Annual income of a backcountry guide?

MikeVicksTOPDOG

MikeVicksTOPDOG

Member
this is a random ass question i searched it and found nothing but i was wondering how much they make.also wondering what its like, if the job is worth the money and how hard it is to get the job

 
worth the money?

Guide's guide so they can ski. It has nothing to do with money.

And if you are looking for a job that makes $, look outside of skiing, plain and simple. This a really stupid question.
 
Depends on where you live too. You would probably make a decent living doing it in a place like Chamonix. But the knowledge you would have to gain to be a guide there would probably be similar to going to medical school..
 
how much do they make? probably just enough to get by

what is it like? probably really really awesome

how hard is it to get the job? probably the most coveted job in all of skiing, you need to know a lot about mountaineering, avalanche safety, and have intimate knowledge of the area you are guiding in. I'd say its a hard job to get.

and there are BC skiing guides in the east, in places like the Adirondacks, White Mtns, and Baxter state park in Maine
 
I bet the experts that take the production companies to the gnarliest AK spines make no more than $40k a year. And these are people who are very knowledgeable of every single area in their proximity.

It's a very risky job. You risk both your life and the life of others by giving people the green light to go ski on slopes where a layer of snow can fracture and send people tumbling 1000 vertical to their death.

but hey, you ski amazing lines every single day.
 
seeing how you are from upstate New York, you have a long road ahead of you before you can think about becoming a guide. I have a few friends who are becoming guides right now. Well, they are "guides", but one just goes around digging snow pits and the other is a tail guide sometimes. Not sure if they've even started getting paid yet. There is no money in it.

Not sure how it works in the US, but in Canada you have different levels of Avalanche training. your Avalanche Skills Training (AST) Level 1 and Level 2. There are towards the recreational backcountry skiers// From there you can get your Avalanche Level 1 - this is a full on course that is usually a week long and tests your knowledge... oh yeah, and it costs around $1500. You also need your Ski Instructors Level 1, your Level 3 first aid (or something equivalent).

After you have all of this training, you still need an in with an operation. There are far more people wanting the job than there are spots available. It's very much an old boys club. You have to be in the right place, right time, and know the right people - and if you do happen to find a job, you'll be the guy doing all the bitch work just to get the odd day of cat skiing with no pay.

I'm not saying "don't try to be a guide"... but you should probably spend a few years in the mountains and get to know the lifestyle and mentality of a touring skier before jumping into a world that is unknown to you.
 
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