GUIDES

Julie Ann ‘Julz’ Holder

Owner/Founder/Lead Guide

At home amongst glaciers, and wild places, you would never guess that Julie Ann grew up in the heart of Atlanta, Georgia. In 2011, she found a deep passion for rock climbing and followed it to the mountains of North Carolina, Washington, and Alaska, where her curiosity to explore bigger mountains took hold of her dreams and imagination.

In the decade that followed, Julie Ann immersed herself in the professional worlds of glacier & alpine rock guiding, ski instructing and patrolling, instructing avalanche courses, and eventually ski guiding. She has lived and played in Boone, Bozeman, Haines, and Ashford, and now calls Bellingham, Washington home.

As a guide, she embodies an attitude of curiosity, wonder, and reverence in wild places. Julie Ann is dedicated to creating inclusive spaces within outdoor adventure, that not only evoke feelings of radical acceptance, but also allow for attention to be given to the deeper layers of one’s experience.

Certifications:

AMGA Assistant Ski Guide
Wilderness EMT & Wilderness Medicine Instructor
Avalanche PRO 2 Certified
AIARE Avalanche Course Leader
AMGA Apprentice Alpine & Rock Guide
Leave No Trace Master Educator

Being-ness:

Aerialist, dancer, ultra-runner, and movement enthusiast
Singer, writer, dreamer, fiddle player, & musical being
Plant mom; dog mom; chocolateer

Learn more about Julie Ann’s Education and Training —->

Erin

VIllareal

Guide & Apprentice

Erin was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah. Though she grew up skiing, her primary passion was ballet. It wasn’t until heading to a city out east for college that Erin realized just how much the mountains and movement in the mountains meant to her. She moved back west and began exploring in earnest the mountains she once looked up at as a kid. She chased her dad along ridge lines and began going places that had before felt inaccessible to her. Dreaming of long walks up hills and pow filled descents, Erin began backcountry skiing. She quickly fell in love with the thought, freedom, and connection that can come from days spent playing around in the snow with friends. Erin has spent time skiing in Utah, Colorado, and Washington. Some of Erin’s favorite ski days involve being home for afternoon coffee by two, others involve late night bushwhacks fueled by gummy bears and headlamps. She loves exploring new places and seeing what her body is capable of.

The backcountry has sparked a sense of curiosity and empowerment within Erin. She aims to make the backcountry a place where all people feel empowered to show up, however that looks for them. And it doesn’t hurt if there are some giggles along the way.

In the summers Erin works as a wildland firefighter. On her off days can be found trail running, looking at maps, reading, and doing puzzles.

Certifications:

Wilderness First Responder
AIARE Pro 1 (December 2024)
Graduate of Grounding Truth’s Advanced/Expert Season Long Mentorship Program 2023 & 2024
Leave No Trace Trainer

Being-ness:

Dancer, mover, explorer
Amateur crossword puzzler, semi-pro car singer, and aspiring chef
Question asker and connection seeker

Jodi Redfield

Guide (Hut Trips)

Jodi grew up on a ranch in Southwest Montana. It was here that the qualities of hard work, patience and integrity were formed. She learned to appreciate the seasons, especially the juxtaposition between a busy harvest and time to slow down in the winter. She savored every moment she got to ski with her twin sister growing up, and came to love the wild places close to the backyard more and more.

Jodi worked many years in the landscape industry, taking the winters to explore the snowiest places around Montana. This led to an interest in avalanches and passion for education that has taken her around the west from remote parts of Montana to the glaciers of the Pacific Northwest. She became a guide to share the mountains with people eager to explore and learn about the world around them. After working in every season, the quiet of winter and accessibility of traveling on snow has become her favorite.

When she's not deep in the backcountry, she's probably enjoying a trail with her dog, scheming up a new recipe or mapping out a 'run' on a ridgeline somewhere.

Certifications: