https://avtraining.org/

Episode Intro:

Dear listeners of the Female Guides Requested Podcast, welcome back and happy Wednesday! This is your host, Ting Ting. Right now, I’m in my home country, Taiwan, teaching some rock climbing courses. Our guest today is Emma Walker. Emma spends a lot of time outdoors and currently serves as the Education Director for the American Institute for Avalanche Research & Education (AIARE).

Emma is a career outdoor educator with a background in curriculum design and a particular interest in accident analysis. A jill-of-all-trades, she has worked as a raft guide, avalanche educator, and in numerous other outdoor jobs, and has also made ends meet as a waitress, horse groom, and kindergarten teacher. She lives in Spring Green, Wisconsin, with her husband, son, and two badly behaved dogs.

Talking with Emma was so soothing; she answered all my questions with thoughtfulness and compassion. I gained so much knowledge from our conversations and couldn’t wait to incorporate all that wisdom into my daily guiding because, as she said, ‘good guiding is education.’ Now please enjoy this episode with Emma Walker.

Things We Talked about:

• The love of the outdoors stems from childhood
• Teaching runs in the family. Emma chose to be an educator but wanted to make sure she could spend much time outdoors
• The impact of the first NOLS course
• From Colorado to Alaska
• Place-based education
• Macro landscape VS. micro landscape
• What is Emma’s interpretation of experiential learning
• Emma’s short river guiding career
• Toughness doesn’t equate high risk tolerance
• What do we want to be remembered?
• What exactly does a curriculum specialist do?
• What does that mean by “student-centered”?
• How do we evaluate the effectiveness of a course?
• Adjust the avalanche education based on travel modes
• Why diversity is important in avalanche industry and other spaces?
• Emma’s book – DEAD RECKONING: LEARNING FROM ACCIDENTS IN THE OUTDOORS

Show Notes:

Angela’s Links:

• https://alpinist007.com/ (personal website)
• Angela Hawse takes helm of American Mountain Guides Association board as group leans on women to foster change in guiding culture

Episode Intro:

Dear listeners of the Female Guides Requested Podcast, happy Wednesday. This is your host Ting Ting from Las Vegas. Today our guest is Angela Hawse.

Angela was the 6th woman in the U.S. to become an IFMGA mountain guide with a successful career spanning over three decades. She’s trained and examined aspiring guides for the AMGA for the past 19 years and served as the AMGA president for five. Angela’s led over 30 high altitude mountaineering expeditions to the world’s Greater Ranges and guided remote trips to the Arctic and Antarctic. She skied from Sweden to Norway across Lapland, reached the South Summit of Mt. Everest (500’ higher than K2) and has led numerous technical all-women’s ascents.

She’s currently on the board of the IFMGA and the 1st woman and non-European to join the Technical Commission. Angela has a Master’s Degree in International Mountain Conservation, is on the POW Alliance Team and a Black Diamond athlete. In 2011 she was awarded AMGA Guide of the Year and in 2022 received the AMGA Lifetime Achievement in Guiding Award.

I love that she considers herself successful in mountain guiding because she still loves the profession and is still in it for the same reason that she got into it initially. She established a lifelong love of playing in the mountains since she was a kid. Her curiosity let her explore all facets of life related to guiding, and she hardly found boredom. We talked about dealing with burnout, giving back to the communities, her AMGA work, changes in the environment and the industry in the past 30+ years, and making a guide career sustainable. I’m super inspired by all the wisdom Angela brought in. Now please enjoy this episode with Angela Hawse.

Things We Talked about:

• Has been guiding for 3.5 decades and still going strong
• Angele’s special sauce to keep her in the industry for this long
• Stay curious
• Diversify
• Mental bandwidth
• Childhood
• Prescott college and first role model
• Was a dedicated climber for many many years before thinking about guiding
• Various jobs from Outward Bound, an adjunct position in Prescott, working for different guide services so on and so forth
• Expeditions and giving back
• All women’s expeditions
• What was is like being one of few female guides back then?
• Ways to develop confidence
• AMGA president – what happened during those years
• AMGA’s DEI work
• Angela deeply cares about climate change
• Trends and changes Angela saw in the past 3.5 decades in the mountains and in the industry
• Being a guide in the US full time
• What does Angela’s work consist of now?
• Alpinist 007

Show Notes:

Holly’s Links:

• Holly’s profile on The Mountain Guides
• https://www.instagram.com/hollyismackin/

Episode Intro:

Dear listeners of the Female Guides Requested Podcast, happy Wednesday! This is your host Ting Ting from Las Vegas. Today, our guest is Holly Mackin.

When Holly was little, no one would have ever assumed she’d find her pursuits in the outdoors. Mostly scared of bugs and raised within the traditions of Catholic culture, it seemed highly unlikely she’d commit to a life living in and out of a van or tent. Something changed in high school when she needed an escape from the drama of her peers. She started running outdoors and practicing yoga religiously. She found herself going on mission trips abroad, which gave her more purpose.

When she decided to go to college at the University of Colorado Boulder, she was exposed to backcountry skiing and climbing. Already a runner, she scheduled her classes around soloing the Flatirons so she could take her practice to more interesting places. Throughout college, she spent summers in Grand Teton National Park, where she later planted roots as a mountain guide.

