Joe Vitti Receives AMGA President's Award

If you're a Gunks climber, Joe Vitti's face is probably familiar. You may not know him by name, but you'll probably recognize his friendly face and mellow demeanor. Joe has been guiding in the Gunks for seven years now, and I had the pleasure of working with him for several of those years. He is one of my favorite climbing partners.

Joe, who has a solid climbing background stemming from his traditional climbing past in central Connecticut, is a very worldly guy. Of all the guides I've spent time with over the years, Joe seems to find the best balance between family life, guiding and personal climbing. He's married with two teenagers at home, and he still manages to take trips to guide and climb in other areas. On top of this he's a student in a local paramedic program.

It should come as no surprise then, that Joe has chosen to donate some time out of his busy life to educating new climbers in the Gunks. This spring Joe started the "Saturday Night Live" series of clinics which focused on basic safety techniques for climbers of all abilities.

For his work running the "Saturday Night Live" series of clinics Joe has been awarded a 2012 AMGA President's Award. Only a few AMGA guides are given this presitgious award each year. Congrats Joe, you deserve it.