Smuggs Ice Bash Clinics

PETRA CLIFFS CO-OWNER & GUIDE

Andrea is Petra Cliffs’ Co- Owner and Jill of All Trades. She loves teaching folks how to ice climb and takes pride in imparting knowledge and experience people will carry with them for the rest of their lives! She’s got a smile that will keep you warm on those cold days out there and the skills to teach you everything you need to know! Recently she has been competing nationally is some of the nations toughest climbing competitions; Ouray Mixed Climbing Comp and the Bozeman U.I.A.A. North American Ice Climbing Championships.

PETRA CLIFFS CO-OWNER & GUIDE

Steve is Petra Cliffs’ co-owner, Program Director and Head Guide. He has been professionally guiding rock, ice, mountaineering, and ski mountaineering programs since 2001. Steve has a degree in Outdoor Education from Johnson State College and completed a NOLS Outdoor Educators Course for Mountaineering & Rock to kick-start his career as a mountain guide and educator. He has completes several AMGA climbing and Skiing courses and is continuing to pursue becoming a fully certified IFMGA Guide. He is one of the few Northeast AIARE Avalanche Instructors.  No matter what discipline, as long as Steve is tied into a rope or on a pair of ski’s, he’s in his element and loves sharing his passion and knowledge with everyone.

PETRA CLIFFS GUIDE

Be it trad, ice, glacier, or a big burly boulder, David absolutely loves to climb. The only thing David enjoys more than climbing himself is teaching others how to climb. Whether it’s helping others climb confidently and efficiently or teaching the principles of anchor building, David finds special joy in helping his clients experience those “a-ha” moments when everything suddenly clicks. David has climbed extensively throughout New England. He is especially familiar with the crags of Vermont and New Hampshire, where he spends every moment he can find pulling hard on crimps and honing his professional and technical skills to better serve his clients. In addition to New England and North Carolina, David has climbed across the country: in Washington, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Pennsylvania, New York, and Virginia. He especially loves the golden sandstone of Eldorado Canyon, the glaciated peaks of the North Cascades, and the morning mists that rise from the valleys around Linville Gorge.

PETRA CLIFFS GUIDE

Antim graduated from the University of Connecticut with a degree in Accounting. During his time at university he would visit his closest friends in the Burlington area who were attending UVM, and during each visit they would do some climbing around Northern Vermont. He grew to love the area and its abundance of natural beauty and opportunities for adventure. He brought his interest for rock climbing back to Connecticut with him where he sharpened his skills climbing on local “Traprock” boulders, and cliffs. Eventually Antim found his way to living in Northern Vermont, where he fell in love with the sport. Antim has climbed around the country in places like the North Cascades, as well as the dry deserts of Arizona, Utah, and Nevada. Throughout his climbing career he has always wanted to share his knowledge and experience to help others learn and unlock this truly amazing way to appreciate and move throughout nature. It was through mentorship, deliberate research and practice that Antim became a Single Pitch Instructor through the American Mountain Guides Association.

PETRA CLIFFS GUIDE

Climbing since 2010, Evan joined the Petra staff after moving to Burlington to finish his undergrad at UVM. While he believes any climbing is great climbing, you’ll have to twist his arm to get him to clip bolts or pebble wrestle because he’d much prefer to be two pitches up plugging gear all day long. If he’s not rock climbing he’s running, mountain biking, cycling, hiking, skiing, ice climbing, or generally, doing anything that doesn’t involve water (unless that water is frozen of course). Evan enjoys helping new climbers gain the confidence and skills they need to have a great time on the walls. He looks forward to seeing you at Petra Cliffs and hopes to see you at the crags too!

PETRA CLIFFS GUIDE

Dylan is passionate and excited about climbing, introducing other to climbing, and helping climbers learn and practice new skills. He first tried climbing in 2014 on a whim with a friend, and followed that passion to become an AMGA certified Single Pitch Instructor in fall 2019. Dylan’s strengths as a guide are his patience, fortitude, and articulation; and some of his favorite guiding topics are Climbing Photography, Intro to Traditional Climbing, and Mental Training for Climbing. On the wall Dylan likes adventure climbs, hard friction slabs, and no hands rests; and off the wall Dylan likes trailrunning, snowboarding, photography and reading. He is also gay and is enthusiastic to work with LGBTQ+ clients.

