The difference is in our guides.
We strive to…
provide top-notch experiences to clients and to create an open community for people of all ages and races to enjoy the great outdoors. Our mission here at WMG is to provide the best guiding service, climbing experience, and fun to anyone who is willing to learn and experience better. WMG is here to help others gain their full potential through climbing. WMG thrives for clients to experience new things, create new perspectives and enjoy the physical and mental challenges along the way.
WMG’s goals are to create amazing experiences, friendships, and to give back as best we can.
Meet WMG
John Willard
Founder & Lead Guide
-
John was born in Singapore but moved to the state of Massachusetts in 2000 at the age of 5 and is the youngest of 6 boys. Moving to the United States is where his love of sports and athletic activities began. Playing football for 10+ years, he got the chance to understand what being a part of a team meant and learned many life lessons through the sport. Hard work and determination are ingrained into his DNA.
Coming from a low-income family, outdoor activities such as climbing, hiking, snowboarding, mountaineering, etc. were out of the question as a youth. It wasn’t until the age of 13 where John fell in love with the outdoors when he got his first snowboard. This began his journey of understanding there’s more to life and that being outdoors was the answer. Climbing didn’t come into the picture until an intro to climbing course in college by his college professor, Dr. Benjamin Mirkin. As John was signing up for classes, Ben said “you look like a climber, you should sign up” and John went with it and got instantly hooked. The physical and mental aspects of climbing is what John loves the most about climbing. Being able to understand the risks and ways to mitigate them is what makes climbing such an amazing sport, activity, or hobby. It helps you to tap into your brain and understand that your brain can be your worst enemy. Telling yourself you can’t do something puts a limit on what can be done! Ice climbing and rock climbing are the two areas of climbing that John enjoys the most. Being able to share a rope with a first-timer and see them overcome fear and anxiety is such an amazing experience to share with someone.
John has climbed, hiked, and backpacked in numerous states across the United States and has worked in the Cascades guiding on bigger mountains and objectives. Mount Baker, Mount Shuksan, Mt. Olympus, Silver Star Mountain, Ingalls Peak, The Tooth, Forbidden Peak, and various routes on the Liberty Bell group in Washington Pass, just to name a few! The east will always be home for John and guiding rock, ice, mountaineering, hiking, and backpacking. Cathedral Ledge, Whitehorse Ledge, and Mount Washington Valley is where John loves to climb and guide. John is a big advocate for continuing education and will continue to gain certifications through the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA).
-
AMGA Certified Ice Instructor
AMGA Assistant Rock Guide
AMGA Apprentice Alpine Guide
AMGA Single Pitch Instructor (SPI)
Wilderness First Responder
CPR Certified
Leave No Trace Master Educator
AIARE Level 1 and Rescue Course
AIARE Level 2
B.S in Outdoor Education, Leadership and Tourism
Minor in Photography, Northern Vermont University- Lyndon
-
Repentance, III, WI5 M4-5, Cathedral Ledge, NH
The Black Dike, III, WI5 M3-4, Cannon, NH
Geographic Factor, WI5, Rumney, NH
Within Reason, WI5, Frankenstein Cliff, NH
Mindbender, II, WI5+, Lake Willoughby, VT
Bullwinkle, II, WI5+, Lake Willoughby, VT
Glass Menagerie, II, WI5, Lake Willoughby, VT
Crazy Diamond, II, WI5, Lake Willoughby, VT
The Last Gentleman, IV, WI5, Lake Willoughby, VT
Twenty Below Zero, II, WI4+, Lake Willoughby, VT
West Ridge of Forbidden Peak, North Cascades, WA
Mount Shuksan via Fisher Chimneys and Sulphide Glacier, North Cascades, WA
Mount Olympus via Blue Glacier, Olympic National Park, WA
Mount Baker via Easton Glacier and Coleman-Deming Glacier, North Cascades, WA
Clean Break, IV, 5.10c, Juno Tower, WA
Northwest Face Remsberg Variation, III, 5.10d, Liberty Bell, WA
Serpentine Crack, III, 5.11c, Liberty Bell, WA
North Chimney, III, 5.9, Castleton Tower, UT
Durrance, III, 5.7+, Devil’s Tower, WY
Duet Direct, 5.10+, Cannon Cliff, NH
Moby Grape, III, 5.8 PG-13, Cannon Cliff, NH
Terror of Tiny Town, 5.11a, City of Rocks, ID
Singapore, 5.11a, City of Rocks, ID
Jolly Rancher, 5.10, Indian Creek, UT
Cosmic Wall, III, 5.6R, Northern CA
Bourbon Street, III, 5.8+, Red Rocks, NV
Ginger Cracks to Blade Runner, IV, 5.10b, Red Rocks, NV
Next Century, II, 5.10d, Red Rocks, NV
Yin and Yang, 5.11, Red Rocks, NV
West Face, Three Gossips, Arches, UT
Lonely Virgil, Lighthouse Tower, Moab, UT
Cindy Su
Guide
-
Cindy was born and raised in Massachusetts and didn’t start climbing until 2013, when her high school friend convinced her to get a Groupon pass to a local climbing gym, Boston Rock Gym (rip). She got hooked and was very excited to dive deeper into climbing! It was very challenging to find mentorship or anyone who could even take her out. Hiring a guide?! Who knew they even existed?! She wanted to learn more locally in the MA area, rather than going up to wild NH! Realistically, being a college-age student in the North Shore made it difficult to hire a guide to get a proper intro to outdoor rock climbing. Thankfully, Salem State University had a quarter-semester rock climbing course, which helped get her foot into the outdoors.
