IMCS GUIDES

Jordan has explored the globe, guided on three continents, and put up a few first ascents and descents. You can catch him smiling whether it’s a short trail run to catch the sunrise behind his home in New Hampshire, or at 20,000’ watching the mountain shadow unfold on the plains below. His limitless excitement for mountain adventures (plus a lot of training and certifications!) enables him to provide safe, customized, and unforgettable client experiences.

Nick moved to the Mount Washington Valley from Southern Maine after commuting to the mountains nearly every weekend for five years. From rock climbing and trail running in the summer to ski touring and ice climbing in the winter, moving around in the mountains has blossomed into the opening from which flows joy, connection, learning and groundedness into his life. Sharing that source with others has become more and more important and has manifested most recently into a shift towards guiding as a full time professional pursuit.

Ryan grew up in Haverhill, Massachusetts, but his heart has always belonged to the mountains. From an early age, he spent countless days in the White Mountains, hiking and skiing both resort and backcountry terrain across Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. His passion for climbing began indoors, but after taking an outdoor course with IMCS, he knew climbing would become a big part of his life.

Backcountry skiing became part of Ryan’s life in junior high, with his first run down Tuckerman Ravine in eighth grade, a defining moment that deepened his love for the outdoors. He pursued this passion academically at Colorado Mountain College in Leadville, Colorado, earning a degree in Outdoor Recreation and Leadership with a focus on mountaineering, rock climbing, and ice climbing. While in school he gained knowledge on the technical side of moving through the mountains and how to lead/guide people in the outdoors.

Climbing has taken Ryan to many places like Utah, Wyoming, and Washington. In the summer of 2024, Ryan spent time in Washington climbing iconic peaks like Mt. Baker, Mt. Shuksan, and Mt. Hood, experiences that reinforced his commitment to sharing the mountains with others. Today, he strives to help people of all abilities and backgrounds discover their own connection to the outdoors, whether through hiking, climbing, or skiing.

Raised in New Hampshire, I grew up in the heart of the White Mountains where I found a passion for skiing, hiking, and climbing at  a young age. Since cutting my teeth in New England, I have spent time climbing extensively across North America as well as in Europe, South America and remote regions of Nepal.

After graduating from high school, I went straight into the guiding profession. I currently spends Fall & Winter in New England guiding rock and ice. I spend Spring & Summer in Alaska as a Denali Lead Guide and member of Denali Volunteer Rescue.

With years of experience in the Cascades, Alaska Range and other big mountains I love helping folks get ready for their next adventure whether it’s their first time climbing or preparing for a multi-week expedition.

I am also the author of New Hampshire Ice: A Select Guide and Kinsman Notch Bouldering.

Lucas grew up in southern New Jersey and was constantly running around the woods with his friends. College took him to New England where he studied Outdoor Education, Leadership, and Tourism at Vermont State University. After taking an intro to rock climbing course at school, he was instantly hooked on the vertical world. As a student, Lucas gained experience through climbing, mountaineering, and backcountry skiing courses. The White Mountains is where he calls home now where you can find him splitboarding on Mount Washington, ice climbing in Crawford Notch, or rock climbing on Cathedral Ledge.

Sam has always been drawn to climbing. They started at 3 years old, climbing the banister and trees of their home, and quickly progressed to rock. As a teen, they found mentorship in the community and learned the skills to top rope and teach other youth. Over the years, they progressed from sport, trad, Ice, and alpine climbing in the Northeast and other ranges across the US. While attending MassArt in Boston, North Conway, and the White Mountains became a beloved destination where they cut their teeth on New England Classics.

Sam has worked for 15 years in outdoor education with pre-k through 12th graders. They have also been working as an organizer and volunteer of the Adirondack Queer Icefest since its founding in 2021. With these experiences, Sam brings a passion for teaching others skills to empower their own pursuits and a dedication to expanding the climbing community for marginalized people.

I began climbing as a kid in Western Massachusetts when I was playing soldier in the woods. I wanted to emulate the soldiers at D-Day who scaled cliffs over the beach to attack a gun position. I used rope scavenged from my dad’s ladders, and my brothers and I would pull ourselves up using sling harnesses we made ourselves. My parents wisely bought us actual equipment so we wouldn’t break our necks and I was set on a life of exploring and adventuring.

