Born in Colorado, Vince climbed his first mountain at age five and has been doing it ever since. Refusing to specialize, he climbs hard in the mountains, on sport mixed routes and at the crag. He'll place and clip bolts where appropriate and protect routes traditionally where appropriate - always respectful of local ethics.
In 2002 he competed in the Ice Climbing World Cup events held in Russia, Italy, Austria, Switzerland and Quebec. He finished 6th in the World Championships in Austria. He's guided numerous expeditions in the mountains of North America, South America, Asia and Europe including: Shishapangma, Denali, St. Elias, Logan, numerous peaks in the Wrangells, Mount Robson, Mount Assiniboine, several 5000 to 6000-meter summits in Bolivia's Cordillera Real, as well as the major summits of the Western Alps.
He started skiing at age eight. He competed on the freestyle skiing circuit, has guide heli-skiing in Valdez, and skied from over 7000m on Shishapangma. Vince loves hardcore music, good olive oil, and cooking multi-course meals.
Since 1998, Vince has been an certified through the International Federation of Mountain Guide Associations (IFMGA). This is the highest level of certification available to mountain guides world wide. Vince is also involved training mountain guides as an instructor and examiner for the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA).