These are the guides that work most closely with us either as IFMGA guides or International Mountain Leaders. All of our Guides are English speaking but we also have Italian, Spanish and French speakers.
Victoria Chelton – International Mountain Leader (MIC)
Born and raised in the Lake district, Victoria has been working as climber, mountaineer, and instructor for the last for last 20 years. After living in the Lake District, Scotland and Wales, she has now settled in Chamonix in the French Alps. Her primary passion is climbing and mountaineering. In recent years she has become an ultra-marathon runner, competing on the mountain marathon circuit.Having completed the series of UK qualifications, Victoria holds the top level of UK mountaineering instructional Award (MIC) and International Mountain Leader Award. With over 20 years in the field, she is an extremely experienced personal guide for rock and ice climbing.Other experience includes having worked as a trainer and assessor both for the National Governing Body (MLA Scheme) and British Military; a technical advisor for PGL (high ropes), and an expedition leader. This work has taken her all over the UK, the Alps, and South America. You may recognize her from the BMC's Alpine essentials DVD.
Pierre d'Alboy – IFMGA Guide
Pierre has been a IFMGA guide for twenty years and is also a certified outdoor coach. He was a also a French ski mountaineering champion. Prior to becoming a guide Pierre worked with difficult children, introducing them to outdoor sports and nature. Because he lives in Annecy, Pierre is ideally placed for guiding skiiers and climbers both in and away from Chamonix.
Neil Hitchings – IFMGA Guide
Neil discovered rock climbing at the age of 16 and it quickly became his lifes passion. From rock climbing he graduated to Alpine summits and frozen waterfalls.
Neil settled in the Chamonix valley in the late 1970s and, among other things, has worked as a ski-patroller at the Brévent ski area in Chamonix. At that time he was almost certainly the only Englishman to be working as a ski patroller in France. This work involved maintaining security on the marked pistes, evacuating the injured from the pistes and avalanche control. For several years, before deciding to become a guide, he ran his own rope access business.
Neil has now been working year round as a fully qualified U.I.A.G.M. guide since 1995. He is a member of the (A.I.G.M.B.) Association Internationale des Guides du Mont Blanc, based here in Chamonix.
Neil Johnson – IFMGA Guide
Neil guides throughout the Alps and spilts his year between Europe and the UK. For the past 20 years Neil has climbed and worked in the mountains both in the UK and further afield. Whilst in the Alps he specialises in 1:1 guiding with an emphasis on clients looking to climb challenging and technical routes. Neil recently made a rare British guided ascent of the North Face of the Dru.
Neil has been at the forefront of mountain training for the last fifteen years, delivering many courses from the Single Pitch Award right through to the Mountain Instructor Certificate. He was, up until recently, a familiar face at the national mountain centre; Plas Y Brenin before leaving to fulfil his guiding and climbing ambitions abroad. Neil has been heavily involved with the development of the UK awards structure having spent some time developing the Walking Group Leader and Climbing Wall Award schemes as well as delivering the FUNdamentals scheme for the British Mountaineering Council. Dedicated to the cause, Neil has also found the time to amass some impressive ascents including summiting Cerro Torre in Patagonia.
Fabio Levi – IFMGA Guide
Fabio has been a guide since 1987 though he qualified as an IFMGA guide in 2003. From 1989 to 1991 he combined activities in the Pyrenees with travel in the Saharan and sub-Saharan countries. In the early 1990's he was based in North America (Yosemite, Devil's Tower, Indian Creek). He worked for the Barcelona Olympics in 1992. From 2003-7 he guided in Vietnam, Cambodia, Tanzania, Iran and Nepal as well as the Alps and Pyrenees. Since 2009 he has concentrated on Alpine Guiding in Canada, Peru and Nepal. He works in Chamonix during the summer season. Since 2010 he has been a teacher and coordinator of the mountain guide courses at IES.
Dougal Tavener – IFMGA Guide
Dougal is a UIAGM Mountain Guide living in Chamonix, France, and is a extremely talented and very well-rounded climber, having onsighted up to E7 in North Wales, redpointed up to 8c, climbed hardest mixed first ascents, big mountain routes and ski descents.
After first mountain adventures aged six Dougal quickly became passionate about the mountains, growing up in Snowdonia, North Wales, gave an ideal training ground to feed his passion. Dougal competed 5 years for the British kayak Team winning international competitions before turning his entire enthusiasm towards the mountains, first working at the British National Mountain Centre, then Leading expeditions in South America, Nepal, Peru, and New Zealand. Dougal moved to Austria in 2004 where he continued competing as a sponsored athlete and guiding people on adventures in the mountains to share his passion.
Richard Moss – Ski Instructor
Richard was born in New Zealand but grew up and was educated in the UK. He spent his early professional life in the British military. A natural outdoorsman who loved the mountains, Richard soon found his feet in the mountains of Switzerland, where he brings together his 23 years skiing experience. Richard has skied all over the world from Canada to Norway, but soon fell in love with Verbier where he has taught skiing for the past 7 years. He holds the Canadian ski teachers qualification.
