Jeni Calzaretta
Jeni first took a Women’s Ice Climbing Clinic at the Mount Washington Valley Ice Fest years ago, and was inspired by her guide Emily Drinkwater. She currently resides in the Valley, where her love for ice climbing brought her back from the western states.
She is passionate about empowering new climbers by teaching the skills to become more independent in the outdoors. Jeni is thrilled to offer women’s specific ice climbing clinics this winter season.
Dodge Garfield
Raised in New Hampshire Dodge grew up in the heart of the White Mountains, skiing, hiking, and climbing both rock & ice. Since cutting his teeth in New England, Dodge has climbed extensively across North America from Alaska to Sedona, doing everything from big walls in Yosemite, to Alaskan Ridges and cragging in Joshua Tree.
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- AMGA Certified Single Pitch Instructor
- AMGA Apprentice Rock Guide
- AMGA Apprentice Alpine Guide
- AMGA Ice Instructor Course
- AIARE PRO 1 -AAA REC 2
- Outdoor Program Administration Prescott College
- Avalanche Forecasting Block Prescott College
- Current WFR & CPR
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- West Buttress of Denali three times with one personal summit, current second guide for Mountain Trip.
- Current Alpine Guide for Mountain Madness over four years, guiding and teaching clinics on objectives across the Cascades including but not limited to: West Ridge of Forbidden Peak, Becky Route on Liberty Bell, 13x Baker Summits via multiple routes, Mt. Olympus, and Mt. Shuksan.
- Ice guide for Mooney Mountain Guides during the 2018/19 season.
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- Ham & Eggs {WI4+, M4} V, Moose’s Tooth AK (To Ham & Eggs Col.)
- Japanese Coulier {Steep Snow} III, Mt. Barrill AK -Kautz Glacier {AI3} IV Mt. Rainier, WA
- Dracula Right {WI5-} Crawford Notch NH -The Black Dike {NEI5-, 5.6} IV, Franconia Notch NH
- North Ridge {AI3} III, Mt. Baker WA
- Enchainment of seven out of the eight major gullies in Huntington ravine in a day
- Ski Descents of Central Gully, Diagonal Gully, Yale Gully (With three short down climbs) South Gully, Empress, Duchess, Dodges Drop, every line in main Tuckerman’s Bowl and many other lines around the White Mountains.
Al Hospers
I began technical climbing with friends on the ocean cliffs of northern California in 1990, unless you count several years of easy 5th class scrambling I did with my grandfather in the North Georgia mountains in the early 50’s. My wife and I moved to North Conway in 1997 to climb and enjoy the outdoors. We have a son, Lewis, who was born in 2000.
The joy, thrill and camaraderie I feel in getting out on the rock and ice today, is very similar to what I experienced as a child. While climbing is only a portion of my life these days, it is a very important part. I enjoy working with clients of all levels and experience, helping them to find that same enjoyment that I find every time I climb.
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Climbing for 20+ years
Guiding for 13+There is nothing quite like climbing on Conway granite. I’ve climbed on all of the crags in the Mount Washington Valley and on Mt Washington. I have also put up many rock routes on local crags. Several friends and I developed the very popular Geriatric Walls area on Humphrey’s Ledge and also the Little Slab area on Found Ledge.
While I love climbing rock, ice climbing is my passion. I have led most of the hard ice routes in the region numerous times including Dropline, Last Exit, Welcome to the Machine, Mindbender, the Black Dike, Snot Rocket and more. I have also climbed many of the classic ice routes in the Icefields Parkway region of the Canadian Rockies including Polar Circus, Kittyhawk, Nine, Ice 9, Carlsburg Pillar and others.
