Meet the team

The Collective Difference

Cascade Mountain Ascents is a values-driven, worker-owned mountain guiding collective based in Bellingham, WA. At our core, we’re friends who love the mountains and want to make a sustainable career of sharing them with others.

As a collective, we are a democratic workplace where decisions, responsibilities, and profits are shared equitably among members. Worker ownership makes for resilient and competitive companies that center worker, community, and customer benefit.

Our strength is in our members. Many of the lessons we’ve learned in the mountains—collaboration, being adaptable, and managing uncertainty—are foundational to how we operate. We know that businesses and communities thrive when each member’s voice, skills, and talents are respected and supported, so we implement a business structure that does just that. This means that we prioritize high-quality training, building institutional knowledge through worker retention, and professional development opportunities for our members, so that we can provide stellar mountain experiences for you.

Come see what the Collective Difference is all about!

Mike Elges

Mike grew up in a small Colorado town at 9500ft surrounded by mountains. At 18, a passion for snowboarding and desire to stay away from a “real job” landed him at Colorado Mountain College pursuing a degree in Outdoor Recreation Leadership. During this time, he discovered climbing and joined a community of people pursuing mountain craft as a profession and way of life. 

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Zack McGill

Zack grew up in Durango, CO and began venturing into the mountains of the North and South San Juans at an early age. He studied Elementary Education and Communication at the University of Colorado in Boulder and worked for the Colorado Outward Bound School for 7 years – leading long expeditions (15-52 days) throughout the Southwest and Alaska.
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Alyssa Young

Alyssa grew up in Northern California and now calls the North Cascades her home. She is a dedicated backcountry skier and has worked throughout the West as an avalanche educator, outdoor educator, and naturalist. As the Operations Manager at CMA, she works closely with guides and guests to support stellar experiences in the mountains.

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Phil Straub

Hailing from New England, Phil spent the last 16 years pursuing life, research, and work in the mountains. He’s lived in Montana, Arizona, Alaska, Colorado, California, Argentina and now Washington learning about these mountain ranges through backcountry travel, mountain guiding, and scientific research.
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Matt Lubar

Whether in mountain boots, rock shoes, or on skis, Matt is a deep believer in the ability of movement through mountain landscapes to enrich our lives, and thoroughly enjoys sharing the mountains with all his guests. Besides mountain travel, Matt’s passions include soul music, ice cream, and street tacos, preferably all at once.

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Joseph Hobby

For over a decade, Joseph’s dedication to the mountains has awarded him a proficiency in many different styles of climbing including traditional, alpine, ice, and mixed. Joseph’s fondness and contagious devotion to ski mountaineering does not go unnoticed amongst his partners and guests. These passions have led him to the Alps, Canadian Rockies, Alaska, the Himalayas, and many domestic ranges in pursuit of shared climbing and ski objectives.

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Jodi Redfield

Jodi was born and raised in rural Montana where the mountains were her backyard. She grew up going on horse pack trips in the wilderness and going skiing with her dad wherever it fit in around ranch chores. She has a background in Horticulture, a love for education and spent the last 10 winters in the snowiest places of Montana teaching and skiing before migrating further west to explore the glaciers and wild corners of the Cascades. Jodi loves sharing the mountains with people eager to explore, and is always scheming up the next best adventure snack to take on a summer running trip.

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Matt Sellick

Matt is a well-rounded climber and guide. He works year-round in the rock, alpine, and ski disciplines and has guided in Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, California, Mexico, and Canada. He has also climbed in just about every state that has rocks to climb. Matt is as passionate about nutrition as he is about mountains. He cares deeply about the indigenous knowledge of the plants in the areas in which we recreate and is working towards a Masters’s degree in Dietetics. When Matt isn’t guiding, you can find him foraging, cooking, fly fishing, or developing climbing routes.

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Patrick Herrmann

Patrick grew up in Eugene, OR, where his family fostered his love of skiing from the time he could walk. After time in Colorado and Montana, he returned to Cascadia, drawn by the deep maritime snowpack and glaciated peaks of the North Cascades and BC Coast Mountains. Now based in Bellingham, WA, with his wife, he spends winters teaching avalanche education and chasing turns. When he’s not on skis, Patrick explores the islands of the Salish Sea, mountain bikes Bellingham’s renowned trails, and rides motorcycles—all while waiting for the snow to fall again.

