Mark Synnott is renowned in the climbing world for his many big wall and alpine climbing adventures. When he's not in the mountains, Mark works with The North Face Research, Design and Development team. Mark has also worked extensively in the film and television industry, both in front of and behind the camera. His credits include work for National Geographic Television, NBC Sports, Warren Miller Entertainment, and Rush HD. Mark has written many articles over the years and his work has appeared in National Geographic, National Geographic Adventure, Men's Journal, Outside, Climbing, Skiing, New York Magazine and many other publications in the US and abroad. In 2007 he published his first book: Baffin Island: Climbing, Trekking, Skiing.

With 48 years of climbing experience and 26 years working as a guide, Paul Cormier is one of most experienced mountain guides in New Hampshire. In the White Mountains, he has more than 150 first ascents on both rock, ice, and snow, with unparalleled knowledge of our local peaks.

American Avalanche Institute - Level 2

Wilderness First Responder (WFR)

Peak Rescue Institute - High Angle Specialist

Team Leader - Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue (AVSAR)

Member - Mountain Rescue Service (MRS)

Allie Rood grew up in the Mad River Valley of Vermont where a love for winter was born. She moved West and quickly traded her Division 1 ski racing boots for telemark boots and began her lifelong journey as a backcountry ski professional. From her early days in the Wallowa Mountains of Oregon and Crested Butte, CO to a 10 year stint in Jackson, WY competing on the Freeride World Tour and filming for ski sponsors, Allie has a breath of experience skiing and climbing in exposed and steep terrain. The Tetons have been her biggest education, and the experience gained from countless days ascending 6k plus vertical feet is what sparked her long lasting love for ski mountaineering. She also lives for hippy pow turns! After meeting her longtime partner at a small ski club called Temple Basin in New Zealand, she eventually moved to Christchurch, NZ where she calls home when not living in Waitsfield, VT.

Certifications:

• AIARE Pro 1 professional

• SOLO WFA

• Swift Water Rescue Technician

• ACA Level 3 whitewater instructor

Ryan began winter camping and mountaineering in the White Mountains of New Hampshire at the age of sixteen. For some reason, these ill-prepared and terribly executed winter camping trips solidified his love for the mountains. Present day, Ryan has been technical climbing for over a decade and is as excited as ever to get out and ski.

Guiding is an opportunity for Ryan to share his excitement for the mountains and he loves every minute of it. Plus, when you go out for a day with Ryan, you get the knowledge gleaned from his years of making mistakes and suffering needlessly. When not skiing, you can find Ryan trail running and hanging out with his best friend Rupert, who is a dog.

Certifications:

• Wilderness First Responder

• AIARE Level 2

• AMGA Rock Guide Course and Ice Instructor Course

• AMGA SPI Certified

Jim is a native of North Conway, where he learned an appreciation for the mountains at an early age. He was on skis by the age of 4 and started climbing waterfall ice at the age of 14.

In addition to working as a guide for the past 30 years, Jim is one of the world's most accomplished adventure cameramen. He has worked with a diverse portfolio of clients that includes National Geographic, Warren Miller Entertainment, Discovery, MTV, The North Face, Patagonia, Eddie Bauer, Peter Jennings Productions and others. From Mount Everest to Antarctica, Jim has operated cameras in the world's most extreme environments, keeping up with world-class athletes and adventurers to get his shot.

Jim is a team leader for Mountain Rescue Service (MRS) and is a Wilderness First Responder (WFR).

Joe Consavage has been climbing for 20 years and guiding for Synnott Mountain Guides since 2009. He has lived in Alaska, Colorado (skiing many of Colorado's 14,000' peaks), and has traveled extensively across the western United States.

For the past 15 years, Joe has been based in the White Mountains, where he continues to pursue his passion for backcountry skiing, climbing, and mountain running. He has climbed and/or run all of New Hampshire's 4,000' peaks and has skied off 30 of them. Some of his local claims to fame include climbing Cannon Cliff, Pinnacle Buttress in Huntington Ravine, Cathedral Ledge, and Whitehorse Ledge...all in a single 12 hours push, including drive time. He also climbed Thin Air on Cathedral Ledge in 10 minutes.

Joe is currently a Wilderness First Responder (WFR) and has taken the AMGA Rock Instructor and Single Pitch Instructor (SPI) courses. When he's not in the mountains, Joe is a gourmet chef for the White Mountain Cider Company and has an intense passion for cooking. You are in for a treat if you get him as a guide for a course with an overnight.

Corey found his love for mountains at the young age of 8 when he first scaled Mt. Adams in New Hampshire. He has continued to hike and backpack throughout the country. He found his niche of climbing bigger mountains when he visited Mt Rainier for the first time. He has training as a professional photographer, which has only compounded his love for the outdoors and high places. When he is not in the mountains, you can find him on his growing farm in Western Maine with his wife, daughter and 3 dogs.

