“You can't win if you don't play” is dubious advice often doled out by lottery agencies and the like, but it is solid counsel in the world of alpine climbing: Even in the face of slim weather odds, you've got to at least put yourself into position for success and be ready to maximize it should the slim odds work in your favor. And besides—what's the use in having high-quality alpine gear if you don't occasionally put it to the test? With those two bits of logic in place, I sat in the Newark Airport and stared grimly at the weather forecast for my destination, Washington State, where I was headed for the American Mountain Guide Association Alpine Guide Exam and steeled myself for the fates that awaited me. Fortunately, time and time again that alpine logic held true during my recent American Mountain Guide Association (AMGA) Alpine Guide Exam (AGE).

After a springtime of climbing and guiding in Alaska/Denali and an enjoyable stint back in Mammut & my home-base state of Vermont, I arrived back in the Pacific Northwest this past week for a series of Rainier climbs with Rainier Mountaineering Incorporated (RMI). As chance would have it, my climb was slotted to be the first climb of the summer season—apparently though, nobody had shouted to the sky that it was about to be summer. Or, if they had, the sky wasn't listening.