OnTop Mountain Guides
in Europe:
Here are some of the certified
mountain guides that we work with regularly for our trips, courses
and custom itineraries in Europe. We gladly serve you in any
location in the Alps, the Dolomites, the Pyrenees or the many
mountainous areas in Europe outside the Alps, namely the ranges
along the Mediterranean Sea in Spain, Italy, Greece, France
and the islands of Corsica, Sardegna and Mallorca.
Jörg
Wilz
Jörg Wilz
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Jorg is the owner and head guide
for OnTop. He grew up in Heidelberg, Germany and has been mountaineering
and skiing in the Alps since early childhood. He has climbed
and guided many "classics" in the Alps (Complete Peuterey
Traverse and Freney Pillar on Mont Blanc, Tempi Moderni at the
Marmolada, Dolomites), extensive ski traverses as well as fast
Big Wall ascents in Yosemite (Salathe on El Capitan at age 18)
and in the Himalayas (Nameless Tower, Yugoslavian Route, 2nd
ascent).
Internationally certified as
a mountain and ski guide (UIAGM / IFMGA) by the Technical University
of Munich in 1986, he was granted reciprocity by the American
Mountain Guides Association(AMGA) in 1997 and the Association
of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG) in 2000. He also holds CAA
(Canadian Avalanche Association) Level 3 certification and a
blasting license for avalanche control in B.C. The UIAA Expedition
Commission appointed him twice to lead their International Mountaineering
Camps, 1993 in Pakistan and 1997 in China. In a former life,
he took advantage of his graduate business degree and a CPA
diploma by working for an international business consulting
firm in Frankfurt and Chicago.
Jörg bases himself for most
of the year in Canmore in the Canadian Rockies. He can also
be found quite often in the Alps, in Colorado or in Revelstoke
BC, where he is putting in first tracks as a helicopter-ski
guide for Canadian Mountain
Holidays. He speaks German, English, French and Italian.
Rinaldo Borra
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Rinaldo Borra
Like most of us, Rinaldo is
on the move a lot. A native Swiss from Stalden, (just down
the road from Zermatt) he has made the Canadian West his second
home, where he spends a large part of the winter in Revelstoke,
B.C. as a helicopter-ski guide for Selkirk Tangiers. However,
a busy guiding schedule makes for several transatlantic trips
a year from his home in Grindelwald right below the Eiger
North Face, where he lives with his wife and three young kids.
Rinaldo has an impressive
list of guiding and skiing related certifications to his credit:
Internationally certified (UIAGM / IFMGA) as a mountain &
ski guide in Switzerland in 1992, certified ski instructor
in 1993 and snowboard instructor in 1996. He is also an active
instructor and examiner in the Swiss mountain guide certification
process.
Rinaldo's climbing resume stands
for diversity: Aside from countless peak ascents and ski traverses
in the Western Alps, he summitted Gasherbrum, Mount Logan,
did remote ski traverses in the Cascades and enjoys hard rock
climbs anywhere in the world. Being Swiss, he speaks (Swiss-)German,
French, Italian and of course English. His friendly, ever
cheerful personality gets him through even in places where
he doesn't happen to speak the language!
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Martino Peterlongo
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Martino Peterlongo
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Martino is a true climbing
aficionado from his early youth on. Born and still at home
in Trento, northern Italy, he calls the Dolomites and the
mountains around the Garda Lake (Arco) his home turf. Nevertheless,
Martino is also well familiar with the western Alps and particularly
the Mont Blanc range, where he climbed many of the hard classics,
such as the Hyper and the Supercouloir at the Mont Blanc.
At home in the Dolomites he managed a free ascent of the "Weg
durch den Fisch" at the Marmolada South Face in the Dolomites
- still one of the hardest alpine rock routes in the Dolomites.
Martino has also a Masters in Sociology, however since he
gained full IFMGA certification in 2000, he works full time
as a mountain guide, either in the Alps or in Canada, where
he has spent two summers in the services of Yamnuska Inc.
Most recently, Martino also joined the guides instructor's
team of his home province, the Trentino. Aside from his native
Italian, Martino speaks English and German fluently.
