Michael is a talented teacher and leader who began working with AMS in 2016, where he guides Denali expeditions and teaches courses. He is known for his patience, good humor, and full technical climbing skill set. Climbing and mountain travel are second nature to Michael, who began technical climbing in his youth in the Cascades Range in Washington State. His background is rich and varied: he was a climbing ranger on Mt. Rainer and taught rigging courses. Michael has many notable climbs under his belt: Yosemite’s El Capitan: Zodiac (A3 VI 5.7-5.10) and Washington Column: Astroman (1000′ V 5.11c); Montana’s Sphinx Mountain (1500’V WI5 M4); Mount Rainier’s Mowich Face (9200′ IV AI 3-4); Hyalite Canyon’s Maid of the Mist Mountain, Maid of Choss (first ascent, 600’WI5+ 5.9); South Early Winter Spire’s Hitchhiker (900’IV 5.11b); Juno Tower’s Clean Break (1500’V 5.10c); and Liberty Bell’s Liberty Crack (1200’V 5.11 C2); as well as two trips in Nepal to Rolwaling and Khumbu. Among his many talents, Michael is proficient in Spanish; he speaks and understands German. He has a BS in Earth Sciences with a snow emphasis from Montana State University. His certifications include EMT, AMGA Alpine Skills, Rigging for Rescue, NPS Rescue helicopter crewmember, and Avalanche II.

Coming to AMS in 2007, Larry’s extensive experience guiding Denali expeditions and instructing mountaineering courses for the school makes him a valuable asset. As a year-round professional mountain guide, he spends an impressive average of 150 days per year in the field. When not working for AMS, Larry leads high-altitude expeditions on Aconcagua in Argentina and on Mt. Vinson in Antarctica. He also guides multi-day raft-based fly fishing trips in remote parts of western Alaska. To thaw out from his time in the mountains, Larry can be found exploring far-flung tropical locations with his partner and his son.

A long-time AMS guide, Josh is our Operations Manager and is based at our headquarters in Talkeetna. He oversees expedition and course management, including fieldwork, briefings, communications, staffing, and strategy. He joined the school in 2006 and has been guiding Denali expeditions and custom technical climbs, instructing mountaineering and skills-specific courses, and working on film production assignments ever since. Along with his work at AMS, Josh works during the (Alaskan) winter months as a mountain guide in Antarctica and as an adjunct faculty member for Alaska Pacific University, his alma mater. In his spare time, when not guiding or exploring Alaska’s wilderness, Josh can be found playing music and inventing some of the greatest forms of punctuation, like the Question mark.

A lifelong climber, Michael spent his childhood in the Teton Range of Wyoming, the San Juan Mountains of southern Colorado, and the Himalayas. He came to AMS in 2013 and currently guides Denali expeditions and instructs mountaineering courses for the school. He holds an impressive resume of big mountain and technical climbs, including the fourth ascent of the Fathers and Son’s Wall on Denali, the Goat’s Beard Grade 5 ice climb in Washington State, and Mera Peak in Nepal, where at 10 years old he accomplished a complete snowboard descent. Along with his work for AMS, Michael guided in Grand Teton National Park and has taught at the Khumbu Climbing Center in Nepal as a lead mountaineering instructor. A professional mountain skier and avid skateboarder, Michael travels extensively as a professional athlete with Arc’teryx.

When she’s not helping coordinate your expedition/course/workshop/custom program here at the AMS office, Amanda can be found climbing, fishing, traversing, and paddling her way through Alaska’s wilderness. Amanda has worked with AMS since 2014 and has a BA in Child and Family Studies. She was raised in the deep south of Charleston, SC, where she was first introduced to rock climbing and outdoor pursuits in the Smoky Mountains. Despite Talkeetna being her home base since 2010, Amanda is on a continual quest to find North America’s warmest and loneliest long-boarding wave. Amanda climbed to 14,200 ft on Denali’s West Buttress and completed a glacier travel and crevasse rescue workshop with AMS, so she has firsthand experience to help answer your climbing questions.