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Nick Vincent

After a short stint in corporate America, Nick “Vince” Vincent moved to Vail, Colorado, and embraced the life of a ski bum. Seeking quality time in the mountains, he soon found himself as an intern at the Colorado Outward Bound School. After 7 seasons as an instructor, staff trainer, and semester proctor at COBS, Vince transitioned into guiding, with backcountry skiing and avalanche education being his passion and focus. Moving to Washington in 2018, Vince now calls Bellingham home and is excited to share the Cascades with his guests.

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Lindsey Fritz

Lindsey grew up in Philadelphia where she found her love for the outdoors in a tight knit climbing community. While attending the Pennsylvania State University she was able to explore her love of rock climbing, skiing and mountaineering across the US. After school she found herself working for the Colorado Outward Bound School before moving to Washington in 2020. The Cascades instantly felt like home as she climbed and skied throughout them and began guiding Tahoma (Rainier) and Koma Kulshan (Baker). She now guides throughout Washington and Alaska.

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Ryan Pedersen

Ryan has climbed extensively all over the United States in places such as Yosemite Valley, the Colorado Rockies, the North Cascades, the desert sandstone in Utah, and all over the Northeast. He has also been fortunate enough to travel abroad to experience new places and cultures that offer a variety of climbing opportunities. Most recently, Ryan traveled to climb in the Peruvian Andes, the jungles of Cambodia, and the tall granite walls in Canada. When Ryan is not climbing for work or pleasure, he loves growing veggies in his garden and hanging out with his awesome border collie Lula!

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Jan Osobov

Jan grew up in Moscow, Russia, and Washington State. The summit at Snoqualmie and Alpental is where his love for skiing really began. From there it wasn’t long before he was fully hooked. Year-round he works as an industrial rescue technician. These days, you can find Jan chasing down long spring days in the Cascades or the Eastern Sierras, hunting for buttery corn snow and making the most of those late-season turns. As an AIARE course instructor, he is passionate about teaching others to navigate the backcountry responsibly while also creating cherished memories with friends.
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TripsView All

Ski & Ride

Custom Ski & Ride Trip

Baker Backcountry Skiing and Riding

Mount Baker Ski Descent

Fortune Peak Huts Backcountry Skiing

North Cascades Ski Mountaineering

North Cascades Ski Traverse

Patagonia Volcano Ski Descents

Japan Backcountry Skiing

Rock

Custom Rock Trip

Mt. Erie

Vesper

Mexico Climbing - Izta & Orizaba

Twin Sisters

Alpine

Custom Alpine Trip

Mount Baker Easton Glacier

Women's Kulshan Climb

Mount Baker Coleman Deming

Mount Baker North Ridge

Shuksan Sulphide

Shuksan Fisher Chimneys

West Ridge of Forbidden

Ice Cap Slam

Olympus

Glacier Peak

Vesper

Pickets Traverse

Eldorado East Ridge

Ruth & Icy

Dorado Needle

Mexico Climbing - Izta & Orizaba

Twin Sisters

CoursesView All

Ski & Ride

Custom Ski & Ride Course

Intro to Backcountry Skiing and Riding

Steep Ski Mountaineering

Glaciated Ski Mountaineering

Rock

Custom Rock Course

Gym to Crag

Learn to Lead

Intro to Big Wall

Anchor Building

SPI Course

SPI Assessment

Alpine

Custom Alpine Course

Glacier Mountaineering

Crevasse Rescue

Women's Affinity Crevasse Rescue

Anchor Building

Avalanche

Custom Avalanche Course

AIARE 1

Women's AIARE 1

AIARE 2

Fortune Peak Huts AIARE 2

Women's AIARE 2

AIARE Rescue Course

Avalanche Alumni Mentorship Days

Mike Elges

Mike grew up in a small Colorado town at 9500ft surrounded by mountains. At 18, a passion for snowboarding and desire to stay away from a “real job” landed him at Colorado Mountain College pursuing a degree in Outdoor Recreation Leadership. During this time, he discovered climbing and joined a community of people pursuing mountain craft as a profession and way of life. His early career was spent guiding rock climbing and teaching environmental education in Colorado and New Hampshire. Over the years, climbing and skiing has taken Mike all over the lower 48, Alaska, Canada and Peru.

