Nico Leis

Nico Leis grew up in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia, and had never even heard of climbing until his junior year at the University of Georgia. Despite this late introduction, or maybe because of it, Nico is an extremely focused and passionate climber. Rather than spend his catch-up time becoming a “jack-of-all-trades,” he has focused on becoming a “master of some”. 

Nico is a highly specialized AMGA Certified Rock Guide. He is particularly psyched on “off-width” climbing - the universally loathed style of crack climbing that most people write off as  “too blue collar” or “too physically challenging”. In fact, he loves cracks of all shapes and sizes, from chimneys to fingertip cracks. He believes those are the passages that allow us to travel through the mountains - they provide both the easiest climbable path and the space to place gear and keep ourselves safe. That said, Nico also really enjoys climbing and guiding beautiful ribbons of ice, long alpine ridges, 8 foot tall boulders, steep technical faces (with ice tools or fingers), polished granite slabs, and overhanging juggy roofs. He even loves running on steep trails and squirming his way through slot canyons. It’s the movement that inspires him, and Nico always strives to be as fluid and stylish as possible when it comes to moving through the mountains and canyons, and is passionate about sharing that particular experience with people who are both hungry to learn and hungry to experience the very best of what this world has to offer.

Nico brings his trademark empathy, honed from years of guiding adolescents in wilderness therapy, to every single moment in the mountains. He is attuned to his environment and to his companions. He believes there is a cherry on top of every situation (especially if you’re on top of a desert tower) - you just have to look for it!