The Colorado Mountain School’s Max Lurie is an AMGA-certified rock guide who ties knots every day.

“Whether you are climbing a remote glaciated peak in Alaska or backpacking with friends, knowing how and when to tie the right knot can change the outcome of your trip,” Max says.

Max was born and raised in Maine and spent much of his youth running around the forest barefoot with a machete in hand, building forts with his neighbors. He discovered climbing when he was a teenager, graduated from the University of Maine, and has been a mountain guide for more than 10 years.

“If my career as an outdoor educator and guide makes even one person more of a conservationist than it is all worth it,” Max says. “I love sharing the mountains with people and seeing the wonderment in their eyes.”