Julie Seyfert Lillis
AMGA Certified Single Pitch Instructor, AMGA Rock Instructor course graduate, New York State Licensed Guide, Basic First Aid

Julie has been a dedicated climber since 1992, and a guide since 1996. It was the traditional ethic of the Gunks that made her choose it as her home. Traditional climbing, where climbers protect themselves using nuts and caming devices as they ascend, rather than relying on pre-placed bolts, is her forte and her passion. Teaching people to become safe, competent “trad” climbers is very rewarding to her. She believes there is no better place to learn to lead trad because there is an abundance of high quality routes that take a variety of gear. A writer, she has taken what she knows to the broader climbing community by writing trad technique articles for national climbing publications.

She’s traveled extensively to climb from Acadia, ME to Yosemite, CA. In 2001 she was thrilled to get to climb in Wales, the place where traditional climbing began, as the American Alpine Club’s female representative during the British Mountaineering Council’s International Climber’s Meet. Since 1998 she has been a guide during women’s weekends in North Conway, NH and recently at the Red Rock Rendezvous outside Las Vegas. While she loves climber gatherings and festivals, climbing in remote areas with just a partner is hard to beat. In Cody, Wyoming, she found and is developing a backcountry cliff.

Working with children and teens is something that she especially enjoys. She has been a coach of the New Paltz Youth Climbing team, a teacher at a private school, and an educational tester for Sesame Street. Julie has a great deal of enthusiasm for bringing people of all ages to the sport she loves.