PETRA CLIFFS GUIDE

Noah got his start in climbing through ski mountaineering and hasn’t looked back. He is equally happy slotting cams on long multipitch routes as he is traversing the Knifes Edge on Mt. Katahdin with skis on his back. Noah is a certified AMGA Single Pitch Instructor, Wilderness First Responder, Leave No Trace Master Educator and has taken AIARE 1, AIARE Rescue and a NOLS Outdoor Educator Mountaineering course. Noah has climbed extensively in the Shawangunk & Adirondack mountains of New York, Green mountains of Vermont, and White mountains of New Hampshire. Noah has also spent time skiing and mountaineering throughout the cascades and rock climbing in Squamish, BC. Noah enjoys sharing the adventurousness of climbing with clients regardless of their experience or skill level. Helping others to accomplish their goals and develop an appreciation for the minutiae of climbing is what draws him to guiding.

PETRA CLIFFS GUIDE

Anne Nelson learned to climb at the New River Gorge in West Virginia, after feeling inspired by a semester with NOLS. During her undergraduate time at the University of Virginia, she worked as an outdoor trip leader and climbing instructor, co-leading trips to Moab and Jackson Hole in search of new rock. She’s spent time climbing across the country, from Yosemite to the Bugaboos, farming, learning the Persian language, conducting fieldwork in Uganda, only to return to UVA to get her Masters in Urban + Environmental Planning. Anne Nelson now works as the Equity & Engagement Manager for the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission, but in her free time can still be found climbing rocks. As someone who was initially deeply intimidated by the sport of rock climbing, she is most passionate about getting new climbers outside and using climbing as a means for greater connection and awareness, to ourselves, to others, and to the spaces we cherish.

PETRA CLIFFS GUIDE

Jack is a 2020 graduate from the University of Vermont with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science. He is pursuing the AMGA rock guide track and enjoys nothing more than getting outside to go climbing with people. Whether that be introducing someone to a new aspect of the sport or romping up a multi-pitch with a friend. The love he has for introducing someone to climbing comes from his love of outdoor education. His favorite part of outdoor education through climbing is how much it empowers people and puts them more in tune with their natural surroundings. He has experience climbing in places like the canyons of Colorado, Vedauwoo, Joshua Tree National Park, Red Rocks National Reserve, The Blue Ridge Mountains, New York, New Hampshire, and of course Vermont. When Jack isn’t rock climbing he enjoys exploring and camping on the snowy slopes of The White Mountains of New Hampshire. You also may see him biking and hiking around Vermont or ice climbing in Smuggler’s Notch during the winter.

PETRA CLIFFS GUIDE

Paul has been climbing for over 30 years, and guiding for the past 20+ years in New England and the Adirondacks. During his extended apprenticeship in negotiating the vertical environment, Paul has had the good fortune to climb and explore in many corners of the U.S.  Most of his climbing time has been spent thoroughly exploring the multitude of crags, gullies, ice flows, and peaks all over the Northeast. Paul is an AMGA Certified Single Pitch Instructor, and a Wilderness First Responder. Paul spends much of his time outside of guiding and mountain adventures as a high school science teacher and outdoor educator. He thoroughly enjoys the opportunity to work with students of all ages, interests and experience levels. His other passions include hiking, skiing, gardening, woodworking, and the endless tasks of working on a century-old farmhouse in northern Vermont.

GUEST GUIDE

Sterling Mountain Guides Owner/Founder

Mischa found his love for climbing 20 years ago when the Burlington Rock Gym opened in Essex, Vermont, and his father took him to climb outdoors at Cathedral Ledge in New Hampshire. Since then, Mischa has pursued a career in outdoor education and continued to climb in Vermont, out West and around the world. Mischa is certified as a Single Pitch Instructor by the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA), an Outdoor Educator by the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), and is a trained Wilderness First Responder. When he’s not leading climbing trips, Mischa guides at-risk youth through social and emotional struggles as the Outdoor Program Director at a small alternative high school. He serves as the Vice President of the Board of Directors for Vermont’s climbing access non-profit organization, CRAG-VT.

GUEST GUIDE

Isaac is most passionate about sharing the mountain environment with his guests, not only to guide them but to teach them as well. His passion for teaching and for the mountains pair together perfectly for the profession of mountain guiding. If you want to learn, grow and above all have fun, Isaac is your guy. Some of Isaac’s favorite VT ice:
Elephant’s Head Gully, Smuggler’s Notch VT
Blue Room, Smuggler’s Notch VT
ENT Gully, Smuggler’s Notch VT
Float like a Butterfly, Lake Willoughby VT