The SnowBrains Podcast #19: Angela Hawse – President of the American Mountain Guide Association

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In this episode, Angela & Miles discuss what it’s like to be the president of the American Mountain Guide Association (AMGA), being selected as the AMGA Guide of the Year, inclusion in the mountains, guiding all over the world, heli-ski guiding for Telluride Helitrax, getting fully IFMGA guide certified, climbing Mt. Everest, Avalanches, climate change, and more.

My guest today is Angela Hawse – the president of the American Mountain Guide Association or AMGA. Angela has over thirty years of mountain guiding experience and is a fully certified IFMGA mountain guide. Angela is the sixth of only eleven women to have ever been fully certified in the USA. In 2011, Angela was awarded the “AMGA Guide of the Year.” Angela is a senior instructor team member for the AMGA and was the first woman to join their elite group of instructors in 2006. She’s been on the AMGA board of directors for over ten years. She’s been the lead guide for Ice Axe Expeditions Antarctica ski trip for the past four years. Angela also guides heli-skiing for Telluride Helitrax, and she guides all over the world. As a minority in a male-dominated profession, Angela does her best to mentor and encourage other women to get into the outdoors and guide. She was a former co-owner of Chicks Climbing and Skiing and has been a key player in their work teaching women self-reliance in technical mountain sports since 2000. Angela is engaged in inclusion and diversity work with the AMGA and several of her sponsors are making positive change in the outdoor industry.

“I was one of the rescuers first on the scene to a guy who had fallen over 1,000 feet. Off of Fitzroy. And he survived to tell the tale which is remarkable. But it took us three days with an international rescue effort, and it took us three days to get this kid down from where he landed. He was unconscious the entire time. It was certainly a harrowing experience where there was considerable risk to the rescuers.”

– Angela Hawse on The SnowBrains Podcast

Angela Hawse answers these potent questions:

• There are only 138 fully certified guides in the USA, and only 13 of those are women. Why does the USA have so few fully certified guides as opposed to Europe and other parts of the world?
• What has it been like being president of the AMGA, and what has it been like being president during a major crisis like COVID?
• What can we all do to help be more inclusive in the mountains?
• Have you ever been in an avalanche? What happened?
• What evidence of climate change have you seen in your life?
• What’s your biggest accomplishment in life?
• What challenges you most intellectually daily?
• What’s your favorite book or books?
• More…

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About The SnowBrains Podcast:

• Top 20% of all podcasts
• Interviews the most intelligent people in the snowsports industry and passes their fascinating knowledge to you, our listeners.
• We explore skiing, snowboarding, snowsports, avalanches, technology, climate, COVID, snow science, medicine, nutrition, fitness, technique, and cutting-edge adventure with our listeners.
• The SnowBrains Podcast is hosted by professional freeskier, professional mountain guide, UC Berkeley Molecular Cell Biology graduate, and Founder & CEO of SnowBrains, Miles Clark.
• The SnowBrains Podcast will be publishing new episodes with riveting guests every week this winter.
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The SnowBrains Podcast Episodes:

• Episode #1: Why Is The Colorado Backcountry the Deadliest in the USA?
• Episode #2: Are Ski Resorts Safe To Visit During COVID-19?
• Episode #3: Why Do Skiers Tear Their ACLs So Frequently?
• Episode #4: What’s The #1 Tool Available To Skiers & Riders in Avalanche Terrain?
• Episode #5: Renaming Squaw Valley, CA & Squaw Alpine’s 2020/21 COVID Strategy
• Episode #6: Alta Ski Area – Skiing First, COVID, Canyon Traffic, & Possible Mt. Baldy Tram
• Episode #7:  Andrew McLean, The Big Mountain Scientist [Part 1]
• Episode #8:  Andrew McLean, The Big Mountain Scientist [Part 2]
• Episode #9:  Whistler Blackcomb – Climate Change, The Future of Summer Skiing, COVID
• Episode #10: Chris Davenport – Legendary Freeskier, Ski Mountaineer, Mountain Guide
• Episode #11:  Cody Townsend – Star & Producer of The Fifty Project
• Episode #12 | Randall Osterhuber – Winter Survival Instructor, Search & Rescue Badass, Snow Scientist, Avalanche Forecaster, Mountain Guide
• Episode #13 | Adrian Ballinger – Climbing Mt. Everest & K2 Without Supplemental Oxygen
• Episode #14 | Bode Miller – The Winningest American Male Ski Racer of All-Time
• Episode #15 | Dr. Ethan Greene – Why Did The USA Just Have Its Deadliest Avalanche Cycle in History?
• Episode #16 | 27 Avalanche Deaths in Only 29-Days in the USA… Why Did the US Just See Its Deadliest Avalanche Cycle of All-Time?
• Episode #17 – Dr. Michael Fischman: COVID Vaccine – When Will Ski Resorts Go Back To Normal?
• Episode #18: Jeremy Jones – Legendary Big Mountain Snowboarder, Climate Change Activist, CEO/Founder of Jones Snowboards

Episode #19: Angela Hawse – President of the American Mountain Guide Association

This episode is brought to you by Ikon Pass

Please enjoy!

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The SnowBrains Podcast | Episode #19 | Angela Hawse – President of the American Mountain Guide Association

Recorded on February 18, 2020, in Park City, UT (Miles Clark) and Ridgeway, CO (Angela Hawse).

This episode was edited by Robert Wilkinson.

Music by Chad Crouch.

Host, producer, and creator = Miles Clark.