Thomas
Exner
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Thomas Exner
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Thomas grew up in Mittenwald
in the Bavarian Alps of Germany, skiing and climbing from
the day he could stand straight. With the Austrian border
being only a stone's-throw away, he ended up going to the
University in Innsbruck, where he graduated with a master
degree in Meteorology as well as his UIAGM / IFMGA mountain
guiding certification.
Thomas moved to Canada in 2005, where he spend his first years
doing avalanche control work for the ski resort in Jasper
AB and guiding for Yamnuska Inc. His interest in avalanches
lead him to pursue a Ph.D. in applied avalanche science at
the University of Calgary. Whenever he is not digging snow
pits at Rogers Pass, BC he is guiding for OnTop, both in Canada
and during the summer also in his old hunting grounds, the
Alps. Thomas recently moved from Canmore AB to Golden BC,
where he still holds out to be the only vegetarian Bavarian
in Western Canada.
Walter Andrighetto |
Walter
Andrighetto
Walter Andrighetto grew up
in Meran in the German speaking region of South Tirol, Italy.
He started skiing at as soon as he could walk and got into
climbing and mountaineering at the age of 16. Although he
also has a degree in environmental engineering, Walter prefers
to test the mechanics of snow in the field as a full time
mountain guide, which he practices since he received his full
IFMGA / UIAGM certification in 2007.
Walter now splits his time
between Meran and Brunegg, from where he has quick access
to his beloved Dolomites as well as all the other ranges along
the main divide of the Alps. Walter is very popular with our
clients for his patience and high client care standards. He
speaks native German and Italian as well as excellent English.
Icaro De Monte |
Icaro
De Monte
Icaro is originally from the
northern Italian port of Trieste, but moved to the nearby
mountains as an adolescent. Certified as an UIAGM / IFMGA
mountain guide for well over 15 years, Icaro has extensive
experience as a full time guide all over the Alps. Icaro has
a very passionate personality which is reflected in his work,
may it be rock climbing, high peak ascents, ski touring or
easy trail hiking! His story telling is legendary and his
historic knowledge is especially appreciated by our Dolomites
clients, where traces of WW1 are omnipresent. According to
rumors, he doesn't only enjoy good food, he also likes to
prepare it! If not in his VW Van, Icaro lives with his partner
in Colfuschg in the Badia Valley of the Dolomites.
Markus Beck
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Markus Beck
Markus is a Swiss native who,
like many Europeans started climbing and skiing in his early
childhood. He moved to the Colorado Front Range in the mid-nineties
and became one of the early "Americans" who earned his full
mountain guide certification through the American Mountain Guide
Association (AMGA) in 2003. He also holds Swiss Ski and Snowboard
Instructor certification.
Markus is a true cosmopolitan, who speaks six languages and
feels equally at home in Colorado and in Europe. He has climbed,
skied and guided all over the world but he is always drawn back
to the Alps for at least one extended guiding stint every year.
Like few guides, Markus manages to easily bridge the cultural
gap between our international clients and the often very traditional
European environment. Aside from being an excellent guide, he
is a great communicator and fun to climb with!
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Geoffroy Arvis
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Geoffroy Arvis
Geoffroy Arvis has been a fully
certified mountain guide (UIAGM / IFMGA) for well over 15 years.
He has a wealth of experience in the Western Alps, namely in
the Mont Blanc area and the southern ranges of the French Alps,
not only as an independent mountain guide but also from his
former career as an officer with the PGHM, a police department
that is responsible for mountain rescues in the French Alps.
Geoffroy is popular with our clients for his patience and perseverance,
which is important especially given the challenges guides face
on our Mont Blanc ascents. He lives with his partner close to
the Lake Geneva and his English is excellent.
Gery
Unterasinger
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Gery Unterasinger
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Gery (a.k.a Gerhard) grew up
in Lienz in the Tirol province of Austria, only a stone's throw
away from the Dolomites and within eye sight of the nation's
highest peak, the Grossglockner. A full-blood mountain guide
for well over 20 years, Gery has not lost a bit of enthusiasm
when it comes to to skiing and mountaineering. Like few others,
he still pushes himself and can routinely be found cranking
5.13 on rock or WI 6 on ice during his time off.