With a desire to become a guide and instructor, I went to the Green Mountain College to study Adventure Recreation. There, I met Paul, the current owner of IMCS, and began my formal education. I began guiding in 1997 and worked for a few years all over the USA.  Then after graduation in 2001 and having been the first guide to do an internship with IMCS, I was hired for full time work and never left.

Since then, I’ve added kite boarding, SCUBA, kayaking, surfing, etc. to my repertoire. A lifelong tinkerer and inventor, I really enjoy the systems and creative process climbers use to protect themselves and their partners. My favorite types of clients are those seeking to solve problems or overcome obstacles. I enjoy sharing my technical knowledge to come up with solutions.

I started with IMCS as a guide in the year 2000, which makes me the longest running guide in the company’s history. I guide rock, ice, skiing, and especially climbing systems and technical skills.

If you’re a ham radio operator, you can find me at KC1 QLE!

I am an avid climber and explorer with over 30 years experience in the mountains and wilderness. From an early age, I’ve found outdoor adventure to be the most fulfilling way to experience the world. This has taken me to various parts of the world while climbing, hiking, paddling, skiing, riding motorcycles, or on a surfboard.

I’m also a husband, father, health and wellness coach, personal trainer, and plant-based nutrition educator. My passion as a guide is promoting longevity and helping you adventure well in a holistic way. When with clients, I like to be a resource, as well as a partner in order to help them along a lifetime of peak experiences.

Chris’s early forays into the woods were on a borrowed mountain bike.  The shoes didn’t fit and he didn’t have a helmet.  Still, he was hooked, an adrenaline junkie was born and he instantly loved the smell of pine duff and its feel beneath his feet.

After completing a bachelor’s in English, Chris followed the Great Divide Route south on his mountain bike, pulling a trailer, border to border.  Major Appalachian Trail section hikes followed, then a move to New Hampshire.

Chris has continued to travel the United States in search of lesser visited places, scaling rock walls throughout the West and South.  He has established many dozens of new rock routes throughout the USA,  and has worked professionally as a mountain guide, across disciplines, since 2008 in the Northeast and Northwest.  He’s as comfortable on a desert tower as a glacier or a backwoods, scrappy New England crag, and if you’re with him, you’ll feel comfortable too.

At the age of fourteen on a fly-fishing trip with my father in Jackson Hole WY,  I was intrigued by a brochure for rock-climbing and begged my dad to let me hire a guide for the day. I learned the ins-and-outs of belaying and safe climbing. Since that pivotal day, I have been hooked.

Back home in upstate NY, I sought boulders, cliffs, and crags – anything to play on. In 1999, I learned to climb ice. While obtaining my degree in Adventure Recreation from Green Mountain College in Vermont , I had the opportunity to climb in Northern Spain,  New Zealand’s southern Alps during a year-long study abroad, and spent a month rock climbing at Mt. Arapiles in Australia.

I grew up in New Jersey and have lived in Londonderry, NH since 1981. My first year in NH I took a multi-day rock climbing class followed up that winter with a multi-day ice climbing class – with IMCS. After 40 years climbing is still my life long passion.

I guided part time for a few years in the mid 1990s and after a successful business career retired in 2015. Since then I have focused on professional development and guided for the last five years in New England, West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina.

Over the years I have climbed all over the world in all disciplines – rock, ice and alpinism. Some of my favorite places to climb are Bolivia, Canadian Rockies, Joshua Tree, Yosemite, Black Hills, Colorado and of course New England with its diversity of climbing terrain.

Guiding and instructing enables me to share my passion for climbing which hopefully leads my clients to life long pursuits of mountain adventures and fun.

Climbing came late in my life. I was a full fledged adult when I first got into it, so I went after it with all that I could. I went and got a job in the rock gym, I took classes, made climbing friends, and I learned all that I could soak up. It’s been great for me both physically and socially and I don’t regret a single day of it.

I moved to the MW Valley slowly over the last few years, but now that the IME staff, Frontside baristas, and Ledge bartenders all know my name, I feel like a part of the community. It’s a fantastic place and I love the variety and accessibility of activities we have.

I joined Paul and Lisa at IMCS when they took over in 2022 as the “office guy with no clear title or responsibilities.” Not much has changed in that regard but I love the flexibility and “do what needs doing” aspect of the job. I might answer the phone while writing a newsletter one day, and answer the phone while organizing the gear closet the next day. Sometimes I even get to be a guide!