Her passion for rock climbing takes her to the Southwest every spring and fall, frequenting areas like Indian Creek, Red Rock Canyon, and Joshua Tree. In the winter, Holly is usually found in the Tetons, hunting for untouched powder and teaching snow science. She coordinates all women’s backcountry skiing and climbing programs for The Mountain Guides under the Women’s Network. This program also works to support newer women guides on their journey to becoming mountain guides.

Holly followed her heart to become a guide, cherishes the connections she builds with her clients and fellow guides, and has big dreams to make an impact. Now, please enjoy this episode with Holly Mackin.

Things We Talked about:

• From Kentucky to Colorado, following the love of skiing
• Environmental Anthropology and skiing brought Holly to Jackson Wyoming
• Inception of guiding and it all started at a juicery
• In college, Holly maximized her time being on the ski slopes and rock cliffs
• Got an internship at The Mountain Guides doing all sorts of chores and volunteering to shadow trips to get outdoors
• Right now at Teton Valley guiding skiing and teaching avalanche courses
• Feeling closer to her environmental goals guiding
• Holly’s environmental takes and views and how she uses conversations to remind people that we are part of nature
• Holly loves being outside and human connections
• Women’s Programs with The Mountain Guides – guides development and clients long term progression
• Outlook on guiding
• Beyond guiding, Holly wants to be an entrepreneur

Show Notes:

Jessica’s Links:

• Ski Diva (website)
• Jessica and Ski Diva’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skidiva
• Going Greenland Film
• RAD MOMS: JACKSON HOLE Pro Skiers Take on Motherhood and Skiing

Episode Intro:

Dear listeners of the Female Guides Requested Podcast, happy Wednesday. This is your host Ting Ting from Las Vegas. Today our guest is Jessica Baker.

Former World Tour Freeskiing champion, professional mountain guide, and mother, Jessica Baker, has a knack for seeking out remote adventures. From a young age Jessica developed a love for wild and mountainous landscapes while growing up on a small farm in North Idaho. From the Arctic to the southernmost Andes, Jessica has spanned the globe with her ski and alpine endeavors and broken the ceiling for women in the mountain guiding profession. Jessica lives in Jackson, WY with her husband, a fellow mountain guide, and her two young daughters.

I had so much fun chatting with Jessica. Her passion for mountains and guiding reinforced my belief in adventures and why guides love sharing these experiences. Her commitment to give back to the community and desire to break barriers for people to access the sport of skiing was inspiring. I also admired her energy. She sustains a busy guiding schedule, mentors students, plans big trips and film projects, and raises two kids. She really made me want to ski again. I can’t wait for you to listen to Jessica’s amazing life stories as well.

Things We Talked about:

• Mountains have been part of Jessica’s life since young
• Cut teeth guiding in 2004 and started full time guiding in 2007
• Competition life – what is free skiing? It was judged by fluidity, speed, difficulty of line, and style
• How and what does free-skiing share with guiding?
• Came and settled down in Jackson, WY
• Was asked “Do you want to be a guide?” and audited at Exum Mountain Guides
• The meaning and the draw of guiding
• Became a mom in 2013
• Jessican’s time management strategy
• The inception of Ski Diva
• Does advanced skiing courses have a place in women’s program?
• The financial barriers getting into skiing
• Don’t want to let the sport of skiing die, so access is important
• Giving back to the community
• Going Greenland film project and climate change
• Future plans

Show Notes:

Brigitte’s Links:

• Beyond Limits Education Website: https://beyondlimitsedu.com

Episode Intro:

Happy Wednesday, my dear listeners of the Female Guides Requested Podcast. This is your host, Ting Ting, from Las Vegas. In today’s episode, I’m excited to catch up with my good friend Brigitte Denton. We met at a National Outdoor Leadership School Instructor Course back in 2008, and I can’t believe it has been almost 17 years!

Brigitte has lived in the Eastern Sierra (Mammoth Lakes, CA) since 2007, moving from Southern California, where she grew up with the ocean on one side and the mountains on the other. She has a Bachelor of Science degree and teaching credential in Biological Sciences. Before moving to the Sierra, she spent 18 years as a Los Angeles County Fire Department Ocean Lifeguard and EMT, protecting the lives of beachgoers. She also spent seven years teaching middle school integrated science. In 2003, she became a Wilderness EMT and later left traditional K-12 teaching to pursue outdoor education.

Since 2007, Brigitte has guided and instructed courses in mountaineering, backpacking, and sea kayaking, exploring areas of Alaska, the continental U.S., and Europe. These days, Brigitte works for Mono County EMS as an Advanced EMT. She also runs her own business, Beyond Limits Education (BLE), teaching a variety of medical courses and providing education consulting and instructional design services.

Brigitte is an outstanding educator and passionate about helping people. She is tough and also has a very soft heart. In this episode, we dive deep into various topics related to education. She shares the twists and turns of her life, from school teacher to outdoor education and then to EMS. When I asked about how she dealt with burnout and depression, she opened up and shared her struggle and a slow recovery after a near-death accident. Fascinating stories! Now please enjoy this wonderful episode with Brigitte Denton.

Things We Talked about:

• 10 years of active guiding
• Pandemic changed Brigitte’s course
• City influence
• Connection with water
• Accidentally became a K-12 teacher after college
• From marine science to education
• burnout at K-12
• multiple jobs to make ends meet
• the guiding days
• longer expedition and group development
• what kind of guiding Brigitte loves
• what happened after pandemic?
• An ankle injury triggered deep thinking
• The EMS land
• what did Brigitte come out of depression and what did she learn from the near-death accident?
• Self-care