Certifications

Wilderness EMT

• AIARE Pro 2

• AIARE Level 1+2 Instructor

• AMGA Single Pitch Instructor

• AMGA Apprentice Alpine Guide

• Leave No Trace Trainer

• AVSAR – “Winter Above Treeline Team”

Coby Jacobus was on skis at 3, hockey skates at 4 and adamant at 5 that he preferred an adventure vacation over Disney World. He began alpine skiing in Vermont but transitioned to back country skiing to enjoy the solitude, challenge and untracked powder. He ran Division I cross-country and track at UNH and began enjoying the mountain year round upon graduation. His enthusiasm for the mountains is infectious. Coby enjoys big days in the backcountry, whether it’s linking several ravines in a single day on alpine touring skis, long mountain trail runs or multi pitch rock climbs. Nothing gives him more pleasure though than having his dog Miss Gracie enjoy these experiences with him.

Certifications

• AMGA Single Pitch Instructor

• AMGA Ski Guide Course

• AIARE Pro 1

• SOLO Wilderness First Responder

• Leave No Trace Trainer

With 23 years of climbing experience and 14 years guiding, you will be in good hands with Zebulon. Zebulon has an impressive background with first ascents in Rock, Ice, and Mixed routes scattered everywhere and personal climbing and skiing in Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Colorado, Wyoming, Arizona, California, Canada (Quebec), Mexico, and France.

Certifications/ Developments

• Bachelors of Science (BS) Adventure Recreation (Green Mountain College)

• Wilderness First Responder Since 1998

• Avalanche Level 1 – 2 Trained (AIARE)

• AMGA Rock Instructor Certified www.amga.com

• AMGA Single Pitch Instructor (SPI) Certified

• AMGA SPI Provider and AMGA Climbing Wall Instructor (CWI) Provider

• IKO Snow (level 2) and Powerkite (level 1) www.ikointl.com

• Co-Designer of the Wildthings Snowkite Jacket www.wildthingsgear.com

• Haul System as well as the “Zupe- Munter” hitch.

Garrett is the Backcountry Program Director at Carrabasett Valley Academy and brings over two decades of experience to CVA. After traveling all over the continental US and Canada in search of deep powder and steep descents, he returned to the Valley to foster, and instill, a love of backcountry skiing and riding in future generations. As the trip coordinator and lead guide for Saddleback Mountain, Garrett led uphill ski tours in the winter and guided hiking and paddling trips in the summer. At Sugarloaf, he served as a coach for the Big Mountain Bubblecuffer program, helping 12–16 year-olds interested in touring to safely explore, and navigate, all-mountain terrain. 

Learning how to be safe in the mountains is a pivotal component of Backcountry skiing and riding. Garrett’s experience in rescue operations, as a ski patroller and fire fighter, help him to better prepare the athletes that he works with. His certifications include Wilderness First Responder, Registered Maine Guide, PSIA Level 1, AIARE Level 1 and Avalanche Rescue, Swift Water Rescue Technician, Pro Board Firefighter 1 & 2, and Wildland Firefighter. 

Forrest Bilek learned to ski on the South Island of New Zealand, before moving to the United States at the age of 12 with his parents, where a love for snowy winter bloomed. After flirting with a post-university life in south-west Montana, he returned to his native New Zealand where he immersed himself in the club-run ski world in Canterbury, calling Temple Basin his home. Located in the heart of the Southern Alps, it was an ideal training ground for ski mountaineering expeditions and big mountain skiing. As a director of the New Zealand Snow Safety Institute, Forrest enjoys enabling people to safely enjoy themselves and sharing his knowledge of the mountains. He feels most at home exploring wilderness and observing changing weather and snowpack conditions to find the best ski lines! Forrest moved to Waitsfield, Vermont, in 2022 with his partner to learn how to build their home in the Mad River Valley. When he’s not skiing, he is recreating on the liquid state of water in our rivers and oceans. He also works as an environmental engineer, with a goal of improving the quality of our waterways to keep these playgrounds and ecosystems clean.

Certifications:

• American Avalanche Institute Pro 1

• Wilderness first aid

DesJean Lee is a certified PSIA ski instructor who has taught hundreds of people how to ski. Living in Salt Lake City for 16 years, she spent four winters as a ski patroller gaining hands on avalanche and medical experience in high danger terrain. Jean has biked solo across the US, has paddle boarded the Grand Canyon twice, and has rock climbed and mountain biked hundreds of routes and trails around the United States. Since moving to New Hampshire, Jean has completed the 4000' peaks and has nordic, alpine, and backcountry skied extensively in the White Mountains. Jean is a Justice of the Peace and teaches a full yoga schedule. She lives with her husband, guide Scott Lee, in North Conway. She also loves to garden.

Wilderness First Responder

SOLO School Medical Instructor

AIARE Level 1

Certified Yoga Instructor

PADI Scuba with 200+ dives

Conversationally Fluent in Spanishcription goes here