Vince Anderson

Vince is a third generation native to Colorado and has called the mountains his home for his entire life. He climbed his first mountain at age five and started skiing at eight. When he is not out guiding and having fun, he makes his home in the beautiful mountain hamlet of Ridgway, at the foot of Colorado's San Juan Mountains.


Born in Colorado, Vince climbed his first mountain at age five and has been doing it ever since. Refusing to specialize, he climbs hard in the mountains, on sport mixed routes and at the crag. He'll place and clip bolts where appropriate and protect routes traditionally where appropriate - always respectful of local ethics. In 2002 he competed in the Ice Climbing World Cup events held in Russia, Italy, Austria, Switzerland and Quebec. He finished 6th in the World Championships in Austria. He's guided numerous expeditions in the mountains of North America, South America, Asia and Europe including including: Shishapangma, Denali, St. Elias, Logan, numerous peaks in the Wrangells, Mount Robson, Mount Assiniboine, several 5000 to 6000-meter summits in Bolivia's Cordillera Real, as well as the major summits of the Western Alps. He started skiing at age eight. He competed on the freestyle skiing circuit, has guide heli-skiing in Valdez, and skied from over 7000m on Shishapangma. Vince loves hardcore music, good olive oil, and cooking multi-course meals.

 Since 1998, Vince has been an certified through the International Federation of Mountain Guide Associations (IFMGA). This is the highest level of certification available to mountain guides world wide. Vince is also involved training mountain guides as an instructor and examiner for the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA).

 My rules of the game.

 We all play games, stockbrokers, politicians, prostitutes and even climbers. The rules we choose to play with dictate the style, and the style defines our experience. Being somewhat of an anarchist at heart, I like to think that the rules I use to govern the game of climbing are "that there are no rules," but I know that this is not true. There are rules -- many different types -- and I play by them. Perhaps mine are loosely defined, then again maybe not. Sometimes I even change them to suit my particular event.

 Rule #1: Honesty matters. When I get up in the morning I don't want to be ashamed of who is looking back at me from the mirror. If I play by a different set of rules than someone else I am honest about it. I don't pretend that we are all playing equally.

 Rule #2: Be polite. Style is ultimately a personal choice, but I try to consider how my actions (and words) will affect the experience of others.

 Rule #3: Risk is inherent. Sometimes the rules we play by can be very unforgiving. Death is permanent (I guess this depends on one's personal beliefs), so I'm careful.

 Rule #4: Play the game. To spray without having played should be a crime.

Rule #4: Style Matters. As with every day life, I believe that one must pursue climbing with a sense of virtue and aesthetics. That being said, we should be able to look back at what we have done and be proud of HOW we did it instead of, simply, that we did it. Whatever the climb, whatever the grade, I want to do it  in the best style that I am capable of. If I can not, than I will consider doing something else.

 Rule #5: Have fun!


-Goals/plans for season:

Winter: ice and mixed climbing in Ouray, Norway, the Alps and Canadian Rockies
2007 Ouray Ice Festival Mixed and Speed Competition
Judge for 2007 Piolet d'Or in Grenoble, France

Spring: Attempt new route on Emperor Face of Mount Robson with Steve House, guiding in Alaska and Black Canyon, Instructing AMGA Rock Guides Course and Aspirant Exam in Eldorado Canyon

Summer: Guiding in the Alps, high altitude climbing expedition with Steve House (location to be announced).

Autumn: Instructing AMGA Alpine Guides Exam in the North Cascades, trying to get back into some sort of rock climbing shape

SCARPA boots:
Phantom Lite, size 43
Tornado Pro, size 43
Fairy Boots (for dry-tooling, M-climbing and ice comps), size 42.5
Veloce: size 42