Why I’m Glad I Failed My Mock Exam (Part 1)
I first had the thought of becoming a climbing guide around March of 2017. 2016 was arguably my best year of climbing; I pushed out of my comfort zone trying climbs that were bigger, harder, and scarier than anything I had attempted before. As the inter-seasonal lull came to an end that spring I found myself being fired from a job I hated, with an abundance of time and energy to spend on things I loved.
Me at said job, circa 2015.
Being freshly unemployed, I turned my attention toward climbing and figuring out if I could transition my hobby into a job that could sustain my relatively meager financial needs. I purchased a copy of the AMGA Single Pitch Instructor Manual and started reading. The more I learned about the requirements of guiding, operating a guide service and the professional climbing industry the more I realized that these goals were unattainable for me.
Fast forward to January, 2021. Again I find myself unemployed, but in much better standing. My partner Julie had a very well paying job, meaning I had little pressure to earn income and more freedom to pursue what I loved. An offhanded conversation with a friend at the gym led to us researching climbing courses with the AMGA. While I was initially lukewarm on the idea, Julie pushed me to sign up for the class and earn my certificate. She has, and always has had, a great deal of faith in me.
How could she have known??
My plan was easy. The path to becoming a professional instructor is not easy, but it is simple. The only big requirements are to take a three day course, followed by a two day exam. These two events are scheduled separately. Many others suggested allowing a long period between the course and the exam, usually a full season of climbing but a year or more was not unheard of.
I planned to finish the entire process in seven days.
I figured that with my years of experience in the Red River Gorge and coaching climbers in the Detroit area gyms that the process would be a breeze. My course ended on Monday, and the exam was scheduled to start on Thursday. I reached out to the instructor, the venerable Wesley Calkins, and verified that this was possible. I planned on taking the course, spending a few days practicing my systems and techniques, and then acing the exam.
As the course wound down on Monday I found myself feeling far less prepared than I had three days prior. I had become aware of two major flaws in my plan: I was not as proficient with my technical systems as I needed to be and I was not as competent of an instructor as would be required to pass my exam.
During my debriefing with Wes we discussed my inadequacies . I scheduled another day of private instruction with Wes, in which he would host a mock exam, putting me through the paces and exposing me to the requirements of the exam.
I did not do well.
Thankfully, Miguel will still sell you some pizza even if you didn’t do a good job that day.
It’s not that I was totally incompetent. Sure, some of the skills I had never used were rough looking, but nothing about my performance was radically unsafe. The issue was that I was not nearly polished enough to represent myself at the standard that the AMGA expects of its instructors and guides.
I asked Wes directly “So, even if I were to pass the exam this weekend, would you say that I’m ready to go out and start working with clients?”
“No, I wouldn’t. If you fail your exam it won’t be because of one or two big issues. You’ll suffer a death by a thousand cuts.”
It wasn’t what I wanted, but it’s what happened. I was exhausted. I was disappointed. I crawled into the passenger seat and let Julie drive the whole way home. I mostly looked out the window thinking about what I needed to do.
(continued in part 2)
