Arc’teryx Backcountry Mentors with Exum Mountain Guides

The Ski Journal 18.4 

 Straight Line 

 Opening Doors through Mentorship in the Tetons 

 Words: Lily Krass Ritter 

 “Find a mentor.”  

 You hear it all the time. Seek out someone more experienced. Learn from them. The rest will fall into place. I thought about those very words while our group of five huddled in a snow pit in Grand Teton National Park, WY, the bitter cold stinging our noses.  

 IFMGA and Lead Exum Guide Brenton Reagan pointed out layers in the snowpack as we isolated a few columns, stomping our feet on the ground to stay warm. We worked quickly to evaluate the slope below us for the presence of the persistent weak layer we’d been tracking, eager to click into skis so we could enjoy the fruits of our labor—an ocean of untouched right-side-up powder that stretched thousands of feet below. When we had gotten to our high point on the ridge, the last thing anyone wanted to do was dig a hole in the snow. But “the more efficient you get at digging quick snow pits, the more you’re likely to actually do it,” Reagan reminded us. He set a timer for 20 minutes and told us to gather as much information as we could. 

 In 2021, Reagan invited me to join a small group he’d put together to pilot Arc’teryx Backcountry Mentors, a free community mentorship program for backcountry skiers in Jackson, WY. Reagan had been hosting free rock climbing clinics at the Snow King Mountain Boulder Park since 2017, and wanted to spread knowledge to skiers in the same way.  

 He enlisted Morgan McGlashon, fellow Exum guide, to craft a long-term mentorship program that would dive into ski mountaineering skills, snowpack assessment, decision making, leadership and group management. Instead of a “firehose of information” in a three-day clinic, they spread field and classroom days throughout the season.  

 The goal wasn’t to replace traditional avalanche education—most mentees had taken a good portion of available courses already—but to add another layer to education in the mountains in a slower, yet impactful way. “Season-long learning takes the pressure off the teacher to share all the information at once, and it also takes the pressure off the student to immediately understand complex topics in one or two days,” Reagan explained.  

 The first year, we were a small group of five, meeting weekly on Zoom with field days a few times each month. Each season, members have brought in other locals interested in pursuing different skills, and it’s spiraled into a few dozen participants, connected by a mutual desire to learn and grow. Some want to plan bigger objectives (like skiing the Grand Teton) while others are looking for more tour planning tools—crafting “elegant ski tours,” as Reagan refers to designing unique and efficient linkups in otherwise well-trodden areas. For me, it opened the door to start ski guiding, an infinitely intimidating and mysterious path.  

 Mentorship is a buzzword in the outdoor community—everyone wants a mentor, but it’s easier said than done to stumble upon someone with a wealth of knowledge who’s looking to take someone under their wing and share everything they know. “It’s huge that Arc’teryx is actually paying guides to mentor people, which makes it so much easier for mentors to engage,” he says. “And it’s hard for a guide service to front that. That’s something a brand can really have a huge impact on. I think we could be seeing more of it in other communities.” 

 The outcomes of a long-term mentorship model can be hard to measure, which is why it can also be hard to fund. Successes are “nebulous,” as Reagan describes. “This process doesn’t unfold rapidly,” he adds. “Instead, it gradually molds you into a better mountain partner and community advocate, often without you realizing it until you reflect on your journey.” 

 We finished up our snow pit, satisfied with the deep February snowpack, and dropped in one by one. As we leapfrogged each other down the slope, milky powder clouds billowing up around us, Reagan’s hoots and hollers echoed louder than the rest.