AN AMGA Certified Single Pitch Instructor combined with years of professional guiding … you get the best experience.
We realize that when it comes to hiring a guide you have a lot of options. We’ve tried to put words to some of what sets us apart from others. In the end, if you don’t choose us, for your safety and best experience, please do choose a guide who is certified and trained.
Why choose Desert to Summit?
Joy
Simply, we love what we do. We have invested years in the backcountry and on the rock, thousands of dollars, countless conversations, feedback sessions, and hours of study to safely and professionally share this passion with you. One of our greatest joys is successfully taking others on an epic adventure and sharing our favorite places with you!
Actual Guide
When you hire a guide you want someone who has been trained and certified (and keeps those certifications current), has significant field experience, and has "been there, done that." Many "guides" reference how long they have been climbing and how good of a climber they are. You want a professional guide, not a professional climber. A professional guide is there to show you the way and to manage your trip safely and efficiently so you can succeed, have fun and return safely home so you can come out again another time!
Quality Training
Chip is a Single Pitch Instructor, certified from the AMGA, a Wilderness First Responder (including CPR) certified from NOLS/WMI, and a Leave No Trace Master Educator and Trainer. At his last job was the lead rock guide and a senior backcountry guide. While the US doesn’t require guides to meet certain standards and criteria, we do! Chip has put in years of work, training and receiving feedback, gaining the experience to be allowed into courses, trainings and certifications where Chip is then held accountable to a larger body of knowledge. Being a good guide is more than being a good climber. It is putting in the effort and time to be a professional by staying up to date on trainings, learning new skills and improving every time they go out. Certification alone doesn’t make a good guide but it does insure that they have the minimum knowledge and ability that is accepted by the profession as a whole. Certifications are also for you as a guest. Are you supposed to know if/when your guide is doing something wrong? Someone who is certified will have seen the scrutiny of many well trained eyes before they are certified and recognized by others in their profession.
Honest Value
There are plenty of opportunities to get out cheap. Getting a bargain is great, except when it is not… when you’re hanging at the top of a 100’ cliff, do you want to question your bargain? Our drive is that your experience matches your financial investment and we have high expectations of ourselves. A great experience with a great guide is priceless and when you book a trip with us you’ll walk away with great memories, a great experience, and knowledge that stays with you. Knowing that the person leading up the trail or on the other end of the rope is safe, competent, committed to your goals, and dedicated to their profession is ultimately priceless. That said we did our best to set prices that are within the reach of many of our guests while also supporting our guide and his family.
