2015 Year in Review, Professionally.

High on Chopicalqui, Peru. July 2015

I do this each January, summarizing some data from the past guiding year. For the most part, by the normal data I collect and report, 2015 was pretty unremarkable. However, the coolest part is in information I don't formally collect. Of the 47 trips I did in 2015, the vast majority were new to me. Even in the Sierra, most of the guiding I did was brand new to me. Great exploration and expansion!


Here's what my guiding life looked like, by the numbers:

• I worked 47 guiding trips 
• Of those, 26 were single-day outings. 
• 3 were two day commitments. 
• 6 were for 3 days 
• 1 trip went for four days 
• 1 trip was 5 days and one trip was 6 days 
• I did a 21 day course with the School for International Expedition Training in Peru. 
• Of all those trips, I slept in the backcountry for work on 40 nights. 
• That adds up to 86 guiding days. 
• Of course, for every 3-4 guiding days, there is about one day of administrative work that includes packing, unpacking, food prep, etc. 
• Of those 46 trips, fourteen of them were for alpine climbing. 
• Only two were ice climbing 
• 17 were rock climbing 
• 14 were for skiing 
• 14 were with returning clients. 
• I instructed this year more than ever before. 23 of the trips, just under half, were primarily for educational purposes. 
• On the remainder, the other half, objectives varied. Sometimes it is mileage or exercise, but usually it is a specific route or peak. In 2015 16 trips were initiated with a specific peak or route in mind. Of those 16, on 11 we made the summit or all the summits we set out to do. We accomplished all we set out to do 69% of the time. That is roughly average, as compared to the data I've collected since 2012. 
• 2012 71% 
• 2013 61% 
• 2014 20% (An outlier. A rough year in the mountains... on the clock or off, I failed to "send" a number of big itineraries in 2014)