Louie Allen

Louie joined Vertical Ascents in 2021, building his coaching practice on top of a background in mountain guiding and university adventure education.  As a self-coached climber attempting to balance demanding guiding workloads with his own goals, he was drawn to VA’s emphasis on movement learning and skill as the root of climbing performance.  He is committed to collaborating with athletes and students to develop self-efficacy through experience, feedback, and reflection as they pursue meaningful goals.  

Louie pursues coaching because he believes in the value and reward of “serious leisure” in a healthy, balanced lifestyle.  He is fascinated by the intersection of field-based adventure education, human performance in recreation and sport, and research.  Louie passionately pursues several climbing disciplines, including bouldering, sport climbing, traditional alpine climbing, and winter and mixed climbing.  He believes these varied movement skills are strongly interrelated.  He finds joy in working with others who are exploring new disciplines or balancing diverse goals in rock, alpine, and ice environments.   

Louie holds a Master of Science in Recreation and Sport Science with a Graduate Certificate in Sports Coaching from Ohio University.  His research on industry change and leadership development in mountain guiding has strongly influenced his understanding of how humans grow toward mastery of a given skill set.  He is an AMGA Certified Rock Guide and is pursuing Alpine Guide certification. Louie spends time guiding and climbing seasonally in the Sierra Nevada of California, the White Mountains of New England, and the river gorges of the southeastern United States.