Working with Emilie on this has been a bit of a surreal experience. When I first moved to Salt Lake City and started to try and get into the guiding industry, she was the first person I reached out to. Since then Emilie has acted as a mentor over the years and even ended up being my examiner for my ski guiding exam.
Emilie is widely known to be one of the best mountain guides AND educators in the United States. From steep skiing slopes to technical rock terrain, her deficiencies are seemingly non-existent...
1. First off, who are you and where are you from?
My name is Emilie Drinkwater and I'm an IFMGA Mountain Guide and AMGA Instructor Team Member. I grew up in New Hampshire and went to college (St Lawrence University) in Northern New York state, I lived in the Lake Placid, NY area after college for about 15 years before moving to Utah in 2015.
2. You've earned the IFMGA Mountain Guide certification — one of the most rigorous credentials in the world. What drew you to that path, and what did that journey look like? I
I begged my way into a guiding job as a rock guide/instructor right out of college...with zero training and not much skill. What I did have was a love of climbing and a determination to somehow make that into a career. A lot of persistence and many years (8) later, I took my first AMGA course (SPI) and realized how much I liked learning, how much more learning I had to do, and how much better of a guide I could be if I kept seeking out education and training. From 2011-2015 I worked through the entire AMGA/IFMGA certification process putting myself into lots of debt along the way but more importantly, the opening of many new doors and opportunities.
3. As an AMGA instructor, you're shaping the next generation of mountain guides. What's the most important thing you try to instill in the people you teach?
Probably humility. Climbing and skiing are inherently dangerous activities. Without humility and the ability to learn from the inevitable mistakes that come with the learning process, it will be very hard to progress and become a successful career guide. So I guess I also try to instill that mistakes are ok! Just get good at accepting that and error correcting.
4. What's a climb or expedition that fundamentally changed how you think about risk and rescue in the mountains?
There isn't just one. Rather, my entire career of both personal and professional climbing has had numerous, small moments that have changed my thinking about risk over a sustained amount of time. I've had close calls with rockfall, I've been benighted, moved too slowly, didn't bring enough of or the right equipment, been scared, a little bit lost, and often very cold...and that's just naming a few! Each of these experiences led to behavior change so that (generally), these are things that won't happen again or when they do, I'm better prepared.
IFMGA Mountain Guide Emilie Drinkwater
5. A lot of recreational climbers assume rescue is someone else's job — call 911 and wait. Why is that mindset dangerous, and what should climbers understand instead?
Rescue with outside resources will never happen as quickly as you need or want -- so much needs to happen and by the time a team gets to you, it is likely many hours after an incident has occurred. At a minimum, the recreational climber should have the skills to assess the situation and get a self rescue started.
6. In your experience, what's the most common mistake climbers make that puts them in a situation where rescue becomes necessary?
Lack of preparedness -- not carrying the right equipment for the given climb and/or not having fundamental rescue skills; assuming someone else will do the rescuing; failing to recognize mistakes and error correct.
7. When you're teaching rock rescue, what's the skill or concept that tends to surprise students the most — something they didn't expect to be as important as it is?
I think people are often surprised that they can do a LOT of technical rescue systems with very little gear. Most modern climbing equipment can be used in an array of formats and can be used to perform a variety of technical systems. Understanding the strengths and materials of carabiners, slings, cords, etc., goes a long way toward creativity when in a pinch.
Grant Perdue descending in the Tetons.
8. Self-rescue requires both technical skill and clear thinking under pressure. How do you train the mental side of that equation?
Technical skill and clear thinking under pressure go hand in hand. In order to think clearly under pressure, one must be very comfortable with technical skills -- having this comfort will make the discomfort of stress and uncertainty much more manageable.
Every climber, new or experienced, should take this course! Of course, more experienced climbers will have a better grasp on the complexity of the technical systems, but newer climbers can learn the importance of simply carrying the right equipment with them at any given time.
Rock Rescue with Emilie Drinkwater will be avaliabe by the end of April 2026. This is a comprehensive online rock rescue course covering everything from proactive risk management and rescue equipment to anchor systems, lowering, hauling, rappelling, and realistic multi-pitch scenarios. It's practical, field-tested content built for serious recreational climbers. It's not often that climbers are able to learn such a complex topic from one of the leading educators in the sport.
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