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Hi,

I'm a 30 year old British guy and I have recently quit my job in the city in pursuit of a better life. I have always been happiest in the mountains and I have done a small amount of trekking in the Austrian, Italian, and Swiss Alps. Do you think it's too late to retrain as a mountain guide? How long does it typically take? What are the costs?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Kind regards

If you have the money and freedom to be away from home for a few months, this looks like it might be a good way to get started. They are a respected outfit. If you gave them a call I am sure they could provide some advice and/or a reality check.

http://yamnuska.com/climbing-school/

Ask Ejnar but I know what his response will be. No way you're too old........at 30.
http://www.summitpost.org/users/ejnar-f ... stad/29443

Unrelated to climbing, but I made a major switch in careers a 32 (non-profit/art to banking) and now am about to switch again to, as you say, pursue a better life. 30 is really really young. Plenty of time.

As for cost and time for mountaineering, you can look at the AMGA website for reference. They provide the US-equivalent of IFMGA certification, and their site lists the courses/exams necessary plus the cost of each. I know you are based in Europe, so AMGA isn't exactly relevant to you, but the info on the site should be able to help you estimate what your time/money investment will be.

It's never too late to start all over again.

(Steppenwolf -- "At Your Birthday Party" --- 1969)

Yes. In the cult classic movie "Logan's Run" you would be vaporized @ 30. Other than that, stop wasting time wondering if you're
too old. To quote another cult classic "Get busy living, or get busy dying".

marctjason wrote:Hi, I'm a 30 year old British guy ...Do you think it's too late to retrain as a mountain guide? ...

Probably not. I was 61 when I climbed my first mountain (Mt Rainier, Washington). Go for it!

According to me you have taken right decision at at right time ..you should not left job .. you should take holidays in order to go trip or something else.

Since you are from the UK, check out what the BMC has to say about it: Qualifications Explained.

A good friend of mine started climbing at the age of 50. Ice climbing, rock, and alpine.

Fred Beckey still ice climbed at the age of 83 and still rock climbs in his 90's:



He put up a hardy first winter FA at the age of 70. So don't throw around the age card unless you have some serious medical conditions.

Being 30 has dual advantages

You're still young enough to be athletically powerful, but you're a lot wiser than an 18-year old. What a combination!!!

Go for it.

But don't drag your feet because if you blink a few times then you'll suddenly find that you're 40. And that's old.

You're only too old if you think you're too old. My friend Frank (62 at the time) and me (59) put up this FA in 2012. The year before Frank did the NW Face of Halfdome and he's still leads at a 5.10 level.

http://www.summitpost.org/east-face-nor ... ion/802722

Bob

marctjason wrote:... I have done a small amount of trekking in the Austrian, Italian, and Swiss Alps. Do you think it's too late to retrain as a mountain guide? How long does it typically take? What are the costs?

Too old?

In theory, no. In reality, probably.

Being age 30 is not so much the problem, it's your apparent(?) lack of climbing experience at age 30. You need at least several years of independent technical climbing - rock, ice, alpine, skiing - before you even start the guide program, if you want to be an IFMGA guide. You need to be leading 5.10/E1 5C on rock, WI5 on ice and be at least an Intermediate skier to start, on top of having done some technical alpine routes, preferably Alpine north faces.

http://www.mensjournal.com/adventure/ar ... lt-w203610

After that it will take several years of work, training and assessment and cost $20,000 or so. You would be around 40 by the time you were fully qualified and really getting full time work. Although I know plenty of working IFMGA guides around this age, they are either winding down, or starting to think about it. There are not many working past 50.

If you just want to guide walks and treks then there are other Mountain Leader type programs that are much less demanding and correspondingly both easier to get into and faster to finish. You may or may not get more work than an IFMGA guide, but won't get paid as much.

To be honest, I'd look at managing your career so that you can still work at something secure with OK pay, but get more time off and then just do the mountain adventures you want to do - not what your employer wants you to do for the 40th time.

I just turned 48, and last year completed a 100 mile trail run -- and didn't start running, seriously, until I was 40. To speak of being "too old" for anything, at 30, is ridiculous.