Zeb is an IFMGA / American Mountain Guide. He has traveled the globe, from Alaska to Antarctica, Hokkaido to the Himalaya, skiing, climbing and guiding in the great ranges of the world. Whether its gliding slopes on skis, crimping rock or swinging tools on ice, Zeb loves moving in the mountains and working with people. He favorite thing about guiding is building unique adventures for his clients and finding ways to explore the great mountains of the world.

Brandon grew up in the foothills of the ancient Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. It was here, amongst the heavily vegetated, glacier sculpted, granite peaks and craggy rivers that Brandon’s love for the outdoors was cast. Graduating from the State University of New York with a degree in Outdoor Recreation Leadership and privileged enough to have attended an Outdoor Educators semester at the National Outdoor Leadership School in Lander Wyoming, he was armed with the skills to begin his internship in alpinism.

Brandon has climbed and skied extensively in most of the major ranges in the contiguous United States with many technical climbs and ski descents in the North Cascades, Cascade Volcanoes, High Sierra, Tetons, Wasatch, Canadian and Colorado Rockies and desert Southwest bolstering his resume. Brandon is a lifelong alpinist with a strong belief that the mountains are cathedrals, in which one’s character can be clearly viewed and positively altered.

In mountain guiding, Brandon has made it his niche to develop the skills of other climbers and skiers. He is in his element working with his clients on long term progressions in which skills can be honed and lasting relationships founded.

When he is not out climbing or skiing, Brandon enjoys archery hunting, flyfishing and woodworking. Brandon works within his scope of practice through the training of the American Mountain Guides Association and the Wilderness Medical Institute.

John's passion is teaching people about snow science and how to travel safely in the mountains. As an American Institute of Avalanche Research & Education (AIARE) Lead Instructor, John holds his AIARE Level 3 certification and is a professional member of the American Avalanche Association. Having called Lake Tahoe home for over fifteen years John has been both a professional ski patroller at Palisades at Tahoe ski resort and an outdoor educator teaching experiential education at primary, secondary and college levels. John maintains both EMT and WFR certifications.

Jason knows the Truckee backcountry as well as anyone.  He grew up skiing here and has enjoyed exploring the backcountry in Tahoe and beyond for years. Jason's passion for pursuits in the mountains and love of teaching fits his role at Blackbird Mountain Guides perfectly! 

Andrew was born and raised in the skiing and climbing Mecca of Florida.  When swamps and alligators grew tiresome, he decided to trade it all in for bottomless powder days and splitter cracks. After moving to Tahoe a decade ago, he dove head first into splitboarding and rock climbing and continues to look for bigger lines and harder climbs while exploring the ranges across the Americas.

Despite his ramblings, he always finds his way home to the Sierra Nevada where he spends most of his time. The mountains are where Andrew feels most himself and he loves sharing the climbing and skiing experiences with his clients as much as he does moving in the mountains himself.  Sharing the knowledge he has gained in the mountains over the years is truly his passion.

Samantha has been splitboarding for the past 6 seasons, largely throughout the Tahoe region and the Eastern Sierra. After working full time as a ski patroller for a few seasons, she is transitioning to spend her winter months guiding and teaching AIARE courses, as she sees backcountry travel as an incredibly fun, empowering, and beautiful way to simultaneously
interact with mountain ecosystems, and ourselves :). She also works as a climbing coach at the local gym, and guide when the snow begins to melt!

Prior to ski patrol, she holds a background in guiding and education work with youth, surrounding environmental sciences and chemistry, specifically.

Jan grew up in New Jersey and attended college in northern Vermont. After a few years of exploring the green mountains, out west was naturally the next step. Jan has lived in North Lake Tahoe for over a decade and has been working in the mountains since 2016. When not ski guiding at home, Jan can be found down in the eastern Sierra chasing blank spots on the map or up at Mount Shasta farming corn in the spring. 

Cole grew up among the glacially flattened fields of central Indiana. Upon graduating from Colorado College with a degree in Geology, he dedicated himself to a career in the mountains. His journey in guiding began on the volcanoes of the Pacific Northwest. A ski patrol job brought him to the Sierra and the high quality rock and perfect sunny days convinced him to stay. Through many failures and success and with the help of friends and mentors, he has gained invaluable experience across many of the world's mountain ranges. The mountains constantly remind him the learning and growing process is never finished. 

He is trained by the AMGA in the Ski and Alpine disciplines and is AMGA certified as a Rock Guide. Cole is trained to the AAA Pro Level 1 standard and is a certified Wilderness EMT. 

Bob Newcomb enjoys skiing across the American west and particularly in the Sierra Nevada, but also enjoys more distant travel. He had tagged ski descents in Alaska, Canada, Russian, Japan, and the European Alps, as well as alpine climbs on the volcanos of Ecuador. In the off season, he enjoys whitewater rafting and kayaking, and has made several descents down the Grand Canyon, and even guided the White Nile River in Uganda.

Bobs favorite ski descents and climbs include:
Cosmiques Couloir, Chamonix France
Mountaineers Route, Mt. Whitney California
Dragontail Couloir, Rocky Mountain National Park Colorado 
North Couloir, McGown Peak Idaho
Fuhrer Finger, Mt. Rainier Washington
Southwest Couloir, Middle Teton GTNP
Summit of Cotopaxi, Ecuador

Snowboarding for 30 years Jason Champion first took to backcountry snowboarding in the late 1990’s. In 2000, along with his first summit on Mt. Shasta, he started focusing more on snowboard mountaineering. Around the same time he started Splitboarding and currently operates a guide service
called Sierra Nevada Splitboarding specializing in Expedition style “tour camps”
Jason has been professionally guiding for 14 years in the Chugach of Alaska, the Cascade volcanos of the Pacific Northwest and the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California.

