As one of the original Rockies occupations, alpine guiding has always occupied a small but sturdy foothold in the tourism sector.

Part of that resiliency, surely, has to do with the job-site; for men and women wanting to test themselves against the elements—with the counsel of a qualified professional, in this case— the draw of the mountains remains eternal. 

And while the COVID-19 pandemic has not left the guiding business unscathed, the foundational tenets of the trade—hazard assessment, risk mitigation and the adapting of techniques to the circumstances presented—will ensure its longevity, say its members.

When coronavirus first crested in western Canada, Matt Reynolds, a local guide, was familiarizing Canadian Search and Rescue Technicians with mountain skills in the Lake Louise area. That was on March 14. Since then, Reynolds hasn’t taken a client out and it wasn’t until recently that he finally got out in the mountains recreationally.

“I took to heart the message that as professionals we should be setting an example,” Reynolds said.

That dispatch came down loud and clear from the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides shortly after the pandemic was declared.

“We sent out an official notice saying, essentially, it’s not just guiding but any outdoor recreation at all was not a good idea in light of the idea you could get hurt and tax our healthcare workers,” said ACMG president Sylvia Forest.

Even though Forest and her board recognized that their members had lost a lot of business, the ACMG held fast.

“We reminded members that mountain guiding is an inappropriate activity until the government can agree how and when the country could get back to somewhat normal operations,” Forest said.

Now that things are moving in that direction, not only has Reynolds been able to get on some rock climbs himself, but he is preparing, along with other local mountain guides, to operate a little differently when he finally does open shop.

“I think the other hazards on the mountain are still far more worthy of attention, but we definitely need to manage the COVID-19 risk,” Reynolds said.

Those mitigation strategies start where most guided trips begin: with the client booking. Besides employing a full refund policy and asking guests to sign a declaration of health, one of Reynolds’ main approaches for lowering the risk of exposure will be simply limiting his availability. By waiting five days (the average incubation period of COVID-19) between guests, he’ll be minimizing the chance of spreading the virus.

“It gives me a little bit of peace of mind,” Reynolds said. 

His trips will simplify. To avoid confined spaces, he’s not planning on carpooling or commissioning a helicopter to access a route. Overnight trips will be possible, he predicts, but he won’t be sharing a tent or a cabin with anybody for a long time. He’ll have less bookings, overall, but each one will require more communication.

“There’s so much more to talk about now,” Reynolds said, “in making sure they’re included in the decision making for how we’re going to deal with COVID-19 in the field.”

Whether on a multi-pitch route or a mountaineering ascent, Reynolds anticipates packing along soap and sanitizer, making efforts to avoid tight quarters and giving overcrowded locations a pass. When he can’t maintain a safe distance from his client, such as in a tight belay stance or on a teeny ledge, he’ll likely don a mask. Beyond the PPE, Reynolds is considering choosing his climbing venues based on COVID risk factors. Since some studies have shown less porous materials allow viruses to remain active longer, and other studies suggest UV rays can help disinfect surfaces, Reynolds may choose sun exposed limestone over shady quartzite, for example.

“The perfect Jasper venue is going to be a secret,” he laughed.

Over at Rockaboo Mountain Adventures, owner and lead guide, Max Darrah, says that although COVID is a novel danger, working with the threat of an invisible, looming hazard, is certainly not out of the scope of a mountain guide’s experience. ACMG members are trained to mitigate exposure to avalanches and rockfall, and while a virus poses a different safety risk, the trade of a mountain guide is built around providing the right techniques at the right time, Darrah says.  

Because of that, “it’s not too overwhelming to modify our processes to address this potential risk,” he said. 

Whether it’s reducing group sizes, transporting clients in larger vehicles or quarantining gear, operating in a pandemic-affected environment will certainly take more preparation, but planning and preparation are ACMG members’ stock-in-trade. Moreover, Darrah said the best practices coming down from the association have been extremely helpful.

Operating in a pandemic-affected environment will certainly take more preparation, but planning and preparation are ACMG members’ stock-in-trade.

“The leadership within the ACMG is sound,” Darrah said. “I’m proud to be a part of the team.”

That team includes not just mountain guides, but alpine guides, ski guides, rock guides, climbing instructors, hiking guides and via ferrata guides. As such, the ways in which COVID affects ACMG members’ work environments depends on the particular discipline of the guide. Corona-related health risks for alpine guiding, for example, are not the same as those for guided hiking, which is why ACMG training courses and examinations for hiking guides have resumed, while alpine exams have not. 

Overlaying all of this is the fact that, no matter how the ACMG mitigates operational risks, a significant percentage of the clients that mountain guides host come from the U.S. and abroad. Those markets will be decimated for the foreseeable future. 

“A great deal of our clientele overall is American,” Forest acknowledged. “With the borders closed, that certainly has an impact, particularly in the winter with mechanized skiing.”

But in every challenge there is opportunity.

“Some guides are saying this is an opportunity to foster Canadian participation in mountaineering. It could be an opportunity to market locally.”

Reynolds, whose operation is unique among Canadian mountain guides in that he serves a mostly-regional clientele, agrees.

“I think general word of mouth will keep me as busy as I want to be,” he said.

As for Rockaboo Mountain Adventures, whose bread and butter are daily Athabasca glacier walks and rock climbing trips, Darrah knows better than to worry about the unknowns.

“We’ll be ready to operate on our end,” he said. “We’re going to control what we can control and we’re going to focus on that.”

Bob Covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com