Amber Smith

Mountain Guide

In college, I discovered climbing! I have climbed and guided rock and alpine routes throughout the US but my favorite place and home is the North Cascades, Washington. The craggy granite peaks and sparkling glaciers bring me back to this mountain range again and again. If you climb with me, you’ll quickly learn that for me it is all about sunrises and not so much about the summits.

I graduated from Portland State University with a B.A. in Geography and wrote my thesis on what I call “Feminist Outdoor Leadership,” a guide to facilitation strategies for inclusion and participant empowerment in outdoor adventure. Since then, I have applied these facilitation and leadership strategies in my work as a mountain guide and I continually seek out opportunities for women’s and girl’s specific adventure and empowerment.

In addition to professional mountain guiding, I have worked in outdoor education in many capacities including wilderness therapy, collegiate and high school outdoor programming, and non-profit outdoor education. A highlight of my career so far was instructing the YMCA BOLD & GOLD’s first-ever all-girls mountaineering seminar and Mount Baker climb. When I’m not climbing or traveling, I enjoy practicing art, yoga, and sustainable living, and learning to repair my truck.

I am dedicated to community building, inclusive communication, and interactive learning and I am honored to be among the talented women at Inspiring Girls* Expeditions.

Girls* on Ice Alaska Instructor 2019, 2021