In 2016, Mike moved to Washington to start a new chapter in his guiding and climbing career among the glaciated summits of the PNW. Bellingham Washington is home and he and his wife have no intention of going anywhere. In addition to working as a fully certified IFMGA/American Mountain Guide in the winter, spring and summer seasons, Mike owns and operates a seasonal business in the fall, Northern Lights Holiday & Event Lighting. This “side hustle” has been a key ingredient in his success as a mountain guide, allowing him work year-round close to home and helping to fund professional development courses with the AMGA & AIARE.

Training & Certifications:
IFMGA Mountain Guide
AMGA Certified Ski Guide
AMGA Certified Rock Guide
AMGA Certified Alpine Guide
Wilderness First Responder/CPR
AIARE Course Instructor
AIARE PRO 2
Leave No Trace Trainer

Zack McGill

Zack grew up in Durango, CO and began venturing into the mountains of the North and South San Juans at an early age. He studied Elementary Education and Communication at the University of Colorado in Boulder and worked for the Colorado Outward Bound School for 7 years – leading long expeditions (15-52 days) throughout the Southwest and Alaska. Colorado was where he began his guiding career working for several small guiding operations as well as the Colorado Mountain School before moving to Bellingham, WA in the spring of 2017. The North Cascades are home now and he’s not going anywhere. 7 months out of the year, you can find him on skis teaching avalanche courses, ski guiding, or dreaming of shredding pow in between rain events. The remaining months, he works as a guide and instructor for everything from alpine rock to glacier mountaineering in the Cascades.

Training & Certifications:
AMGA Certified Ski Guide
AMGA Assistant Alpine Guide
AMGA Apprentice Rock Guide
Wilderness First Responder/CPR
AIARE Course Leader
AIARE Instructor Trainer
AIARE PRO 2
Leave No Trace Trainer

Alyssa Young

Alyssa grew up in Northern California and now calls the North Cascades her home. She is a dedicated backcountry skier and has worked throughout the West as an avalanche educator, outdoor educator, and naturalist. As the Operations Manager at CMA, she works closely with guides and guests to support stellar experiences in the mountains. She’s jazzed on employee ownership and democratic workplaces, and how these structures can underlie excellent outdoors programming. 

Alyssa was introduced to the snow and avalanche world at Prescott College, where she dove headlong into the fields of Environmental Studies, Adventure Education, and Cultural and Regional Studies. She loves the multifaceted nature of avalanche education and guiding and is constantly learning about how people relate to community and place and through mountain travel.

Training & Certifications:
AMGA Alpine Skills Course
AMGA Apprentice Ski Guide
Wilderness First Responder/CPR
AIARE Course Instructor
AIARE PRO 1
Leave No Trace Trainer

Phil Straub

Hailing from New England, Phil spent the last 16 years pursuing life, research, and work in the mountains. He’s lived in Montana, Arizona, Alaska, Colorado, California, Argentina and now Washington learning about these mountain ranges through backcountry travel, mountain guiding, and scientific research. He worked for 7 years with Prescott College instructing avalanche and alpine climbing courses and taught for numerous avalanche centers and schools around the West. His travels also include extensive research in the mountains, focusing on snow science, meteorology and snow hydrology. These days you’ll find Phil seeking out fresh ski lines, splitter cracks, or pouring over weather models trying his best to negotiate with the atmosphere

Training & Certifications:
AMGA Certified Ski Guide
AMGA Assistant Alpine Guide
AMGA Apprentice Rock Guide
Wilderness First Responder/CPR
AIARE Course Leader
AIARE PRO 2
Leave No Trace Master Educator

