Martin is the founder and owner of Pro Ski and Mountain Service and Pro Guiding Service and is an IFMGA certified Swiss Mountain Guide. He was born and raised in Switzerland in the village of Stalden outside Zermatt. This is where he received his formal training as a Swiss Mountain Guide. Martin moved to the Seattle area in the late 1980's. He worked as an instructor/examiner for the AMGA ski mountaineering program. Martin guides all facets of mountaineering. He has authored and co-authored several books on backcountry skiing and he was the recipient of the AMGA life time achievement award for mountain guiding in 2016.

IFMGA Certified Mountain Guide

AIARE Course Leader

Eddie is an IFMGA / American Mountain Guide with a problematic dependency on good coffee and pizza. From Denali to Hokkaido, he loves to share the amazing breadth of experiences across rock, snow, and ice that the world’s mountains offer up. Having worked in the Tetons, Colorado’s Front Range, Japan, and Alaska, no place has captured his love and imagination quite like Washington’s Cascades. The art of moving through the mountains is a life-long pursuit, and Eddie loves sharing what he has learned so far with each and every guest no matter the medium.

IFMGA Certified Mountain Guide

AIARE Course Leader

Skier, climber, adventurer, avalanche educator, military veteran, and currently pursuing training to become an AMGA/IFMGA guide, Doug began his lifelong love of adventuring and building friendships in the mountains at a young age in his hometown of Ketchum, Idaho. Working towards guide certification with his mentors in the guide community and at Pro Guiding Service has allowed Doug to turn his passion for teaching and sharing experiences in the mountains into a profession. Throughout his life, the mountains have always played an integral role in providing experiences and building friendships as Doug pursued challenge, mastery, stoke, and connection. Doug’s personal and professional work have allowed him the good fortune to ski and climb on five continents.  In his spare time, you can find him seeking out stoke in the mountains with friends.

AMGA Ski Guide

AMGA Apprentice Alpine Guide

AIARE Course Leader

Berndt grew up skiing and snow camping with his family in Alaska. When he isn't climbing or skiing with his family, he enjoys taking time to share his love of outdoors with others. He has been guiding since 2015 and is an AMGA Single Pitch Instructor and Apprentice Alpine/Rock Guide. He has hiked, skied, climbed throughout North America and Europe. His favorite indoor activities include listening to his kids play the piano and watching reruns of the Office with Erin.

AMGA Single Pitch Instructor

AMGA Apprentice Rock Guide

AMGA Apprentice Alpine Guide

Rinaldo is a IFMGA certified Swiss mountain guide and guides in the Alps, Canada and the US in all facets of mountaineering. He currently lives in Grindelwald at the base of the Eiger Nord Wand.

I’ve been guiding for almost 30 years all around the Alps, taking care of three wild boys and hope to check out Martin’s new coffee machine at the shop in North Bend.

IFMGA Certified Mountain Guide

AIARE Course Instructor

Alex grew up in the San Juan Islands of Washington where he had a passion for sailing and  being on the water. He studied outdoor recreation at Western Washington University and then traded it all in for the mountains and hasn't looked back. Alex has guided on the slopes of Mt Rainier, in the Alaska Range, and throughout the Cascades. He works in the mountains year round as a guide in the summer and a ski patroller at Stevens Pass in the winter. In his free time you will find him climbing and skiing in the mountains with friends or tinkering in the shop.

AMGA Apprentice Alpine Guide

AMGA Apprentice Rock Guide

AMGA Apprentice Ski Guide

AIARE Course Instructor

Ben has been with Pro Guiding Service since 1999. He achieved certification as an AMGA Ski Guide in 2001, and is also an AIARE Course Leader. Ben has a passion for the mountains of Washington state, which he shared as a contributing author of “Backcountry Ski and Snowboard Routes - Washington.” He has guided in British Columbia and Alaska as well. He lives in Seattle, where he also works as a firefighter/EMT.

AMGA Ski Guide

AMGA Single Pitch Instructor

AIARE Course Leader

Mike is an AMGA certified ski mountaineering Guide and an aspiring AMGA alpine guide. He manages the K2 Telemark and Backcountry program and has starred in numerous ski films. Mike is a former mogul specialist on the US freestyle Ski Team.

AMGA Ski Guide

Joe was born and raised in Washington, and although he's traveled and skied all over the western United States, Europe, and South America, the deep snowpack and steep skiing of the Washington Cascades keeps him coming back. Joe is an aspiring AMGA Ski Guide and an AIARE Instructor. He winters, ski guiding for Pro Guiding Service in the Alpental Valley, Crystal Mountain and the North Cascades, and summers on Mt. Rainier guiding for RMI. When he comes down from the hills he can typically be found in a wetsuit, cold, somewhere on the Washington coast.

AMGA Apprentice Ski Guide

AIARE Course Leader

Dave is an aspiring ski mountaineering guide and is pursuing AMGA certification. He grew up in the northwest and lives in North Bend, Washington. He learned to ski and climb in the cascades and spends his time exploring new ski descents and climbing routes.

AMGA Apprentice Ski Guide

AIARE Course Instructor

Joe grew up in the Snoqualmie Valley. His introduction to the outdoors was through skiing at Alpental and exploring the forests and rivers of the valley. When Joe was 8 years old, he did the Kids Rock Camp with PGS where he first experienced climbing. It wasn’t until his college years in Montana that he started climbing regularly. He enjoys all mountain pursuits, from desert rock climbing to snowy alpine climbing. Some of his favorite places to explore are: the Cascades of Washington, the Wind Rivers in Wyoming, the San Juans of Colorado, and the Alaska Range. Joe has been Guiding/Instructing since 2019 and is pursuing AMGA Certification. He is also an AIARE Instructor. Joe’s super power is the ability to make large amounts of food disappear, especially sweets.

