Jed Porter, based in the Sierra, has been skiing for most of his 36 year life, and climbing since 1999. He is a new member of our team of affiliate guides.
How did you start Mountain Guiding and why did you stick with it?
I think I always knew it was what I wanted to do, but didn’t know that it was “a thing”. I remember being a kid and saying I wanted to work in a field that was physically challenging, mentally engaging, outdoors, with people. Can’t think of a better way to check all those boxes.
What have been your three favorite mountains, routes, or trips?
Evolution Traverse, California. Grand Teton ski descent, Wyoming. Any skiing in Alaska. Seriously, anything there. Wind River Range base camp alpine rock climbing.
What motivates you or draws you into your sub discipline of mountain adventure? What parts of skiing or mountain sports have you tried and disliked?
I like doing hard things. It’s not hard to find challenge in the mountains. I’m not that into skiing breakable crust, or climbing any sort of ice. Catch is, you get both of those a lot in my line of work. And I’m painfully positive. So, while I can “enjoy” breakable crust and ice climbing, I don’t really enjoy it. Total nonsense, but so is most of this mountain life.
If you could give any training / improving / ski advice to yourself 5 years ago, what would it be?
It’s Arno Ilgner’s advice. Climb when you climb, and rest when you rest. Try it. It works
If you could only eat one breakfast for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Meat, eggs, potatoes. With Tabasco. No joke. It’s my favorite. A discerning client noted my choice of hot sauce with mock derision. “We’re living in the ‘Golden Age of Condiments’ and you choose Tabasco? Straight outta the ‘80s…” I come by the simple diet naturally. My mom once griped about my Dad. “It’s so complicated cooking for him. He only wants the same thing every day”. It didn’t take long for her audience to point out that it didn’t sound that complicated at all.