Gery came to the Canadian West
in 1994 working as a heli-ski guide for Canadian Mountain Holidays,
a position he held until 2011. He is also an active instructor
and examiner in the Austrian mountain guide certification system,
where he passes on his wealth of experience to the younger generation
of mountain guides. Gery lives most of the year with his wife
and two young children in Canmore AB but can also be found anywhere
in the Alps, mainly during the summer. Gery speaks English and
German.
Flory Kern |
Flory Kern
A native German from the Black
Forest, Flory's great passion is skiing! Since one winter a
year was not enough for him, he spend quite some time ski bumming
in New Zealand. For a while he made a name for himself in international
free skiing competitions eventually leading to winning Germany's
world cup title in mogul skiing in 1992.
Now that he has a family with
two kids, he likes to stay closer to home, skiing down ice faces
in the Alps that most climbers find challenging to climb up!
Descents such as Eiger West Face, Matterhorn East Face or Lenzspitz
Northeast Face (in 3.5 minutes!) are among the many on his resume.
He often models for photo shoots and receives sponsorship from
several equipment manufacturers - North Face being one of them.
Luckily Flory can also find his
way UP mountains and rock and ice climbs too! As a mountain
guide, he is internationally certified (UIAGM/IFMGA) by the
Technical University of Munich and his excellent English comes
in handy working with Jorg on our programs in Europe.
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Todd Guyn
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Todd Guyn
A true Albertan with heart and
soul, Todd grew up in the southern front range of the Canadian
Rockies and in Calgary. He has been mountain guiding professionally
for about 20 years, during the winters he mainly in the services
of Canadian Mountain Holidays where he currently is the Assitant
Manager of the Revelstoke Heli-Skiing operation. Until recently,
Todd was also the Technical Director of the Association of Canadian
Mountan Guides (ACMG) and as such supervised the certification
standards for new guides in Canada.
Most importantly, Todd is an avid rock climber and used to be
leading edge of the sport in Canada in the 80s. He still travels
extensively to explore new climbing areas all over the world
and especially in Europe. The "Prince of Darkness"
a.k.a. "Skinny Bitter Man" lives in Canmore with his
wife and he is really quite a pleasant fellow, hugely appreciate
by his clients and peers alike, for his competence and sense
of humor.
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Paul Haas
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Paul
Haas
Paul Haas a.k.a. "Hackl
Paul" is a child of Neustift in the Stubai Valley of Tirol
in Austria. Growing up in one of the high places of skiing and
mountaineering in the Austrian Alps, it goes without saying
that Paul has been climbing and skiing just about as long as
he can walk.
He
has been a fully certified mountain guide (IFMGA / UIAGM) for
well over 20 years and has been guiding full time all over the
Alps. Paul has also been an active instructor and examiner for
the Austrian Mountain Guide Certification Program.
Paul is also a certified ski,
cross country ski and snow board instructor as well as a fabulous
cabinet maker. Whenever he is not raveling the mountains of
the world, Paul lives with his wife and three children in Neustift,
Austria.
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Paul Vidalin
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Paul Vidalin
Paul Vidalin is yet another long
time friend, who is a lifetime mountain professional. Starting
out as a safety and rescue specialist for Alberta Mountain Parks
he quickly became certified as a Mountain Guide (IFMGA / UIAGM)
in the 90s. By now, Paul spends most of his time in the services
of Canadian Mountain Holidays (CMH), currently as the manager
of the Monashees Heli Ski Lodge in Mica Creek, BC.
Aside from his native Rockies
and Columbia Ranges, Paul also regularly guides for OnTop in
the Alps, namely in the Dolomites. Paul is notorious for his
practical jokes and sense of humor. He lives with his wife and
dog more or less on the other side of the creek from us in Canmore
AB.
Jörn Heller
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Jörn
Heller
Joern has been a certified mountain
guide (UIAGM / IFMGA) for more than 15 years including many
years as an instructor / examiner for the German Alpine Club.
Jörn has a Masters degree in education and lives with his
family in Freiburg in the south western part of Germany, very
close to the borders of Switzerland and France. The Valley of
Chamonix has become his second home and - no wonder - he has
been on the top of the Mont Blanc more than sixty times.
Jörn is an excellent technical
climber with an impressive international resume including Cerro
Torre and Cerro Standhardt in Patagonia.