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- BA Art – University of Florida 1974
- BA Jazz Performance – University of Miami 1978
- BA Computer Science – Columbia University 1984
- Toured with BS &T and Buddy Rich Band 1982-84
- Software Engineer 1986 to present
- Professional Musician 1965 to present
Zebulon Jakub
- Climbing Experience 23 years
- Guiding Experience 14 years
- Snow, Water, Land Kiting Experience 18 years
- Kite Instruction Experience 6 years
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- Extensive New England and NY Rock Ice Climbing and Ski Descents
- First Ascents in Rock, Ice, and Mixed routes scattered everywhere
- Personal Climbing in Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Colorado, Wyoming, Arizona, California, Canada (Quebec), Mexico, and France
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- Mount Washington – Huntington’s Ravine (South, Odell’s, Pinnacle, Central, Diagonal Gully) Raymond’s Cataract, Tuckerman’s Ravine and Boot Spur Gullies, Jefferson Ravine Gullies, Gulf of Slides, Ammonusic Ravine, minor descents around Mt. Monroe.
- Mount Washington Valley and other Notches – Whitehorse Ledge ski descents every year since 1999 via; Beginners route, Standard arch, and Slabs Direct. Also, multiple ski descent down Willey Slide as well as many gullies on Mount Webster.
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- 2 years Adventure Quest (Rock Climbing Instructor and White Water Kayak Instructor)
- 9 Years IMCS (Ski, Rock, Ice, and Mountain climbing as well as Snowkiting)
- Personal Kiting multiple trips to Cape Hatteras, all over New England any NY for all types of kiting. Multiple trips to Colorado, Utah, and Canada for back-country adventures. Multiple Mount Washington Ascents by kite and near complete Presidential Traverses. Perhaps my favorite place to snow kite is here in NH on the Presidential Range.
- Kite Instruction Experience Powerline Sports with Andrew Ghezzi, as well as IMCS for the last 3-6 years.
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- Bachelors of Science (BS) Adventure Recreation (Green Mountain College)
- Wilderness First Responder Since 1998
- Avalanche Level 1 – 2 Trained (AIARE)
- AMGA Rock Instructor Certified www.amga.com
- AMGA Single Pitch Instructor (SPI) Certified
- AMGA SPI Provider and AMGA Climbing Wall Instructor (CWI) Provider
- IKO Snow (level 2) and Powerkite (level 1) www.ikointl.com
- Co-Designer of the Wildthings Snowkite Jacket www.wildthingsgear.com
- Haul System as well as the “Zupe- Munter” hitch.
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- Paragliding (P2 Certified Spring 2009)
- Percussionist (20 years experience and 10 years on/off professional training)
- Art with delicate paints
- Motorcycles (Dual Sport Adventures)
Paul McCoy
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.
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I moved to North Conway in 2002, inspired by the mountains and the infinite possibilities for climbing and backcountry skiing. I have explored lines in Yosemite, Joshua Tree, Mt. Lemon in Arizona, and numerous other mountains and cliffs in Colorado, Wyoming, and Idaho.
I have been sharing my passion for climbing at IMCS since 2008, and am always happy to share my extensive knowledge of the climbing routes and history in the Mount Washington Valley and Northern New England. Because of my passion for the sport and my love for teaching—whether it’s ice or rock climbing, or ski mountaineering—I’m a patient, positive, and understanding instructor who enjoys working with people of all ages and abilities.
Craig Taylor
Hey there All. I fell in love with rock climbing in high school and it hasn’t stopped. The love affair with climbing that is. Early in college I got the hankering for the winter exploits and explored the ice climbing and mountaineering in New Hampshire’s Mount Washington Valley. I settled in North Conway, NH to climb hike ski…..and with the help of some great climbing partners, and mentors, I began guiding in 1994. I took my American Mountain Guides Association Level 1 Rock Guide Exam in 1998 (now known as Rock Instructor)and became a Single Pitch Instructor course and exam provider that same year. I have guided in South America in Peru and Bolivia, domestically in Joshua Tree and Red Rocks. My home base is the granite cliffs in and around North Conway. I love teaching and guiding climbing and have plied the trade full time since 1994. It’s too late to stop now and I do not want to. It is so exciting to me to turn people on to climbing and all it has to offer our bodies, spirits and minds. I hope to climb with you soon!
