Meet Mark Postle

Veteran expedition climbing guide turned coach Mark Postle is an avid technical rock climber and mountaineer who also 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. A second-generation climber, Mark was introduced to the amazing sandstone cliffs and boulders of the Southeast by his father and fell in love with the challenge of technical rock climbing. After earning a B.S. degree in Chemistry, Mark migrated 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 also progressed through the climbing grades, ultimately climbing the Smith Rock testpiece White Wedding (5.14a). As a mountain guide, he has climbed on all 7 continents and led over 50 expeditions worldwide, including ascents of Everest, Lhotse, Ama Dablam, Denali, Aconcagua, Mount Vinson, Carstensz Pyramid, and Mont Blanc. He is a senior guide at Jackson Hole Mountain Guides, where he has tallied 200+ 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 done a single push run across the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the Appalachian Trail.

Now settled on the east side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Bishop, California, with his wife Kate, Mark is a full-time coach and loves to climb, trail run and ski as the seasons dictate. His ability to connect with people, his endurance sport background, and decades of hands on experience guiding on the world’s great peaks make him a great coach to work with.