AMGA Rock Guide

AMGA Assistant Alpine Guide

AMGA Apprentice Ski Guide

AMGA Ice Instructor

Morgan grew up in Denver, Colorado and spent most of her childhood playing in the Rocky Mountains. She started skiing at the age of 3, and quickly found a love for the sport through competitive alpine racing. After completing a Bachelor of Engineering degree at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, Morgan moved to Washington in 2019 and since has fallen in love with the jagged Cascade peaks and lush green PNW forests. In addition to guiding Morgan ski patrols at Crystal Mountain in Washington and teaches avalanche education courses. While Morgan loves peaking mountains and skiing technical lines, she is particularly passionate about the accessibility and inclusion of avalanche education and winter backcountry sports. When she isn't chasing snow, Morgan spends her time singing in a band with fellow patrollers, dancing, sewing 5-panel hats, baking sourdough bagels and jumping into cold bodies of water.

AIARE Course Instructor

Craig is an IFMGA Guide that has worked in the outdoor industry for over 20 years. Beginning as a National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) instructor where he accrued over 100 weeks in the field, Craig is passionate about helping others foster deep and meaningful connections to wilderness. From a 40 day canoe expedition in Australia to climbing unnamed peaks in Alaska, Craig's penchant for adventure has taken him to some unique places. He is a recipient of the American Alpine Club, Copp-Dash Inspire Award and the Gor-tex Shipton-Tilman grant for his expedition to the remote Neacola Range of Alaska where he established multiple first-ascents, traveling on handmade wooden skis and pack-rafting 70 miles to the ocean. Throughout his guiding career, Craig has continued to merge his artistic and outdoor passions. In 2017, Craig assisted a paraplegic climber ascend El Capitan, and produced an award winning film telling the story. Craig is also a proud father, runs a small art business (www.muderlakart.com) and regularly carries art supplies into the mountains.

IFMGA Certified Mountain Guide

AIARE Course Leader

Tim Scharks is a full-time professor of geography and part time trekking/mountain guide. He comes to Pro Guiding Service with extensive experience on Kilimanjaro, having summited seven times over the past 20 years. His high-altitude experience spans the globe, from Mt. Elbrus in Russia, to multiple summits of the volcanic giants of Ecuador, to Alaska’s Denali. In addition to his experience leading groups to high elevations, Tim has studied the environment and culture of the Kilimanjaro region extensively, including leading two study abroad courses around the mountain’s base. 

Josh is an assistant alpine guide and AMGA Single Pitch (rock climbing) Instructor. Born and raised in Washington, for the last 20 years he’s been mountain climbing, and periodically guiding, and volunteering for mountain rescue.
When he’s not guiding, you’ll still find him outside. His favorite activity is peak bagging, but you’ll also find him trail running, mountain biking, kayaking, SUP’ing, or surfing. Josh loves to explore the mountains and to share it with others. He says that when he takes people on a trip, it’s like he gets to see places for the first time again, through their eyes. He believes that being in the mountains forces presence. It makes it easy to “be here now” and live in the current moment. That’s the reason he likes most to spend his time in the mountains and especially to share it with others.

AMGA Certified Alpine Guide

Single Pitch Instructor

Jeff grew up in the Northeast but his passion for mountain pursuits steered him to Colorado and ultimately to Washington in 2013. Jeff's first foray as a snow professional was at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research in 2010 while earning his Bachelor's degree from CU Boulder. He is a full time guide in ski, alpine and rock disciplines undergoing the credentialing process of AMGA (American Mountain Guide Association) Full Certification. His personal aspirations have taken him rock climbing, alpine climbing and skiing in various countries with a small handful of first ascents/descents in China and Canada. In his free time, he enjoys skiing and exploring the wild spaces Washington has to offer. Jeff loves to share his passion for skiing and climbing with others; especially while helping them achieve their mountain goals.

AMGA Assistant Ski Guide

AMGA Apprentice Rock Guide

AMGA Apprentice Alpine Guide

AIARE Course Instructor

Pam grew up romping around the foothills of the Appalachians in Pennsylvania; she slowly moved westward until ending up in Washington in 2018. She has always been keen on the outdoors, but the rugged beauty of the PNW deepened her love of the  mountains. She enjoys big days with lots of mileage (and scrambling!), frollicking through glade runs on her snowboard/splitboard, and anything that involves getting her hands on some rocks.

Jodi grew up in the frozen north of Minnesota and has now lived in the North Bend area for over 25 years. After earning undergraduate and graduate degrees in Iowa, she started her move west doing postdoctoral research at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Her westward march continued with multiple biotech jobs in the Puget Sound area. Although her educational background is organic chemistry, she has worked most recently managing the ski and bike shop at the Issaquah REI store. All things snow interest her, but backcountry and Nordic skiing top the list. She tolerates summer by cycling, hiking, backpacking, and occasionally tubing the Middle Fork!

Gina co-owns Pro Guiding Service with her husband, Martin Volken. Aside from having to put up with him, she handles much of the administrative work for both Pro Ski and Mountain Service and Pro Guiding Service. She also works together with the office staff to help ensure our trips and courses run smoothly.