Week 10 & completion Matt Dooley SWS Mountain Guides

7-27-11
Final kick to complete all repairs on tents. All tents are labeled good if nothing is wrong with a small piece of red tape. Glad this is finally done for winter.

7-28-11
Today I went through all MSR stoves both high altitude and international stoves to make sure fuel lines, pumps, and jets were clean and working properly. All stoves completed to be used again next season.

7-30-11
Cleaned the insanely nasty tomato sauce spill in the fridge that has been there for a week. Thanks KC and or Crit. Cleaned front porch behind locker and put inside locker stuff in garage and straightened up the garage. Fixed front poster hanging behind the locker out front for the public to see. File paperwork into correct folders. Vacuum entire house.

8-1-11
Cleaned all spider webs inside the house with a soapy wash rag on a pole and outside in the eves of the house. Cleaned windows with Windex inside and out around the entire house. Cleaned out and vacuumed the locker box so it it could be eaten off of. Did all of the laundry in the house downtown in the 24/7 laundry place. Cleaned out front room and reorganized misplaced items. Cleaned behind the couch as the spider has been eating everything and sorry fellah but you had to go to mr. spider. Started an article for Dave to be put in the next SWS newsletter.

8-2-11
Last day at work. Got up on the roof early to try to eliminate a small leak problem we have been having. Spread roofing compound all over to hopefully eliminate the problem. Finished SWS article. I would like to conclude this school write up with the newsletter I have written.


Intern review for SWS Mountain guides by Matt Dooley, Summer 2011.

I would first like to start this article with a big thank you to David Cressman for allowing me to have such a great summer internship opportunity and in the past ten weeks allowing me to gain just a glimpse of what it is like to be a mountain guide. Although this internship opportunity had both its ups and its downs, in the end it was a great learning experience. Some of the most significant things I learned during the past ten weeks were client interaction and making the initial first impression by setting the bar high for myself and for the image of SWS Mountain Guides. Although at times I was absolutely clueless on what to do, I would simply act the role by pretending what to do and shine the light to an experienced SWS guide.

My day to day routine in the office included house chores and the constant upkeep on gear and equipment. The equipment I despised the most during this experience was the tents. Constant rips, tears, and crampon punctures to fix. My love hate relationship with Seam Grip and white Duct tape would somehow make my days go by faster. My schedule was fairly flexible and laid back thanks to Dave. There was no consistent set times of when to show up to work or when to leave which suits me and my personality very well. That being said, I work my hardest to get things done both fast and most importantly the right way. Thanks to Dave and his intern chore lists for me it always kept me on track and so glad to cross something off the list for the day. I would typically show up around 9:00 am and leave mid afternoon working typically six days a week on the average. Weekends were different as I would show up at 7:30 am on Saturdays and on Sundays I would show up after lunch to help with returning trips.

My experience was not limited to the office. All of the chores were finally worth it as I was able to shadow a few trips on the mountain. A big thank you to Brady, Crit, Tim P and Tim K for taking me under their wings and for being great teachers on the mountain and allowing me to shine on in attempt to gain some knowledge by being more than just an intern/client. Whether it be digging in a tent, cooking a meal, or putting crampons on clients, it was all a great learning experience. A big thank you to Crit to allow me to ‘learn by experience’ as I forgot the MSR stoves and had to walk back down the mountain to get some from the office. Thanks Crit for teaching me humility, and I will probably never forget the stoves again!

To all SWS Mountain Guide staff I thank each of you for teaching me all the little tricks of the trade in your own professional way, from coiling rope, tying knots, client interaction, and gear talk. I would like to conclude this article with a quote that stuck to me from Neil Woodruff “Hey you lazy fucks, get off the couch and help me clean!” Once again thank you Dave and all SWS Mountain guide staff members for allowing me to have a wonderful internship.