It looks like the perfect job; working in the wilderness, sitting around camp fires, living out of ranch houses and wall tents for the sole purpose of leading paying clients to big game. The world of the professional hunting guide has all the allure of wanting to grow up to be a cowboy and in many ways the vocations are intertwined.

Phil Page grew up on a farm in Wells River, Vermont. At age 19 he and his best friend and trapping buddy, Mike Scott, left the Green Mountains and headed west to find a career in the outfitting business. 29 years later both have successfully established themselves in the industry, Mike as an outfitter and Phil as a professional guide, horseman and with his wife Debbie, owners of Rocky Mountain Guide School in Dillon, Montana.

While the imagination conjures up visions of starry western nights complete with bugling elk and howling coyotes the realities of this line of work are far less romantic. Guiding is physically and mentally challenging and it takes a special individual to ultimately carve out a successful career in the outfitting business.

Phil, explains, "When I came west I attended guide school the first summer. It lead to an employment opportunity working the fall hunting season as an assistant guide, packer and wrangler in Idaho's remote Frank Church wilderness area."
Phil had a slight edge over other wanna-be guides in that he was raised on a farm and understood hard work. He also had been raised around horses.

Horses are a big part of outfitting in the Rocky Mountain States as well as parts of western Canada and good guide schools teach horsemanship, hitch tying, and the proper techniques for loading pack animals as a major part of their focus. Experience is the critical criteria that you can't get from a school and Phil acquired his over 26 years of guiding and working as a cowboy for some of the best known outfitters and ranches throughout the west.

"We started the Rocky Mountain School 5 years ago because it was obvious that many of the schools just weren't doing the job of adequately preparing students for the realities of the outfitting business, especially concerning horsemanship."
"We are now recognized by the Montana Outfitters Association and networked with many of the best outfitters in the mountain states. Because there is always a need for good guides, we can usually place 100% of our students and have earned a reputation as a source for young packers, guides and wranglers looking for a chance to get their foot in the door with a good outfit."

Most western states have at least one guide school and they are not necessarily all good training grounds. In fact, many outfitters have a sour taste for the green horns coming out of today's schools. Larry Allen of Hubbard Creek Outfitters in Southwestern Colorado knows what is like to hire kids right out of one of the schools only to be short handed during the elk season because they didn't have the skills and as Larry put it, "they just don't want to work that hard and end up taking off after a couple of weeks on the ranch".

Phil and Debbie are all too aware of this problem. "I look for two components in a student's personality; ethics and attitude. The appropriate skills can be learned if you have someone that doesn't mind the work and really has the drive to make a living in this business. Guiding and outfitting as a career is a lifestyle decision, few people get rich at it so you have to really love it or you're not going to go anywhere."

They started the school because experience had taught them what outfitters require in the way of skills and attitude from young aspiring guides. The curriculum on the back of Rocky Mountain School's brochure outlines the focus of their 5 week course: ethics and attitude, horsemanship, game care, transporting livestock, horse shoeing, use of camp equipment, weapons knowledge and guiding skills make up the bulk of the instruction. "We only take 6 students per session so we can get to know each individual, that way our instruction can be on a very personal level."

Today, the outfitting industry from Alaska to Mexico employs graduates of Rocky Mountain School. For the qualified, good jobs are available and most professionals work different seasons at different outfits. If you think you have what it takes to make a living in this field and you're willing to work hard and stick with it, then it doesn't matter where you come from as long as that's where you end up. As Phil, Deb and many others will tell you, "It's a good life."

For more information visit: www.rockymountainguideschool.com