We caught up with Shannon Walton, Executive Director of the Redside Foundation, to learn how years of professional guiding and lived experience in the outdoor industry shaped her path to leading an organization dedicated to supporting guides. What began as a deeply personal connection to guiding life has grown into meaningful work centered on mental health, sustainability, and care for those who lead others through wild places.
The Redside Foundation exists for a simple but powerful reason: to support and strengthen the professional outdoor guiding community. Founded in 2010 in loving memory of Idaho guide Telly Evans, the Redside Foundation was created to address the realities of guiding life that often go unseen, unspoken, and unsupported.
Behind every unforgettable river trip, summit push, or wilderness experience is a guide carrying immense responsibility. The Redside Foundation exists to help ensure those guides are not carrying it alone.
To better understand the heart of this work, we spoke with the Executive Director of the Redside Foundation, Shannon Walton, about her journey through guiding, what led her to the Redside Foundation, and why this mission matters now more than ever.
Before stepping into nonprofit leadership, Shannon spent more than 15 years working as a professional guide. Her career moved with the seasons, shaped by rivers, mountains, and constant transition. She guided across the United States and internationally, experiencing a wide range of landscapes, cultures, and guiding communities.
When asked about favorite places, Shannon acknowledged the difficulty of narrowing down a life spent on the water. Each river represented not just a location, but a period of learning and reflection.
“Each of these rivers taught me something about myself and about the world.”
That relationship with wild places continues to influence her work today. Rivers, for Shannon, are not simply backdrops for adventure but environments that demand focus and presence.
“Rivers always bring me back to presence,” she explained. “As for mountains, each range holds its own secrets and beauty.”
Like many long-term guides, Shannon eventually reached a point where her path began to evolve. A defining moment came when she was invited to train as a Swiss Mountain Guide. While meaningful, the opportunity brought clarity.
“While I loved guiding, I wanted to do more, or maybe something different,” she said.
That realization marked a turning point. It was both exciting and unsettling.
“I knew right then that my path was changing, and it scared me.”
The transition did not happen overnight. Over several years, Shannon assessed her skills, values, and long-term sustainability within the outdoor industry. She eventually moved into public relations and marketing, a shift that reframed how she could continue contributing to the guiding world she loved.
To many outsiders, guiding looks like a dream job. And at times, it is. But the day-to-day reality of professional guiding is far more complex.
Guides carry constant responsibility for their clients’ physical and psychological safety. They manage risk, logistics, group dynamics, and decision-making in environments where mistakes have real consequences. All of this happens while maintaining a calm, confident presence and delivering a positive guest experience.
Basic needs are often compromised. Sleep is inconsistent, especially for multi-day guides who remain alert through the night. Nutrition is dictated by guest schedules. Healthcare, whether physical or mental, is difficult to access in the rural locations where guiding often occurs. Even privacy and personal time are limited.
“What many people think of as normal self care is, for many guides, an extreme luxury,” Shannon explained.
Seasonal transitions add another layer of strain. Guides frequently move between jobs, locations, and communities multiple times each year.
“It often felt like I lived three or four completely different lives each year,” she recalled. “Each one had its own culture, expectations, and rhythms. Leaving one and transitioning to the next brought a deep sense of loss.”
Over time, these pressures accumulate into chronic stress and exhaustion. Without support systems, that weight often goes unaddressed.
In 2019, Shannon and her family moved back to Idaho and settled in Boise. While freelancing in PR and marketing, she found herself searching for work that felt more directly connected to purpose and impact.
Around the same time, a friend mentioned that the Redside Foundation was looking for an Executive Director. As Shannon began learning more about the organization, her reaction was immediate.
“When I started reading about the organization, I cried. It felt like relief.”
The Redside Foundation represented something she had needed during her own guiding career.
“In short, I could have really benefitted from the support services the Redside Foundation offers now.”
Access to mental health support, financial guidance, professional development, and community could have made a long-term guiding career more sustainable. Today, Shannon views her role as an opportunity to give back to the community that shaped her.
“I am deeply grateful that I now get to help support the community that shaped who I am.”
Shannon’s leadership approach is grounded in lived experience. She understands the emotional strain of seasonal transitions, the pressure to hold everything together for others, and the long-term effects of instability.
At the Redside Foundation, leadership begins with listening. Trust and confidentiality are central to the organization’s work.
“I lead by being someone guides can trust with the truth of their experience.”
Steadiness matters as well. Guides spend much of their careers managing uncertainty for others. They deserve support systems that are reliable, compassionate, and consistent.
Shannon is intentional about challenging the culture of toughness that often surrounds guiding.
“Asking for help isn’t weakness. It’s wisdom.”
For her, leadership is ultimately an act of service.
The impact of the Redside Foundation shows up in many forms. Each month, guides reach out after using the Helpline, receiving scholarships, accessing professional development grants, or finding support during difficult seasons.
Some messages are brief but powerful.
“Without the Redside Foundation, I wouldn’t be here.”
Others reflect long-term investment. Guides who once received support have gone on to become licensed therapists and now serve within the Redside Foundation’s growing network of care.
“To me, that really speaks to the power and importance of this work,” Shannon said.
Advocacy work carries emotional weight, and the Redside Foundation does not shy away from acknowledging that reality.
“This work is profoundly meaningful, but it is also heavy.”
As a team, the Redside Foundation strives to live the same values it promotes within the guiding community. That includes open communication, mutual support, and refusing to glorify burnout.
“We celebrate small wins, honor the big ones, and make space for reflection,” Shannon shared. “Those moments remind us that this work matters.”
Shannon hopes the guiding industry continues moving toward more open conversations about sustainability. That includes mentorship, healthcare access, livable wages, retention, and honest dialogue between guides and outfitters.
“Normalizing open dialogue between guides and outfitters will improve the workplace, improve trips, and improve businesses.”
For the Redside Foundation itself, success is defined with humility and long-term perspective.
“The ultimate goal of the Redside Foundation is to do our job so well that one day it’s no longer needed.”
The Redside Foundation offers many ways to engage, whether as a guide, outfitter, brand, or member of the outdoor community.
For guides who may be struggling but hesitant to reach out, Shannon emphasized one essential point.
“It is 100 percent confidential, and the program exists for you.”
The Guide Helpline connects professional outdoor guides with licensed counselors who understand the guiding lifestyle. Sessions happen quickly, schedules are respected, and the first eight sessions are free.
Those looking to support the mission can volunteer, host events, sponsor programs, attend the annual Redside Foundation Rendezvous, or make a donation. The Redside Foundation’s work is sustained by a community that believes guides deserve care, longevity, and connection.
The Redside Foundation exists to ensure that the people who lead others through wild places are supported with the same care they offer every day.
To learn more, access support, or get involved, visit www.redsidefoundation.org.
