The Single Pitch Instructor Program teaches climbing instructors to proficiently facilitate and instruct the sport of rock climbing in a single pitch setting.
Season
Spring through Fall
Skill Level
Intermediate and advanced
Duration
3 days
Group Size
6
Many people are introduced to rock climbing on single pitch cliffs across the country. A vast majority of them take part in group climbing trips such as those sponsored by schools, churches, climbing gyms, scout groups, or summer camp programs. Many will hire an instructor from a guide service for their first climbing adventure or take a course from a nationally recognized organization. Through the Single Pitch Instructor Program, the AMGA seeks to ensure that a high standard of climbing instruction, risk management, and enjoyment is provided in these programs. The SPI program also seeks to foster appreciation and protection of the finite resources of single pitch crags. These high standards are achieved through experience, personal qualities, training, and credentialing.
The AMGASingle Pitch Instructor Program is designed to enable instructors to“proficiently facilitate and instruct the sport of rock climbing in a single pitch setting”. The program is for currently active rock climbers who have areal desire to teach rock climbing in a single pitch setting. Candidates should be passionate rock climbers who have their own equipment, regularly climb, and have at least 12 months of outdoor rock climbing experience. Candidates could be current university professors who teach climbing, climbing instructors, scout leaders, summer camp professionals, or climbers who wish to undergo additional training, experience, and certification to gain employment as a climbing instructor in the outdoor adventure/education industry.
Max Lurie - Alpine to the Max
With a degree in environmental science and a focus on glaciology, Max’s deep understanding of mountain environments is only matched by his passion for them. He began his career in 2012 in New Hampshire, where he became an EMT and started guiding. Moving west, he earned his American Mountain Guides Association certifications in both rock and alpine disciplines. In 2020, he founded Alpine to the Max, an AMGA-accredited guide service that now operates throughout Colorado. He also teaches professional avalanche education for Silverton Avalanche School. When not teaching or guiding, you can find him mountain biking in the desert southwest with his fiancée.
The SPI Course is not a “climbing” course. It is an instructor training course for active, proficient rock climbers and for current climbing instructors who wish to gain SPI certification. Single Pitch Instructor certification is the second stage of the AMGA’s Climbing Instructor Certification Program and will significantly help candidates who wish to work toward the next stage, the AMGARock Guide Course (RGC). The SPI course presents many instructor specific topics such as professionalism, teaching techniques, risk management, group site organization, climbing site conservation/LNT, and assistance/rescue skills.
The SPI Program is a three-day (27-hour) training course and a separate two-day (16-hour) assessment. Certification is valid for three years as long as the candidate keeps current AMGA Membership and First Aid Certification. After three years, current SPIs can re-take the SPI Assessment to renew SPI certification. Any current SPI who attains certification in any Mountain Guide Program discipline attains permanent SPI certification status provided they maintain AMGA membership and the appropriate level of medical certification.
The above prerequisites are absolute minimums. Without having at least this amount of experience you are unlikely to make the best use of the training.
Yes, on the SPI course, your instructors will introduce new concepts and techniques with ample opportunity for practice. Our AMGA course instructors are patient, and articulate with the feedback they provide. We all want to see every participant be successful.
The more experience you enter the course with, the easier it will feel. In addition to the prerequisites listed above, we also recommend reading AMGA Single Pitch Instructor Program Handbook (3rd edition).
No, there is not. However, our instructors will give you constructive feedback about what you can do to prepare for the exam.
Alpine to the Max is an independent certified guide with more than a decade of experience in a wide variety of terrain. No matter your current skill level, when you climb with us you get a top-notch experience that is fully customized to meet your exact desires.
