Living Magazine Winter Living Magazine 2015/2016 | Page 20
VIEWFROMTHETOP
BRIAN WARREN IS A FULL-TIME, YEAR-ROUND MOUNTAIN GUIDE. HE WORKS IN ALMOST EVERY ICONIC MOUNTAIN RANGE IMAGINABLE,
GUIDING CLIMBING AND SKIING ADVENTURES FOR PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD. Brian works for Jackson Hole Mountain Guides
in Wyoming as a senior guide and as the manager of their winter programs. He runs every kind of rock and alpine climbing trip possible
during the summer months, including the iconic Grand Teton, as well as guiding and teaching guests backcountry skiing, ice climbing, and
avalanche safety and education during the winter. He is also part owner and a senior guide for Alpenglow Expeditions, a premier
international guiding company that’s at the forefront of the high altitude climbing and skiing programs offered on every continent of our
planet. Brian has guided all across the American West in the Cascades, Rockies, and the Desert Southwest, as well as worked on dozens
of expeditions to South America and the Himalayas. He sees mountain guiding as more of a passion and lifestyle than a career, and
consistently finds his work beyond dynamic and rewarding. Brian feels that if he can impact other’s lives by pushing them to their physical
and mental limits in some of the most beautiful and harshest places in the world then he has had true success. It’s this success and the
diverse nature of guiding that pushes Brian to consistently be at the top of his game with knowledge and fitness.
WHAT DO YOU NORMALLY DO TO
PREPARE FOR A MAJOR CLIMBING
EXPEDITION?
As a full-time mountain guide, my job
typically keeps me fairly physically
prepared for these expeditions. However,
it is quite important to constantly find
time outside of guiding to stay in shape by
trail running, utilizing a climbing gym, and,
quite simply, just being outside and
moving through the mountains. Regarding
the mental preparedness, it’s a lot of
logistics and lists upfront, then it’s a
matter of slowing down and really taking
time to appreciate the experience. I work
very hard with our local liaisons and
depend on them to help get the majority
of the tasks taken care of before the
expedition. I do believe the hardest part
of expedition climbing is what I call the
“mental endurance.” It’s the ability to
realize that it’s not a race and much more
of a mental marathon as we have a lot of
time away from family, businesses, and
regular-day life. This is always very hard
on people to not be as connected as they
usually are whether it’s reading the paper
in the morning or checking their email 15
times a day. We just simply do not have
these luxuries while climbing and it’s
tough for people to really slow down their
“daily” routine and realize that we are
letting our bodies acclimatize and work
for us, not against us.
NOTABLE CLIMBS AND EXPEDITIONS
n Grand Teton Ascents: 150+
n Grand Teton Ski Descents: 12
(3 variations)
n Denali Expeditions: x2
n Mount Elbrus Expeditions: x2
n Kilimanjaro Expeditions: x5
n Mount Everest Expeditions: x4
(Highest point in North America)
(Highest point in Africa)
n Mount Rainier Ascents: 80+
n
20 / WINTER 2015 LIVING MAGAZINE
concagua Expeditions: x5
A
(Highest point in South America)
(Highest point in Europe)
(Highest point in Asia)