He is a certified A.M.G.A. Splitboard Guide, American Avalanche Institute Level III, Wilderness First Responder and a certified Mechanized Ski Guide. With his infectious attitude in the Alpine, Jason is defined by his experience. He’s enthusiastic about sharing the technique of mountaineering in “good style” that contributes to successful objectives in the mountains. He is constantly furthering his education in the field of guiding as well as teaching more Avalanche safety courses. 

Jason has worked for many guiding operations including Alaska Snowboard Guides, Shasta Mountain Guides, Alpine Skills International, and Splitboard Guides International. He has also built and managed remote tour camps both in Alaska and California and has experience with snowboard media production.

Ryan Huetter grew up near the coastal tidewaters of the Puget Sound in Washington State but has since traded moss and rain for the sunshine and splitter cracks of the Sierra Nevada. Since graduating from Western Washington University in 2006 with a Bachelor's degree in Outdoor Adventure Management, he has called the Sierra home. Ryan is an IFMGA mountain guide certified in the rock, ski and alpine climbing disciplines, and enjoys the unbelievable year-round skiing and climbing the Sierra is known for. 

He has also climbed around the world, from Yosemite Valley, where he has climbed over 20 different big wall routes, to seven seasons in Patagonia, where he has made many major ascents, including Fitz Roy and first ascents of remote alpine walls. But year after year the Sierra Nevada remains Ryan's base and he loves introducing people to the Range of Light.

Trevor has called the Sierra Nevada his home for the past decade and works as an Avalanche Educator, a ski/splitboard guide, and a freelance writer in the winter and spring and enjoys tacky dirt and mellow waves in the summer and fall. He is well versed in mind reading and romance novels. 

Nick Lozica is from the San Francisco Bay Area, and found climbing at an early age in the gym. Nick's love of rock climbing brought him to the Eastern Sierra in 2020 and has been climbing non stop since. As well as climbing, backcountry skiing has become a winter passion. Nick is currently an Apprentice Rock Guide, Apprentice Alpine Guide, AIARE Instructor, Certified SPI and Wilderness First Responder.

Sean started rock climbing in 2015 which then led to the beginning of his guide career in 2018. His guiding career began in Western North Carolina, and Sean fell in love with
it immediately. He's always had a strong passion for instructing which was realized in high school when he started coaching gymnastics. Sean loves guiding and instructing because he loves sharing his
knowledge with others. The mountains have done so much for him in life; they have provided
emotional, mental, and physical relief in so many ways. So, for him to be able to recreate those experiences he has had for others is one of the many things he loves about it. He says his guide career always feels like it is just beginning, with all the new techniques to be learned, the changing practices and environments, and the new people he has the pleasure of being around. Sean believes mentorship is how we keep each other safe in the mountains and if he can provide that to others, in some capacity, it’s a win in his book.

Daryl Teittinen is a life long outdoor adventurer. He is dedicated to spending time outdoors challenging himself and group members to push themselves to spend their days well. Rock climbing, backcountry skiing, whitewater rafting, sea kayaking, canyoneering; all of it is game!

Daryl is a professor in the Outdoor Adventure Leadership program at the University of Nevada Reno at Lake Tahoe, an observer for the Sierra Avalanche Center, guide and educator for Blackbird Guides and a father and husband. An east coast transplant, he has been in the Sierra for 20 winters and can think of no better place to live. 

Hailing from the Green Mountains of Vermont, Peter moved West after graduating from art school in the Boston area. In search of softer snow, he landed in Mammoth Lakes where he worked as a ski patroller for several years. While in Mammoth Lakes Peter began working part time as a guide, and started working on his AMGA training. In 2022 Peter moved to Truckee to work full time as a ski guide and avalanche educator. In the summers he can be found working for an alpine rescue team in the Cascade mountains.

AMGA Certified Ski Guide, climber, adventurer, American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE) Course Leader, American Avalanche Association professional member, and military veteran, Doug began his lifelong love of adventuring and building friendships in the mountains at a young age in his hometown of Ketchum, Idaho. Working towards guide certification with his friends and mentors in the guide community has allowed Doug to turn his passion for teaching and sharing experiences in the mountains into a profession. Throughout his life, the mountains have always played an integral role in providing experiences and building friendships as Doug pursued challenge, mastery, stoke, and connection. Doug’s personal and professional work have allowed him the good fortune to ski and climb on five continents. In his spare time, you can find him in the mountains with friends.

Eric is an attorney and former startup Founder/CEO specializing in operations, marketing, and customer experience. He's also a member of the International Freeskiing Association (IFSA) board.

In his other life as a freeride skier, Eric is a long time competitor on the Freeride World Qualifier (FWQ) series who produces media projects for brands, resorts, and travel associations in the ski industry.

Meet the woman behind the curtain.. or computer! Grace is the Administrative Coordinator for Blackbird, and is super stoked to be on the team!

Grace grew up in northern California, with no shortage of adventures. She lived in San Luis Obispo for the last five years, and is loving Truckee so far! You’ll find her climbing, skiing, or riding bikes in her free time. Grace loves the outdoors, and enjoying those spaces with the people she loves. She knows the value and joy that the mountains can bring to life, and is psyched to work for a company that shares that joy with others.