Thoughts on AMGA SPI Course

I am considering taking an upcoming AMGA SPI course. I don't plan on doing any guiding in the near future, maybe later on, but I was hoping to pick up on some tips and just learn more. Has anyone done the same and would this be worth the time and money? Thanks for the advice

I agree with the statement above. Your experience may vary based on your provider. People in my course did exactly what you are thinking about and found it worth their while.

AMGA certs are only good for 2 or 3 years, so if you're thinking of guiding "later on", you will need to budget for the refresher/re-cert program. If you just want to learn the skills, then you're good. There is a manual for the SPI course that will contain all the "know how", but there's nothing like hands-on experience to help master new skills.

Unless the AMGA has revamped their SPI course, I would not spend the money. The last one I saw the instructor spent half the day just talking about leave no trace. You could also look into PCGI to see if they are cheaper, or possibly just hire a guide to teach you all of the important stuff with none of the nonsense.

I'm starting to think all these threads started about guiding and the AMGA are just trolls but... I'll bite. The SPI course is, in my opinion, a worthwhile course for the recreational climber who doesn't necessarily plan to guide. I think top access single pitching protocol in recreational climbers, from my observations, has been pretty dismal and if you take away anything from the SPI course, this would be the most valuable. Along with learning about top access cragging learning about pick-offs and more secure climbing practices are pretty important for recreational climbers to understand. You will learn a ton and you will use it every time you're out cragging.

To those folks who say the AMGA SPI course is not valuable if you're not a guide is like saying having a WFR is a waste of time if you're not getting into the medical profession. The WFR is the baseline in medical training if you plan on spending any amount of time in the backcountry.

I would hire a guide personally. Its generally cheaper and I bet you could learn more from a half day guide session than the SPI course. You could end up learning some really cool stuff in a 1 on 1 setting.

Thanks everyone for the replies! I would like to maybe guide for a while after school so this would be a good first step and I think I could learn a lot of useful things from the class.

I believe that anyone who thinks the value of an SPI course may be out weighed by a half day of private guiding has no idea. its 400.00, three FULL days of skills you have never used and someone to personally drill you to see what you can make of your new skill set. It is absolutely worth the money. Do note that if you want to guide in the vertical world and want to work with a reputable company
(Exum, CMS, JHMG, AAI, etc.) you'll need at least the Rock Guide course done. There are plenty of rock guide services out there that have zero accreditation and therefore have minimal no standards for their guides. They just hire folks that have shadowed some on staff guide, didn't really mess anything up and were willing to make $80 a day plus tips. if guiding is a path you want to take, you'll need the SPI course and assessment (two separate things) to meet the minimum for the the Rock Guide course. All very much so worth the cash and time because you walk away with quite the proficiency in managing everything you would need to know. I just did a new staff assessment for their client care and technical skills (I work for a few companies, one of which I get to do this for) in leading clients on rock. If any staff have the minimum requirements via AMGA, they do not have to be assessed. Their certifications or proof of at least the right courses done is all we need to feel comfortable with them. I had a staff with a few different PCGI certs this past assessment and we chose to put him through the assessment since we don't see much from the PCGI. He failed. There were notable things he could not do because he never learned them from the PCGI that he would have if he had done some of our required AMGA course work or certs. Reputable guiding services employ AMGA guides. Maybe this helps.

I'm a climbing guide w only WFR as a cert. I've worked for 2 companies as a guide now, and both had a pretty rigorous in house training. I think your assessment of "reputable" companies only hire AMGA guides is a bit off....

I'll agree with Sam's point above in that not all companies have AMGA guides and still offer top of the line service. Take IMG as an example, one of the leading international guide outfitters does not solely employ AMGA guides. That being said SPI is a great thing to have and it teaches you how to act professionally and safely. A lot of my friends work in industry and only have a SPI. This allows companies to say "All guides are AMGA certified". It's a great thing to have when applying to work as a guide, not to mention it's a great learning experience that I personally gained a huge amount of skills from, most of which pertain to professionalism as opposed to pure climbing skills.