Why was the USMGA formed?
For years now a number of certified AMGA guides have been working within the AMGA to give professional guides and the public a strong credential which would help guides in their profession and the public in their choice of guides. They have also worked to open up new areas where qualified guides could climb with their clients. A decision was made that this could be best accomplished through another organization which could at times compliment the work of the AMGA and at other times go beyond it.

The USMGA has fulfilled the requirement for a strong guiding credential with its USMGA endorsement. The USMGA endorsement is a solid credential backed by a standard which can be marketed by endorsed guides and will be supported and promoted by the USMGA. The public can rely on it and the USMGA logo as ways to ensure that it climbs with guides who have met an established standard in guiding skills.

The USMGA is also working to increase the options available to climbers wishing to employ a guide by promoting an "access through endorsement" program to land managers. This would allow climbers who wish to climb with a guide who has met a standard to do so in more areas. Currently, there is often only one choice or limited choice of guides and no guarantee of their guiding level.

What's the difference between USMGA endorsement and AMGA certification?
All USMGA endorsed guides are certified by the AMGA, but not all AMGA certified guides are endorsed by the USMGA. The USMGA endorsement is only granted to guides who have proven through a field exam that they meet a national or international standard for guiding in the discipline for which they were examined. This is not true for AMGA certification. Also, an important strength of the USMGA endorsement is that it cannot be confused with other credentials which provide the public with little or no assurance of a guide's skill. AMGA accreditation, AMGA professional membership, and AMGA senior guide certifications are often not fully understood by climbers who often assume these credentials are associated with a guiding standard. They are not.

The USMGA endorsement is the only credential this association grants, it is only granted to guides who have passed an AMGA field exam, and cannot be confused with any other credential.

Why should I hire a USMGA endorsed guide?
The USMGA endorsement is the strongest credential in the US guiding industry. It is the only one that guarantees that a guide meets a standard and it cannot be confused with other credentials which do not do this. If your desire is to climb with a trained guide who has met a standard, look for the USMGA logo (only USMGA endorsed guides can display it) and hire a USMGA endorsed guide.

If I climb with a reputable climbing school, won't this guarantee I climb with a highly qualified guide?
Not necessarily, only if every guide working at that school has been through an exam. Remember, when you are climbing with a guide you are climbing with an individual, not a school. The school through which you have booked may have an excellent reputation, but the individual guide you're climbing with may or may not be guiding at a very high standard. Of course, it's quite possible for a guide who has not been examined to be guiding at a high level. But, do you have the background in guiding to be able to determine this? Unless you are in the business of training and examining guides, it will be very difficult for you to tell. A USMGA endorsed guide has been looked at very closely in exams that can last up to 10 days by guides who do this as part of their living.

Does the USMGA offer formal guide training courses and run exams?
No. The AMGA runs all courses and exams in this country. The USMGA encourages all climbers wishing to guide to take AMGA guide courses and then an exam. Once a climber has successfully passed an AMGA exam to become a guide, the USMGA will grant that guide a USMGA endorsement for the discipline in which the guide was tested. This will give that guide a strong credential to market and will tell the climbing public that the guide is worthy of their business.