Cindy is now an AMGA Certified Single Pitch Instructor. She is passionate about combining her social work background with outdoor recreation through affinity spaces and initiatives to create an environment where everyone, particularly People of Color, feels safe recreating outdoors through a trauma-informed lens. Cindy is deeply involved with Brown Girls Climb and is a Local Leader for the MA chapter.
Cindy is dedicated to creating outdoor spaces that are both physically and emotionally safe, where people can have fun and create wonderful memories. She is excited to work with Willard Mountain Guides to continue her instructor journey and to create more affinity-based workshops and clinics.
-
AMGA Certified Single Pitch Instructor
Wilderness First Aid/CPR
Master in Social Work
Licensed Certified Social Worker (MA)
-
Thin Air, 5.6, Cathedral Ledge, NH (was proposed to on pitch 3!)
Olive Oil, 5.7, 5 pitches, Red Rock, NV
Frog Land, 5.7+, 6 pitches, Red Rock, NV
Dark Shadows, 5.8, 10 pitches, Red Rock, NV
Estrellita, 5.10b/c, 12 pitches, El Potrero Chico, MX
Treasure of the Sierra Madre, 5.10c, 7 pitches, El Potrero Chico, MX
Pine Tree Eliminate, 5.8+, Cathedral Ledge, NH
Moby Grape, Grade III, 5.8 PG-13, 8 pitches, Cannon Mt., NH
Munginella, 5.6, 3 pitches, Yosemite, CA
Left Hand Monkey Wrench, WI3, Mt. Willard, NH
Upper Hitchcock, WI3, Mt. Willard, NH
Owen Duda
Guide
-
Owen is a New Hampshire native with a lifelong passion for the outdoors. Growing up hiking and fishing in the White Mountains, these landscapes have always held a special place in his heart. During his later high school years, he began exploring bouldering, but it wasn't until college that climbing became a central focus in his life. His first college course was “Fundamentals of Rock Climbing,” and since then, he hasn’t looked back.
The mentorship and education he received in college prepared him to thrive in the climbing industry. Owen is currently an AMGA Certified Single Pitch Instructor, an AMGA Apprentice Rock Guide, a Wilderness First Responder, and has completed his AIARE 2 certification. As the seasons change, so do his interests, which range from long trail-running objectives and backcountry skiing to ice climbing, route development, mountain biking, and, of course, rock climbing.
Owen takes pride in being a Northeast climber but has dedicated considerable time to exploring and climbing in various regions. Beyond the Northeast, he has climbed in Nevada, Montana, Colorado, Utah, Washington, Bermuda, Wyoming, and Idaho. When he’s not adventuring in the mountains, you can find him in his garage working on motorcycles and tackling carpentry projects. His love for the mountains runs deep, and he is committed to lifelong learning in the outdoors.
-
AMGA Certified Single Pitch Instructor
AMGA Apprentice Rock Guide
Wilderness First Responder/CPR
AIARE Level 1 and Rescue Course
AIARE Level 2
B.S. in Outdoor Education, Leadership, and Tourism (Vermont State University – Lyndon)
-
The Diagonal, III, 5.8, Wallface Mountain, NY
MysterZ, III, 5.7, Red Rock Canyon, NV
Moby Grape, III, 5.8, Franconia Notch, NH
Pinnacle Buttress, III, Mt. Washington, NH
Lady Luck, III, 5.7, Red Rock, NV
Skyline Arete, 5.6, Gallatin Canyon, MT
Say When, 5.9, Index, WA
Beckey Route (SW Face), 5.6, Liberty Bell, WA
Savasana, 5.10a R, Camden, ME
Ethwheel Crack, 5.10c, Wheeler Mountain, VT
Kennel Boy, 5.10a, North Conway, NH
Twenty Below Zero, III, WI4+, Lake Willoughby, VT
Shoestring Gully, III, WI2 M2, Crawford Notch, NH
Damnation Gully, III, WI3, Mount Washington, NH
Pinnacle Gully, III, WI3, Mount Washington, NH
Gavin Spilling
Guide
-
Gavin grew up in the Adirondacks of New York. Having such beautiful wilderness in his backyard, he would hike during the Summers and ski during the Winters any chance he got. He found his passion for teaching others while working as a ski instructor for Whiteface Mountain during high school. He found climbing while studying outdoor education in Vermont.
Whether it be rock or ice, Gavin enjoys the small things. The smiles along the way, learning a new knot, the breeze high above the trees. It’s these things that keep him coming back in search of new experiences. Throughout his time in college, Gavin received a variety of certifications related to the outdoors. He is currently a Single Pitch Instructor and Apprentice Rock Guide through the AMGA, Wilderness First Responder, Leave No Trace level 2 Instructor, and AIARE 2 Certified. Gavin is also a candidate to be an Emergency Medical Technician.
Through these certifications he is able to share his passion for the outdoors. Some of Gavin’s favorite climbing areas include Rumney, Cathedral Ledge, Acadia National Park and Red Rock. Gavin enjoys learning all there is about climbing and sharing that knowledge with clients, while helping them to explore new places and gain a new sense of adventure.
-
AMGA Apprentice Rock Guide
AMGA Certified Single Pitch Instructor
Wilderness First Responder/CPR
AIARE Level 1 and Rescue Course
AIARE Level 2
B.S. in Outdoor Education, Leadership, and Tourism (Vermont State University – Lyndon)
-
Thin Air, 5.6, Cathedral Ledge, NH
Olive Oil, 5.7, 5 pitches, Red Rock, NV
Frog Land, 5.7+, 6 pitches, Red Rock, NV
Pine Tree Eliminate, 5.8+, Cathedral Ledge, NH
Moby Grape, Grade III, 5.8 PG-13, 8 pitches, Cannon Mt., NH
Left Hand Monkey Wrench, WI3, Mt. Willard, NH
Upper Hitchcock, WI3, Mt. Willard, NH
