Jediah Porter
I’m a full-time, year-round, passionate student and practitioner of mountain adventure, travel, and culture. I live, work and play in the mountains on foot, on skis, and in the steepest and wildest landscapes imaginable. I love mountains, and I love my family: my wife, Rosie, and our daughter, Charlie. This is a life dedicated to the mountains. I started backcountry skiing in 1997, rock climbing in 1998, and did my first significant alpine climbing in 1999. I started full-time guiding in 2005. In 2013, I was the 87th American to earn internationally recognized guiding certification (IFMGA).
I grew up in the Northeast, spent much of my adult life in California’s High Sierra, and now live in Idaho’s Teton Valley. Close to home I work all summer and winter in Grand Teton National Park. Spring and autumn both involve travel all over the western U.S., the Northeast, Canada, South America, and, of course, Alaska.
I’ve done more than 20 Alaskan expeditions, three of which were on Denali’s West Buttress. Other notable Alaska endeavors include a sea-to-summit climb and ski of Mount Saint Elias, and on-sight guiding both Mount Hunter’s West Ridge and Ham and Eggs on the Mooses Tooth. Significant California mountain successes include the first guided completion of the Evolution Traverse, the first winter ascent of the Complete Palisade Traverse, and the first solo and first integral completion of the Red Line Traverse. In the Tetons, I’ve guided four complete Grand Traverses, on-sight guided the Complete South Buttress of Mount Moran (the route’s first guided completion), and I’ve skied off the summit of the Grand Teton nine different times, including executing the first guided completion of the Grand-Middle-South Teton ski link-up.
My passion for mountains is matched by a pursuit of balance, intention, and deliberateness. I spend at least as much time preparing for big endeavors as I do in execution of big endeavors. I spend as much time reflecting on big endeavors as I do in execution. I seek balance with adventure and domestic life. My little family and I take weeks to months off together each year to connect, adventure, and just be. I complement my professional field time with numerous “side hustles” in freelance writing, consulting, and very small-scale real estate/rental investment. I’m honored to play a very small part in housing my mountain town’s beloved work force.
