Ashley spent her formative years riding horses around her parents’ farm on the plains of Kansas. But an earlier childhood outside the Wasatch Mountains and trips back west instilled an incessant need for mountain living. At 11 years old she began the journey of learning how to snowboard, and after high school moved to Colorado to prioritize that pursuit and to attend university. Later on, spending several years as a hutkeeper at the OPUS Hut was a catalyst to her passion for splitboarding and navigating the San Juan alpine snowpack, allowing her to put up to 100 days a season on her splitboard year after year. During her time there she obsessed over the stories of mountaineers and was especially Influenced by Arlene Blum’s book Annapurna: A Women’s Place. Pursuing this passion has opened up mountaineering opportunities in Canada and all across the state of Alaska. In the next chapter of life, she pursued her EMT certification and has spent time volunteering on the ambulance in both Telluride and Silverton. Now she works as a guide for Mountain Trip year round, teaches wilderness medicine, works as a bike patroller, and works with local Search and Rescue teams. She has also begun her pursuit of the AMGA Ski Guide track by completing the Ski Guide Course. She is incredibly excited to return for her second season teaching with the Silverton Avalanche School, and share her deep passion for avalanche education and backcountry travel. She holds a NREMT-B, WEMT, Pro 1, Canada Avalanche Association Level 2, and Rigging for Rescue training.