Just 8 percent of mountain rock climbing guides are women. Yet 46 percent of outdoor participants are women, according to an OIA study. That didn’t sit right with The North Face and the AMGA.
Thus, The North Face sponsored the American Mountain Guide Association’s first guide course made specifically for women.
Announced January 11, the AMGA and TNF created the first Women’s Rock Guide Course, available for prospective guides in September 2019.
The professional course is the first of its kind designed for women. Only women can sign up for the course, and all of the guide instructors will be women.
AMGA president Angela Hawse hopes the all-female cast inspires more women to become guides.
“This first course is a great jump-start as we aspire to have 30 percent of our programs comprised of women,” said Hawse. “Everyone benefits with more women on board. Men benefit from subtle opportunities to learn how to better serve women guests, and studies show that teams make better decisions and are more successful when women represent at least a third of the team.”
AMGA Offers First Women-Only Guide Class
The course is driven partially by The North Face’s Move Mountains Grant. Created last year, Move Mountains is all about recognizing rad outdoorswomen.
And the AMGA’s women’s rock guide course is just the first of five grants given through the initiative.
This September’s course targets women that want to become mountain guides. It has a curriculum of indoor and outdoor classroom time, practice sessions, and climbing across 10 days.
And better yet, The North Face allows each participant the opportunity to receive a $2,000 scholarship for the course. Class participants need to fill out the application here.
Currently, the AMGA does not list the price of this specific course. But traditional Rock Guide Courses cost $2,850 through the AMGA. Learn more about how to apply to be a rock climbing guide here.
