Jack Cody
Originally from Massachusetts, Jack grew up climbing in the Appalachian Mountains and always dreamed of heading west. With his eyes on the bigger prize, he moved to Colorado’s Roaring Fork Valley in 2003 just after turning 18, and has lived there ever since.
To say climbing is the focus of Jack’s life would be an understatement – he eats, sleeps, and breathes for climbing. From adventure trad climbing to technical sport climbing, he loves it all and is a solid 5.13+ sport climber. In addition to climbing over 100 desert spires, he has on-sighted several long 5.12+ trad big wall routes all around the western United States as well as 5.13a sport climbs in Europe. On a recent trip, Jack went from speed climbing the famed Salathé Wall on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park in one day, to sport climbing over the Aegean Sea on the islands of Greece – all in the same week.
Jack is also a skilled snowboarder and likes to say that he has never skied a day in his life. He was a ski patroller for 11 years and rose through the ranks at Sunlight Mountain Resort near Glenwood Springs, Colorado to become its ski patrol director. He also ran the resort’s lift evacuation and avalanche control programs.
Jack works year-round at Aspen Expeditions, and his expertise, outgoing personality and never-ending stoke (even in the worst of conditions) ensure that his clients always have a great time. In the summer, he specializes in traditional and couloir routes up local peaks, rock-climbing sessions for all skill levels, and customized treks deep into Colorado’s Elk Range; in the winter he’s a backcountry split-board guide as well as an ice climbing guide. Jack is a really fun person to be around, and his enthusiasm for climbing and the mountains he calls home will rub off on you and keep you coming back for more, year after year!
When not guiding, Jack is out pursuing his many passions – you may find him training hard on the cliffs in Rifle Mountain Park, enjoying a celebratory beer on the rim of the Black Canyon after a wild 24 hour multi-pitch adventure, or snowboard mountaineering in the Colorado backcountry. During the off-season, Jack often heads to the canyons and towers of Utah’s Moab desert, where he likes to go crack climbing and highlining hundreds of feet above the desert floor. He also makes time to visit his family in Massachusetts, where he and his father enjoy going sport fishing for giant bluefin tuna in the waters off Cape Cod. He currently lives in the mountains above Glenwood Springs with his wolf-dog Alpine in a primarily off-the-grid cabin that is only accessible by snowmobile for five months of the year. His personal gear room is better stocked than the finest gear shops, and the homemade training center in his barn is a feat of engineering that rivals the walls you would find at your local climbing gym.
Jack is a certified AMGA Rock Guide as well as a Colorado-certified Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) with over ten years of experience working as a ski patroller and back country rescuer. He also holds an AIARE Avalanche Level 2 certification, and is an internationally certified rope access technician with both SPRAT and IRATA certifications. Jack continues to further his education and guiding knowledge and is planning to take AMGA courses in the ski and alpine disciplines with the eventual goal of receiving his IFMGA certification.