Meet Mark Postle

Experienced expedition climbing guide turned coach Mark Postle is an avid technical rock climber and mountaineer who thrives on ultra-endurance challenges.

He spent his teens as a competitive road cyclist in the farmlands of Ohio, racing to state championship podium finishes in both road and cyclocross disciplines as a Junior. Once his father introduced him to climbing, his love of cycling was quickly eclipsed, and he began spending more and more time on the sandstone cliffs of the Southeast.

After earning a B.S. degree in chemistry, Mark migrated out west to be closer to the mountains, where he pursued a career guiding and climbing.

Mark worked on Yosemite Search and Rescue and apprenticed on the peaks and cliffs of the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, and California. He progressed through the grades, ultimately climbing the Smith Rock testpiece White Wedding (5.14a). As a mountain guide, he has led over 50 expeditions worldwide, including ascents of Denali, Aconcagua, Mount Vinson, Lhotse, and Ama Dablam. He is the head guide at Jackson Hole Mountain Guides, where he has tallied 150+ summits of the Grand Teton and numerous guided ascents of the Grand Traverse.

During the down time between guiding seasons, Mark turns to long-distance trail and mountain running to stay in top shape for expedition guiding. He has notched a sub-24-hour Leadville Trail 100 Run finish, done a full-moon R2R2R Grand Canyon double crossing, circumnavigated Mount Rainier via the Wonderland Trail, and run across the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the Appalachian Trail.

Now settled on the east side of the Sierra Mountains in Bishop, California, with his wife Kate, Mark splits his free time between coaching, training, doing home-improvement projects, and tending his bonsai tree. His easy rapport with people, competitive ultrarunning background, and decades of experience guiding on the world’s great peaks make him a great coach to work with.