![race](https://dev.alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/race.jpg)
[Photo] John Race
John Race (aka “JR”) has been guiding full-time since 1989. He founded the Northwest Mountain School in 1994 and completed his IFMGA certification in 2006. An avid skier and climber for more than twenty years, John spends more than 250 days each year outside. Climbing, skiing, and work routinely take him to Alaska, Europe, South America, Antarctica, and a variety of other international mountain areas. When not guiding John spends most of his free time sniffing out new ski lines around his house in Leavenworth, Washington or on road trips in the Western US. Recent work includes a ski traverse of South Georgia Island launched from the sailboat, Pelagic Australis, and a spring season skiing in the French and Swiss Alps. John usually travels with his fiance, Olivia Cussen, currently an AMGA certified rock and ski guide. John and Olivia co-own the Northwest Mountain School and he serves on the AMGA board of directors as the secretary.