Mountain guides offer guided tours to groups of travelers and go through a rigorous certification process. The International Federation of Mountain Guide Associations provides a standardized form of training. Guides require a vast skill set, including medical training and advanced climbing training. Some guides do additional training in specific areas. They can choose to operate their own tours or work with a tour group.
A mountain guide is a professional climber who specializes in offering guided tours to groups of travelers. Most mountain guides go through a rigorous certification process that covers a wide range of skills and can take several years to complete. A successful mountain guide is able to offer exciting tours and adventures in spectacular mountain locations, providing as safe an environment as possible.
Training to become a mountain guide can be undertaken through a variety of different certification associations. There are many different mountain guide training courses, but the most widely recognized form of certification is through the International Federation of Mountain Guide Associations (IFMGA). The IFMGA provides a standardized form of mountain guide training that is used by numerous certification groups around the world and offers many different types of certification options.
The certification process for most organizations is carried out in several stages. Aspiring guides should take courses that cover the required skills and then take tests on the skill set. There may be multiple sets of training and testing required to achieve certification. IFMGA certified organizations provide three different types of certification for different styles of mountaineering: alpine, ski and rock.
The skill set of a professional mountain guide is vast. Core skills include orientation, medical training, and emergency procedures. In addition, advanced climbing training is required to ensure that a guide can not only climb over precipitous terrain, but also help others to do so. Depending on the level of certification requested, training and exams in skiing, glacier climbing and rescue techniques may be required.
Some mountain guides do additional training in the area they plan to operate. It helps them to gain knowledge of a specific area of the mountain in order to provide better services to their customers. Spending a few months or even years learning the mountains allows a guide to find new routes, determine contingency paths in an emergency, and get a complete sense of what the region offers travelers.
When operating professionally, a mountain guide can choose to operate their own tours or work with a tour group. When working independently, you may need a guide to be able to cater for all guests’ needs, from food to hiking supplies. Working with a tour agency allows a guide to simply worry about leading the group, while the agency tends to other needs. Some prefer to work independently with tourist agencies in order to save time for other professional activities or for their own mountaineering.
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