Matt Lubar

Growing up at the foot of the Rocky Mountains in Boulder, CO, Matt first experienced the wonders of mountain travel via a backpack on his mother's back before he could walk. Though he sadly can no longer fit in a backpack, Matt continues to passionately pursue mountain travel in all its forms. Whether in mountain boots, rock shoes, or on skis, Matt is a deep believer in the ability of movement through mountain landscapes to enrich our lives, and thoroughly enjoys sharing the mountains with all his guests. Besides mountain travel, Matt's passions include soul music, ice cream, and street tacos, preferably all at once.
Training & Certifications:
AMGA Apprentice Ski Guide
AMGA Apprentice Rock Guide,
AMGA Apprentice Alpine guide
AMGA Certified SPI
AIARE Pro 1 Certified
AIARE Instructor
Wilderness First Responder
LNT Trainer

Joseph Hobby

For over a decade, Joseph's dedication to the mountains has awarded him a proficiency in many different styles of climbing including traditional, alpine, ice and mixed. Joseph's fondness and contagious devotion to ski mountaineering does not go unnoticed amongst his partners and guests. These passions have led him to the Alps, Canadian Rockies, Alaska, Himalaya and many domestic ranges in pursuit of shared climbing and ski objectives.

Joseph is an IFMGA Licensed Mountain Guide, Wilderness First Responder, LNT Trainer, Avalanche Instructor and Forecaster. He provides uplifting and zealous experiences for his guests while rock, ice and alpine climbing, backcountry and ski mountaineering along with avalanche instruction. Joseph is based in Salt Lake City, UT and predominantly operates in Utah, Washington, Alaska, Nevada, Colorado but often found in other locations worldwide.

Training & Certifications:
IFMGA Mountain Guide
AMGA Certified Ski Guide
AMGA Certified Rock Guide
AMGA Certified Alpine Guide
AIARE Pro 2 Certified
AIARE Instructor
Wilderness First Responder
LNT Trainer

Jodi Redfield

Jodi was born and raised in rural Montana where the mountains were her backyard. She grew up going on horse pack trips in the wilderness and going skiing with her dad wherever it fit in around ranch chores. She has a background in Horticulture, a love for education and spent the last 10 winters in the snowiest places of Montana teaching and skiing before migrating further west to explore the glaciers and wild corners of the Cascades. Jodi loves sharing the mountains with people eager to explore, and is always scheming up the next best adventure snack to take on a summer running trip.

Training & Certifications:
AMGA Assistant Ski Guide
AMGA Apprentice Alpine Guide
AIARE Course Instructor
WFR/CPR
Avalanche Pro 2
LNT Trainer

Matt Sellick

Matt is a well-rounded climber and guide. He works year-round in the rock, alpine, and ski disciplines and has guided in Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, California, Mexico, and Canada. He has also climbed in just about every state that has rocks to climb. Matt is as passionate about nutrition as he is about mountains. He cares deeply about the indigenous knowledge of the plants in the areas in which we recreate and is working towards a Masters's degree in Dietetics. When Matt isn’t guiding, you can find him foraging, cooking, fly fishing, or developing climbing routes.

Training & Certifications:
AMGA Certified Alpine Guide
AMGA Certified Rock Guide
AMGA Apprentice Ski Guide
AMGA Single Pitch Instructor Provider
AIARE Avalanche Course Leader
AIARE Pro 2
Wilderness First Responder

Patrick Herrmann

Patrick grew up in Eugene, OR, where his family fostered his love of skiing from the time he could walk. After time in Colorado and Montana, he returned to Cascadia, drawn by the deep maritime snowpack and glaciated peaks of the North Cascades and BC Coast Mountains.

Now based in Bellingham, WA, with his wife, he spends winters teaching avalanche education and chasing turns. When he’s not on skis, Patrick explores the islands of the Salish Sea, mountain bikes Bellingham’s renowned trails, and rides motorcycles—all while waiting for the snow to fall again. He’s passionate about helping others develop a process, refine their skills, and gain a deeper understanding of terrain and natural processes that sculpt snowpack and avalanches, all in pursuit of the perfect pow turn.

