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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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.
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
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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. 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 to work for Baker Mountain Guides. 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.
Certifications:
Wilderness First Responder/CPR
AIARE Course Leader
AIARE PRO 2
AMGA Certified Ski Guide
AMGA Certified SPI
AMGA Apprentice Rock Guide
AMGA Apprentice Alpine Guide
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.
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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. 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.
Certifications:
Wilderness First Responder/CPR
AIARE Course Instructor
AIARE PRO 1
AMGA Alpine Skills Course
Leave No Trace Trainer
Phil Straub
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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. 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
Certifications:
Wilderness First Responder/CPR
AIARE Course Instructor
AIARE PRO 2
AMGA Assistant Ski Guide
AMGA Assistant Alpine Guide
AMGA Apprentice Rock Guide
Leave No Trace Master Educator
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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Matt Lubar
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, the Himalayas, and many domestic ranges in pursuit of shared climbing and ski objectives.
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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, 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.
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.
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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.
Certifications:
AMGA Apprentice 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.
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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.
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
Chris Martin
Chris Martin has been exploring since the day skis landed on his feet. As an inlet to adventure, skiing grew the seed. Chris is inspired by sharing and teaching the skills necessary to achieve your dreams of a lifetime in the mountains. Chris has pursued his personal passions as well as guided climbing and skiing from South America to Alaska. Chris Martin is an Internationally Certified Mountain Guide who achieved IFMGA Mountain Guide Licensure in 2022. Chris has gained experience in rescue, working with the National Park Service through Search and Rescue on Denali.
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Chris Martin
Chris Martin has been exploring since the day skis landed on his feet. As an inlet to adventure, skiing grew the seed. Chris is inspired by sharing and teaching the skills necessary to achieve your dreams of a lifetime in the mountains. Chris has pursued his personal passions as well as guided climbing and skiing from South America to Alaska. Chris Martin is an Internationally Certified Mountain Guide who achieved IFMGA Mountain Guide Licensure in 2022. Chris has gained experience in rescue, working with the National Park Service through Search and Rescue on Denali. Knowing the reality of life in the mountains has allowed the necessity of humility, daily intention, and driving a lifelong passion to teach risk assessment and calculated mountain travel. When he's not guiding he is enjoying his life at home in Crested Butte, CO with his wife Ashley and dog Asa while pursuing personal goals throughout the mountain ranges he's drawn to.
Certifications:
IFMGA Mountain Guide
AMGA Certified Ski Guide
AMGA Certified Rock Guide
AMGA Certified Alpine Guide
AIARE Pro 2 Certified
AIARE Course Leader
Wilderness First Responder
LNT Trainer
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.