While most of us slave away at a keyboard all day in order to adventure on the weekends, there is an elite group of people that make their living in the outdoors. The guides of this world have what most would consider a life of adventure, every single day.

It seems easy – lead a hike for a day, ski all day and do it all over again the next. But the process to get to that point is often much more intense than the daily practice.

Brad Schalles of Squamish, British Columbia, member of the Canadian Ski Mountaineering Team since 2011, and current guide on many terfs, said that the first step to creating a life outdoors is getting a good foundation.

“My family was pretty was pretty into being outside,” said Schalles. “We were always outside biking and camping, I kind of got my start in backcountry stuff.”

Schalles sticks to skiing for the most part, but also leads hikes through Squamish during the summer months. He decided to make guiding and being outdoors a full time gig when he realized he was spending all his time off to go backcountry skiing. He helped his wife get through school and then decided to make a career change and get into the ski guide program.

The process isn’t simple or cheap, but the end result makes it worth. The Association of Canadian Mountain Guides has a program that Schalles went through in order to become a ski guide, that has a serious amount of prerequisites and steps, including taking a wilderness first aid course and pro avalanche training.

In addition to several courses, you need experience. Before you make money being in the outdoors – you have to spend it to get there. Applicants are expected to have several days of travel in alpine and glaciated terrain. Significant ski descents, time in different mountain ranges, work experience and references all play into whether or not you even are accepted into the program – from there there’s no guarantee you’ll pass.

In addition to having the experience, you have to have a way to get to these places and haul all the gear with it. Having a truck like the Chevy Colorado means that any gear from kayaks to skis will fit on the truck. The in-vehicle 4G wifi makes staying connected during tricky situations no problem, and for guides that have customers ride along, it makes for a comfortable and impressive ride.

Schalles is currently an assistant ski guide, meaning that he passed the program, and is hoping to move forward to become a full ski guide. His end goal, though, is to become a full mountain guide under the International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations, “You can guide any mountainous terrain without supervision and operate really high standard,” said Schalles.

While the process to become a guide is intense and often takes time, patience and hard work – it pays off.

Not only does becoming a guide mean having an adventure every single day, it means spending time with guests who are looking to have a good time. Schalles mentioned that for some guests, climbing to a top of a mountain is a monumental experience in their lives, and being there to help them to the summit proves rewarding.

“I’ve had other jobs and they’ve been okay, but there’s maybe one good day in a week, for this it’s what I love doing during my time off and it’s great to make that into my paying job,” Schalles said. “It’s what I love to do.”

Image courtesy of Brad Schalles