Training & Certifications:
CAA Avalanche Operations Level 1
CAA Basic Avalanche Educator
CAA Advanced Weather
AIARE Course Instructor
Wilderness First Responder/CPR

Nick Vincent

After a short stint in corporate America, Nick “Vince” Vincent moved to Vail, Colorado and embraced the life of a ski bum. Seeking quality time in the mountains, he soon found himself as an intern at the Colorado Outward Bound School. After 7 seasons as an instructor, staff trainer, and semester proctor at COBS, Vince transitioned into guiding, with backcountry skiing and avalanche education being his passion and focus. Moving to Washington in 2018, Vince now calls Bellingham home and is excited to share the Cascades with his guests.
Training & Certifications:
AMGA Apprentice Ski Guide
AMGA Apprentice Rock Guide
AMGA Apprentice Alpine Guide
AIARE 3 Certified
AIARE Course Leader
Wilderness First Responder
LNT Trainer

Lindsey Fritz

Lindsey grew up in Philadelphia where she found her love for the outdoors in a tight knit climbing community. While attending the Pennsylvania State University she was able to explore her love of rock climbing, skiing and mountaineering across the US. After school she found herself working for the Colorado Outward Bound School before moving to Washington in 2020. The Cascades instantly felt like home as she climbed and skied throughout them and began guiding Tahoma (Rainier) and Koma Kulshan (Baker). She now guides throughout Washington and Alaska. Lindsey loves being able to connect people to the land around them and is passionate about providing inclusive spaces in the outdoors. When not guiding you can find her farming, reading and drinking copious amounts of espresso.

Training & Certifications:
AMGA Apprentice Rock Guide
AIARE Pro 1 Certified
Wilderness First Responder
National EMT
LNT Trainer

Ryan Pedersen

Ryan Pedersen’s experiences as an outdoor educator and youth climbing coach have given him a fresh and unique approach to guiding, which is ideal for climbers transitioning to the outdoors or those who are looking to advance their existing climbing skills. Ryan was born in Massachusetts, where he grew up tromping around New England’s dense forests and rivers. As he got a little older, this naturally progressed into learning to climb in the mountains. Following his desire to pursue a career in the outdoors, he studied Outdoor Education and Psychology at Johnson State College in northern Vermont. He began his formal mountain guide training with the American Mountain Guides Association in 2011 and began guiding single pitch rock climbing. In 2012 Ryan moved to Boulder, Colorado where he has worked as a climbing guide and youth team climbing coach. Ryan has climbed extensively all over the United States in places such as Yosemite Valley, the Colorado Rockies, the North Cascades, the desert sandstone in Utah, and all over the Northeast. He has also been fortunate enough to travel abroad to experience new places and cultures that offer a variety of climbing opportunities. Most recently, Ryan traveled to climb in the Peruvian Andes, the jungles of Cambodia, and the tall granite walls in Canada. When Ryan is not climbing for work or pleasure, he loves growing veggies in his garden and hanging out with his awesome border collie Lula!

Training & Certifications:
AMGA Certified Rock Guide
AMGA Assistant Ski Guide
AMGA Apprentice Alpine Guide
AIARE Pro 2 Certified
AIARE Course Instructor
Wilderness First Responder
LNT Trainer

Jan Osobov

Jan grew up in Moscow, Russia, and Washington State. The summit at Snoqualmie and Alpental is where his love for skiing really began. From there it wasn’t long before he was fully hooked. Year-round he works as an industrial rescue technician. These days, you can find Jan chasing down long spring days in the Cascades or the Eastern Sierras, hunting for buttery corn snow and making the most of those late-season turns. As an AIARE course instructor, he is passionate about teaching others to navigate the backcountry responsibly while also creating cherished memories with friends.
Grizzly, his slightly skeptical but fiercely loyal dog, can often be seen tagging along on summer backpacking trips. Grizzly is a true adventurer at heart—unless it’s snowing, raining, or there’s a stick nearby. Then he’s on a strict no-movement policy. When not adventuring with Grizz, Jan can be found making pizza or eating said pizza.
Training & Certifications:
AIARE Pro 1 Certified
AIARE Course Instructor
Wilderness First Responder/CPR