Ed Crothers

Certified Rock Instructor

Teaching in the outdoors has always come naturally for Ed – and he’s been doing it for over 25 years. He got his start in outdoor education in 1979 when, as a former racer, he instructed Nordic skiing for eight years at Devil’s Thumb Ranch in Fraser, Colorado, just a few miles from RMNP. Since then, any attempt to work inside just didn’t compare. His love of the outdoors and climbing, combined with an analytical mind and experiential approach to learning, all came together in 1988 when he began working as an instructor and staff trainer for mountaineering and rock climbing at the Colorado Outward Bound School. Ed subsequently guided in Washington’s North Cascades for the American Alpine Institute before coming here, and he co-owned CMS from 1999 to 2004.

Though formally trained in history and education, Ed’s diverse outdoor experience includes expertise in wilderness risk management, high angle rescue and backcountry navigation. He teaches most of our navigation courses and industrial rope access courses. For the latter, Ed’s clients have included the Denver International Airport, the FBI, and the city of Craig’s SWAT team. He’s also instructed seminars for the Rocky Mountain Nature Association, the Boulder Chapter of the Sierra Club and the AMGA. At the 2002 National Rescue Association annual conference he was a guest presenter, and he’s conducted technical trainings for the RMNP staff. He’s an AMGA Certified Rock Instructor and an AIARE Level 1 Avalanche Instructor, and has climbed and guided in Alaska, Canada, Mexico, Ecuador, Argentina, Nepal and throughout the western United States.