Brad White
I started climbing in 1975 at age 21 with a very exciting Ice Climbing lesson taught by International Mountain Climbing School guides. I followed up with a number of rock climbing lessons that summer and was guidebook author and guide Ed Webster’s first client for IMCS.
I continued to climb and soon made my first international trip in 1981 to Peru. We climbed a very early ascent of the West Face of Tocllaraju 19,000’ and the SW ridge of Chopicalqui (21,000’). The experience in Peru only intensified my desire to climb and I started creating new climbs here in New Hampshire, New England and around the country.
Another major personal goal was accomplished with an ascent of El Capitan in Yosemite in the mid eighties. Another trip to Peru in 1987 enabled me to climb the classic SW Face of Alpamayo and the N. Face of Ranrapalca.
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I was offered the chance to guide for IMCS in 1991 and ended up jumping in with both feet. The down time during off seasons gave me the chance to explore the White Mountains even more than before and along with many first ascents of both ice and rock routes I was able to make ski descent’s of a number of gullies in Huntington Ravine such as O’Dell’s, Central, Yale and other areas. Mixed in this time frame were trips to climb Mt. Blanc, the Frendo Spur and a number of ski descents all in the French Alps and rock climbing trips to places such as Joshua Tree, Red Rocks, Yosemite, New River Gorge, Utah Canyonlands (Castleton Tower), Tetons ( Grand Teton), Owens River Gorge and the East side of the Sierra.
I started guiding major peaks as an assistant guide for a Mountain Trip/ IMCS combined successful ascent of Denali in 1993. I guided ascents on both major summits in Peru, Huascaran Note in 1995 with fellow IMCS owner and Everest summiteer Rick Wilcox and Huascaran Sur in 1997. In 1996 with both future climbing school partners Maury McKinney and Rick Wilcox we made an early season attempt on the 13th highest peak in the world, Gasherbrum 2 in Pakistan. We were turned back at a little over 24,500 feet on summit day by a large storm but were proud of our personal effort of being the only team on the mountain at that time.
The demands of family had started to take more and more of my available time in these last ten years but I was able to still travel to Nepal and climb and Ski the highest trekking peak in Nepal, Mera Peak (21,000’) in 2001, do a big wall ascent on Half Dome with fellow guide Paul Cormier, and a major big wall on El-Capitan called Mescalito in seven days with fellow guide Jamal lee-Elkin in 2003.
In 1997 I had become VP/Head Guide and a partner in International Mountain climbing School and started doing more and more office time and administrative work. In both 2006 and 2007 I was able to make climbing trips to places such as Arizona and the Tetons. In spring 2006 with long time client Ken Grinnell I guided an amazing desert rock peak called Baboquivari which is located south of Tucson. Also in 2006 I climbed the Grand Teton again, this time with my sixteen year old son, Ian. This was a very rewarding experience being able to share the mountains with members my family.
In the last few years Rick Wilcox and I now co-own the school and I am now both the president and director of IMCS. My job now more than ever is to try and assure that your experience with IMCS is the best we can provide, either with me as your guide or one of our other excellent guides taking you out for a day of climbing or a month in a remote range.
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- AMGA Certified Rock Instructor
- Avalanche Level Two Certified
- A Team Mountain Rescue Service (MRS)
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- Guided West Buttress of Denali 1993
- Guided Pisco and both Huascaran North and South (22,000 ft) in Peru 1995 and 1997
- Led four expeditions to Peru including climbing the classic South West Face of Alpamayo
- Climbed many big walls in Yosemite including El Cap twice (Triple Direct and Mescalito) and Half Dome Regular Northwest Face
- Four trips to the Alps climbing classic Alpine routes and Skiing such as the Frendo Spur, Mt. Blanc, Ski Descents of Milleau, Plan Glacier and more
- Climbed in numerous US areas such as Joshua Tree CA, Red Rocks, New River Gorge, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Virginal, Nevada, Utah and more
- Gasherbrum II, Pakistan 1996