Jeff Ward, co-owner of NCMG, is a fully certified AMGA and IFMGA licensed Mountain Guide and has been working as a full-time professional mountain guide since 1995.  In addition to working as a guide for NCMG, Jeff is an instructor and examiner for the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA), teaching the next generation of American mountain guides. Jeff lives in Leavenworth, WA with his wife Kristen and 14-year old daughter Allison.

Larry Goldie, co-owner and lead guide for NCMG, has been making a living as a mountain guide for over two decades. He has climbed, skied and guided extensively in the Cascades, with additional experience in the Alps, Sierras, Rockies, Alaska, Canada and Antarctica. In addition to guiding for NCMG, Larry is an instructor and examiner for the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA), as well as an instructor trainer for AIARE, also being one of a select few teaching AIARE Pro 2 courses. With that background, Larry is one of our lead avalanche educators. Larry is an internationally (IFMGA) licensed Mountain guide and AMGA certified guide.

Paul Butler, co-owner of NCMG, has been guiding in the North Cascades for over 17 years. His experience has been a combination of private guiding and working as a Chief Instructor for the Pacific Crest Outward Bound School. His passion for climbing has led to adventures all over the western United States as well as abroad in Ecuador, Patagonia and the Alps. He is a level III PSIA certified Nordic and backcountry ski guide.

Drew Lovell has been basing out of the Eastern Cascades since 2003, where community, weather, rock, and snow have all conspired to help call this place home.

A climbing and skiing guide since 1998, he has worked in the Cascades, the High Sierra, the Chugach, Wrangell, and St.Elias Ranges. Over 20 years of personal experience in alpine climbing and ski mountaineering have delivered Drew to high and wild places from China to Alaska and cultures in between. Educated as a Geologist, Drew has also worked as a Field Biologist, Avalanche Forecaster, Climbing Ranger, and professional Ski Patroller.

Joshua Cole, a co-owner of NCMG, has been adventuring in the mountains for more than 20 years, and guiding since 2004. He has climbed and skied extensively in the North Cascades, Swiss Alps, Italian Dolomites, Sierra Nevada, New Zealand and the ranges of SW Montana. Josh has given trainings and presentations on wilderness risk management to numerous organizations and is a risk management consultant for Experiential Consulting. Josh has worked as a professional ski patroller in Montana and New Zealand, and has a former life as a geologist. Josh works in the North Cascades as a ski, alpine and rock guide for NCMG. Josh is an IFMGA Licensed Guide, and is certified by the AMGA in the Rock, Alpine, and Ski disciplines.

Steph Williams first worked as a guide in 2003 on the glaciers of Alaska’s Wrangell Mountains. Since then she has been privileged to work and play in the spectacular alpine wildlands of India, Iceland, Switzerland, New Zealand, China, Chile, and across western North America. She spent a decade as a professional ski patroller at Stevens Pass, teaches Nordic skiing in the Methow Valley, and surveys the North Cascades wolverines as a field biologist.

A Michigan native, the Pacific Northwest has been home to Steph since 2001. She lives with her husband, Drew, in Twisp.

Karen grew up in Germany. Her childhood dream of becoming a mountain guide took some time to realize while she was busy studying Physics and racing road bikes. Finally, she found her passion for skiing and mountain climbing in Colorado.

She spent many years ski touring the San Juan backcountry in Colorado, racing on the ski mountaineering circuit, and ski patrolling at the Telluride Ski Area where she did avalanche control work and forecasting. She has climbed and skied most of the Colorado Fourteeners, the Grand Teton, and Denali, along with trips to the Canadian Rockies, Alaska, Japan, the European Alps, and the high Andes in Chile.

Karen started guiding in 2009, turning her passion for the outdoors into a profession. She now guides year round in different mountain ranges, from the volcanoes in the Northwest and the snowy Tetons in Wyoming to the beautiful sandstone of Red Rock outside of Las Vegas and the majestic peaks of Alps. She is also an avalanche course instructor for the American Avalanche Institute and is one of the owners of Chicks, her mission is educating and training women to be skilled, self-reliant climbers and skiers.

Ross grew up in Central Washington where his passion for being in the outdoors started at an early age. His previous profession as a Forest Service Smokejumper brought him to the Methow Valley in 2016, and he hasn’t left since.     

Ross’s pursuit of mountain and cultural exploration has taken him from the wilds of the Tien Shan in Central Asia to the Himalaya of Nepal. The North Cascades will always be his favorite place to explore, though, and he never gets tired of venturing into a new part of the range. 

Ross holds an Avalanche Professional Level 1 certification and has taken the Rock, Alpine, and Ski Guides Courses through the American Mountain Guides Association. When he is not out climbing or skiing in the North Cascades, he can be found enjoying life with his partner, Cristina, and their dog, Koda.