Show Notes
Episode Intro:
Happy Wednesday andwelcome back to the Female Guides Requested podcast, this is your host Ting Ting from Las Vegas.
Today, I’m thrilled to host Lisa Van Sciver, a renownedmountain guide based in the Tetons with nearly two decades of experience.
Lisa’s journey is one of passion, balance, and profound impact. She’ll share with us how she went from being a porter who thought guiding was "ridiculous" to one ofthe most respected figures in the industry, and how an early request for a female guide completely changed her career path.
We'll talk about her unique strategy for achieving career sustainability in a feast-or-famine industry, the power of female guide collaboration (or as her mentor, AmyBarnes, calls it, the "sisters of the rope"), and why interactingwith people, learning their stories, and witnessing their inner breakthrough is the most rewarding part of the job.
Lisa also shares with us her recent venture: an inspirational fundraising climb up Kilimanjaro.She'll walk us through her project, "Elevate Education," which is about creating an experience much "bigger than me"—using the mountains to provide educational opportunities for students in Kenya.
Get ready for an insightful conversation on climbing, career longevity, and finding purpose beyond the summit. Let's welcome Lisa Van Sciver.
Lisa's Links: https://www.instagram.com/lisavansciver/ Kilimanjaro Climb — EducationFor All Children (EFAC)
Quotes: "The big thing that pulled me into guiding instead ofthat was I really enjoy people. "
"We always have a lot of different things going on, butyou deep dive into one topic at a time."
"I think guiding can be a super long career, but youhave to be very dynamic with it."
"Where I've found sustainability for myself is I'vealways had a second career."
"As much as we're technical guides, were alsoentertainers. we are creating experiences for these people."
"It's shifted my own desires as far as I still have alot of desires of objectives I want to climb and things I want to accomplish in my life, but I think it just gave me more pause on a greater awareness of what people deal with in the world and how I can continue to look for ways to be compassionate and supportive."
"In some ways it's easier to get a job as a woman, butthen it's harder to get promoted. I think that's been from my own personal experience. everyone wants to add to their female roster, but then once you're there, you don't necessarily get the same treatment."
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Episode Intro: Hello listeners, and welcome back to the Female Guides Requested Podcast. This is your host, Ting Ting, coming to you from Las Vegas. I apologize that it took me a little while to publish this episode; I broke my tib/fib in a climbing accident six weeks ago. However, when I relistened to my interview with today’s guest, Patty Lankhorst—a woman who has faced multiple setbacks and always bounced back stronger through sheer grit—I gained the courage and faith to do the same.
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Show Notes: Resources for Candidates and Providers: Scenario overview video Scoring rubric + guidance Updated SPI Program Handbook New textbook release (May 5): Rock Climbing: The Official AMGA Single Pitch Manual Related Links: AMGA Single Pitch Instructor Page EP 20 – Everything SPI 01 – Professionalism and Risk Management EP 29 – Everything SPI 02 – Site Selection & Group Management EP 34 – Everything SPI 03 – Current SPI Eval System EP 38 – Everything SPI 04 – Teaching & Curriculum Design I Andrew Megas-Russell Instagram https://www.instagram.com/megas_sends/