The Daily - August 11,2021 - 30

FEATURE
Lead Exum
Guide Jessica
Baker navigates
the Teton's
classic Grand
Traverse.
But from the POV of a public lands
advocate, she's even more excited
by the uptick of people hiring
guides. " Guides are beneficial in
about a million ways, " she says,
not the least of which is teaching
guests the value of land stewardship.
" One of the most important
roles of the guide is to inspire and
educate the visitor about the area
around them. When you do a good
job of that, you inspire the guest
to protect the land. With Leave
No Trace (LNT) principles, our
guides don't come from a 'don't do
this or don't do that' kind of place;
they lead with, 'Isn't this desert or
forest amazing and don't you want
it to stay like that?' " Korenblat says
Western Spirit riders go home and
appreciate their local trails and
public lands more than ever. " We
had to add a donate button to the
Public Land Solutions website, "
she says.
Reagan adds that with Exum,
LNT principles are baked into
30
" THE WAITLIST WE HAVE FOR DAY
CLIMBS AND FAMILY CLIMBS IS IN THE
HUNDREDS RIGHT NOW. "
-BRENTON REAGAN, EXUM MOUNTAIN GUIDES
every day of guiding they do. " Instead
of standing up and giving a
speech on the seven things you're
supposed to do in the backcountry
and leaving it at that, we ingrain
those, plus geology and natural
history, into the daily plan. We do
it in small pieces that people can
digest in the moment. " Sometimes
the LNT teaching and instruction
about mountain safety go hand
in hand. On the low-angle slabs
where they do their introductory
climbing courses, they point out
lichen and moss and say, " Don't
step on those because, one, you'll
kill them, and, two, they're slippery-they'll
kill you. " And they
/ OUTDOOR RETAILER SUMMER 2021
emphasize how to travel safely in
the mountains as a way of preventing
accidents or bad decision-making
that could impact the resource.
And on multiday river trips, longtime
guide Sara Sweeney says, " We
end up having this diffuse, 24/7
awareness, not only of a guest's
emotional state but the physical. I
know when my guests are going to
sneeze before they do. "
WALTON SAYS THAT ANYTIME
he goes adventuring in a region
he doesn't know, he hires a guide.
" They know the snowpack (in
backcountry skiing) like nobody's
biz. But it's not only a safety issue-I
don't have to plan a route.
I don't know an area like a guide
knows an area, and every time I
hire a guide I learn something new.
In sports like rafting, kayaking,
backcountry skiing, and climbing,
the margins are also pretty slim.
So hiring a guide not only helps
you be more responsible to the
environment, the local community,
and your group, it's going to help
you make better decisions in the
long-term. "
Of course, not every outdoor-rec
newcomer can afford the expense
of a professional guide. But it's
worth noting, says Walton, that
it's an investment that might pay
off and ultimately save you money.
" If you hire a guide, you get the
experience of whatever activity.
You get to see if you really like it,
before you kick down the money to
outfit yourself for it, " he says. " Go
for the knowledge and experience
to better yourself. You can always
get deals on gear or rentals. "
EXUM COLLECTION
The Daily - August 11,2021

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