Cassidy Higgins
Avalanche Forecaster, AMGA apprentice Rock and Alpine guide
Laclede, IDBe Here Now
Cassidy grew up in the mountains of Idaho. He found his passion for skiing at a young age and was introduced to climbing in his early twenties through the Spokane Mountaineers. He has spent his life looking for good skiing and climbing all over the Pacific Northwest. Cassidy began his outdoor career in the ski industry, working as a ski patroller, avalanche forecaster and avalanche educator. He currently works as the Snow Safety Director for Schweitzer Mountain during the winter and guides for IMG during the summer. When he isn’t working in the mountains, Cassidy enjoys going on adventures with his wife and two kids.
Discipline: Ski patroller and mountain Guide
Specialty: Skiing and alpine climbing
Guide at International Mountain Guides. Snow Safety Director at Schweitzer Mountain Resort. Father of two, the most challenging and rewarding journey yet!
Cassidy Higgins's Expert Gear Recommendations
Alpine climbing gear
- Nordwand 6000 High by Mammut — An awesome double boot for alpine climbing. It is amazing how light it is while still being warm. I like that the boa is inside the gaiter, it helps protect it from the volcanic dust I encounter while guiding on rainier.
- Fulcrum GTX Glove by Rab — These have become my go to climbing gloves. I always bring multiple gloves on trips, but I find that I use these 90 percent of the time.
- Taiss Light Mid GTX by Mammut — This is my go to 3 season boot. I use it for climbing snow and easy alpine rock in the spring. It works great on approaches and the fit of mammut footwear works great with my feet. I do find that I have to go up half a size with these boots.
- North Machine by Grivel — my go to for easy technical ice, rock and steep snow. This tool is awesome when climbing less than vertical alpine terrain.
- Petzl Nomic Ice Tool by Petzl — when the ice gets steep, this is the tool for the job.
- SUM'TEC Ice Axe by Petzl — I use this axe for almost all of the mountaineering I do. It is aggressive enough to tackle steeper terrain, while also providing enough of the features of a general mountaineering ice axe. I use this on every trip I do up rainier.
