Meet the Team
Our Full Time and Part Time Guides:
Victoria Garvin
Upward Transitions Founder and Guide
Vic has been passionate about outdoor activities for as long as she can remember. She was raised in Northern California, and spent her winters as a child exploring the Austrian Alps. This is where she became passionate about spending time in the mountains and off-piste skiing. She began outdoor guiding in her teens, taking groups trail riding on horse-back. After moving to Washington for college, she continued in her outdoor pursuits through ski patrolling, backpack guiding, and leading outdoor clubs. She began guiding glaciated mountains and backcountry skiing shortly after.
Through her experiences working for several different companies, she noticed an extreme lack of female representation in leadership, overworked and underpaid guide staff, and therefore less quality experiences for students and clients. She founded Upward Transitions in hopes to create a change in the guiding industry by promoting a better environment for women and underrepresented gender identities, a sustainable career for guides, and quality holistic experiences and education for participants. She is especially passionate about creating access for all in outdoor spaces, and helping aspiring mountain athletes learn new skills to achieve their goals.
Certifications: Registered Nurse (+ACLS, BLS), Outdoor Emergency Care (OEC), Professional Avalanche Training 1 & 2 (PRO 1/PRO 2), AIARE Instructor and Course Leader (ITC + CLT), AMGA Single Pitch Instructor Course, AMGA Alpine Skills Course, AMGA Alpine Guide Course, AMGA Ski Guide Course, AMGA Advanced Ski Guide Course, LNT Trainer.
Sierra Bishop
Upward Transitions Guide
Sierra grew up with the North Cascades as her backyard and was lucky enough to have this beautiful mountain range as her playground, falling in love with backcountry skiing, backpacking, and mountain biking from a young age. These early experiences led her to pursue a career in the outdoor industry – working as a professional Ski Patroller, Ski Guide, and Alpine Guide.
Her love for snow is rooted in giving others access to the backcountry by teaching AIARE avalanche courses, ski guiding and creating women-focused mentorship spaces in Utah and Washington, and previously working as a cat ski guide in Crested Butte, CO.
Certifications: Outdoor Emergency Care (OEC), Wilderness First Responder (WFR), A3 Professional Avalanche Technician 2 (PRO 2), AIARE Avalanche Instructor and Course Leader (ITC + CLT), A3 Professional Avalanche Search & Rescue Course (ProAvSAR), AMGA Ski Guide Course, AMGA Advanced Ski Guide Course, AMGA Alpine Guide Course – Snow, Glacier Module, AMGA Alpine Skills Course, LNT Trainer.
Isabel Masi
Upward Transitions Guide and Environmental Educator
Izzy was raised in Vermont, where she fell in love with the mountains from a young age. She has a unique background in Biology, and has spent time in Argentina doing research. Izzy loves bringing her knowledge of nature and science into her guiding. If you ask her about glacier worms, you will learn about an amazing tiny creature, as well as her screenwriter idea for a “Dune like” thriller movie.
While Izzy brings the brains to our operation, she also carries the most wonderful goofy and loving personality. She cares deeply about each person that she meets, and makes a huge effort to make everyone feel seen.
Izzy has been guiding in the Pacific Northwest for four years. She is an avid mountain biker, ski mountaineer, and all-around athlete.
Certifications: BS in Biology, Environmental Researcher, AIARE Level 1, AIARE level 2, AIARE Avalanche Rescue Course, AIARE Pro 1, Wilderness First Responder.
Avery Stolte
Upward Transitions Guide
Avery grew up in foothills of Southwest Virginia where she found her interest in the outdoors at a young age exploring the Appalachian mountains out her backdoor. After high school, she packed up her things and moved to Quito, Ecuador to receive her undergraduate degree in International Relations and Environmental Management. Throughout her four years in the Ecuadorian Andes, Avery found her love for mountaineering and climbing. Since then, she has spent time exploring peaks from Ecuador to the Pacific Northwest and everywhere in between. Her love for sharing time in the mountains with others has led her to pursue a career in guiding.
In her down time Avery can be found reading, practicing yoga and spending time with her friends and family!
Avery splits her time between Mount Rainier and the North Cascades.
Certifications: Wilderness First Responder (WFR), AIARE Pro 1, AMGA Alpine Skills Course, LNT Level 2 Instructor, AMGA Alpine Guide Course, PSIA 1
Hannah Cangilla
Upward Transitions Guide
Hannah currently calls the Teton Range of Wydaho home, and comes out to Washington in the summers. She loves trail running, swimming in alpine lakes and foraging for edible plants with her partner in between climbing trips. Winters are spent teaching avalanche education courses and chasing pow through the Tetons and Japan, an ideal day combining skiing and soaking in warm water.
Hannah grew up in Colorado, spending summers at camp near Rocky Mountain National Park and learning to ski in the Colorado Rockies. While living on the east coast and earning a bachelor degree in an Environmental Science and GIS, Hannah found climbing. This sparked a lifelong love for nature and the mountains. Hannah moved back to the west and began guiding in 2021, focusing on women's and queer spaces in rock climbing. She believes the mountains are for everyone and that time in nature can teach us the deepest lessons about the world and about ourselves.
Certifications: BS in Environmental Science, minor in Geospatial Intelligence , Wilderness First Responder (WFR), AIARE PRO 2, AIARE Rec Avalanche Course Instructor, AMGA Apprentice Ski, Rock and Alpine Guide.
Eliza Donahue
Upward Transitions Guide
Growing up in the high desert of northern New Mexico, Eliza loved the mountains from a young age. She began working in outdoor education in Montana in 2017 and was immediately enamored with helping others get outside, whether on water, snow, or rock. Her work has taken her across Montana, into Idaho and Wyoming, and finally, guiding on Mount Shasta, CA, and now in the North Cascades. In the winters, Eliza is a full time professional ski patroller at Bridger Bowl and teaches avalanche courses on the side. She is a passionate believer in the importance of mentorship and equity in outdoor spaces, and loves getting outside with other women, trans, and nonbinary individuals. She has lived in Bozeman, Montana for the past nine years.
Certifications:
AIARE Pro 1, AIARE Level 1, 2, & Companion Rescue, AIARE Wilderness First Responder, NREMT
Brian Johnson
Upward Transitions Guide and Logistics Coordinator
Hailing from upstate New York, Brian's climbing journey commenced in his early years, sharing adventures with his parents. He initiated his guiding career in 2013, embracing summers in Colorado while completing his undergrad studies at the University at Buffalo. Post-graduation, the magnetic allure of Moab, Utah's sandstone walls beckoned, propelling him into full-time guiding.
With a heart for exploration, Brian has embarked on numerous international climbing expeditions, which led him to ascend and ski some of Central and South America's most revered volcanoes. However, Brian's passions extend beyond the climbing. When he's not in the mountains, you might find him strumming a guitar, sailing, or solving puzzles/riddles.
Brian founded Access the Alpine after recognizing the potential for guiding companies to be more than just transactions; they can be vessels of sustainability, client-focused camaraderie, and genuine care.
Certifications: AMGA Certified Rock Guide, AMGA Single Pitch Instructor and Instructor Trainer, AMGA AIARE Level 1 + 2 + Avalanche Rescue Course, Professional Avalanche Training (PRO 1), AMGA Alpine Guide Course, AMGA Ice Instructor Course, LNT Trainer, Wilderness First Responder