Scholarship Recipients 2023

“Thanks to The Reeno Foundation I was able to take the AMGA Rock Guide Course in Smith Rock, Oregon. Coming from the East Coast(Vermont), I had to adapt to a completely new environment as well as a rock type that I have never climbed on before. Camping each night while learning and climbing each day I fell into a rhythm. I was so happy and motivated each day to tackle new challenges, search out the shaded routes on scorching sunny desert days, and work with a great group of fellow rock guide apprentices. Taking this course has been a goal of mine and I’m so grateful for the help the Reeno Foundation provided to make it all happen. Thank you!”

Thanks again for everything! This was one of the most fulfilling experiences I’ve had the chance to participate in. I feel inspired to continue crafting my skills so I can provide exceptional experiences for climbers of all kinds. Through taking the Rock guide course I am now able to guide multi pitch rock routes and it has been so awesome to see my climbers learning these skills on routes I started my learning on, a full circle moment.

Best regards,

-Antim

I wanted to say thank you again for the scholarship that I received that helped pay for my AIARE Professional Level One Course.

This 5 day class provided me with great education and confidence to get my foot in the door working my way to becoming an avalanche forecaster. This class additionally will help me be able to work more closely with the Avalanche Forecaster I work with as a ski patroller at Stevens Pass Ski Resort in Washington.

Thank you so much again,

I have attached pictures from the course and a presummit climb photo.

Best,

Noah

In January of 2024, I had the opportunity to take an AIARE Professional 2 avalanche education course with support from the Reeno Foundation. The course took place in Little Cottonwood Canyon outside of Salt Lake City, Utah and focuses on operational risk management of avalanche terrain for operational leaders. During the six day course, we had the opportunity to hear from the Utah Department of Transportation, Snowbird Ski Patrol, Snowbird backcountry travel guides, and a Utah Avalanche Center forecaster to better understand how they manage the dynamic avalanche risks for their constituents in the Little Cottonwood Canyon zone and surrounding area. We spent a lot of time traveling in the terrain gathering snowpack observations, observing avalanche patterns, and discussing different mitigation efforts for various user groups (human powered guided groups, highways, ski area visitors, etc.). This course was extremely useful in better understanding how to forecast avalanche hazard for a zone and identifying different mitigation efforts used to keep people safe.

As a ski guide, avalanche education course instructor and outdoor educator, this course was extremely valuable in helping me to see different industry standards for avalanche risk management. I learned a lot from the multiple industry professionals that spoke throughout the course and the other participants as well. I look forward to applying all of my learnings in my future work in the outdoor industry. I am very thankful for the support from the Reeno Foundation as this opportunity was made possible through their financial support. Thank you for all of your efforts in managing a very valuable scholarship program for the outdoor industry - I am very thankful for their support.

With gratitude,

Nicholas