Client Comments

I was very impressed with both the Aspiring Guides set up, systems and support and Joel as a guide. I felt that he was always attempting to add as much value as possible to our experience. The night skiing was a real bonus. He constantly pushed us to get the most out of the trip. Regardless of the weather or conditions. Everything from the interactions with Carla and Jess to briefly meeting Tim and then Joel’s professionalism all excelled.

I thought the course was excellent, and exceeded my expectations. Course content was very thorough and well delivered. Bronwen was amazing, and put a lot of effort into the course. Very enthusiastic, and a great teacher, thanks Bron!

It was super well organised, really professional, covered off everything we wanted to learn.

I would 100% recommend Aspiring Guides. It was a once in a lifetime trip for me. Our guide Dan made sure we got the most out of the conditions that were available to us and actually it meant we got to experience three different back country areas instead of just one, so it worked out better than I even hoped for. Despite being the least experienced ski tourer in the group I felt comfortable and safe at all times.

Did not previously appreciate the risks, and feel significantly more competent and aware in the back country now. Great course! Would recommend to anyone looking at doing more back country. Thanks for a great 4 days!

Really delighted to get to spend the day exploring new places with some enthusiastic outdoor guys.

It was perfect. Couldn’t speak highly enough about the guides and the trip. Top drawer.

Thanks for your great work to make my first trip into the NZ Alps so memorable and thoroughly enjoyable. You are blessed with an awesome landscape - thank you for sharing it with me. A special thanks to Bron for her leadership, friendliness and professionalism out in the hills. I believe we all learnt heaps through Bron’s teaching and guiding. I was the weaker skier of the group and Bron ensured there were always options within my capability and also encouraged me with useful tips. Risks were always well explained and we had some great safety training. The trip was modified according to weather conditions appropriately. I realised how ignorant of avalanche risk myself and those I normally ski with are. A professionally guided trip is a great option. Great trip and great people - clients and staff and Bron as a guide.

The experience is highly unique and away from the crowds which appealed to me. Great set of information to prepare fitness and equipment wise. Tom kept a great eye on all of us to help if needed and tailored runs to each of us if need be. Powder runs, helicopter rides and pristine environment. Experience I’ll never forget.

The course met my expectations and pushed me quite a bit beyond my existing experience & knowledge levels. I felt completely confident & at ease at all times with our guide Andrea. I really enjoyed the safety tutorials/classes (avalanche safety, snow anchor theory, skinning technique, steep ski descents), the practical tips & hints on a range of techniques & activities (eg ski crampon usage, belaying without a belay device), the awesome terrain & landscape, and Andrea's cooking. I was impressed by the calmly positive & friendly attitude of all the Aspiring Guides team I interacted with - no big egos or haughty manners! Thanks for a great time, Andrea & everyone. You have a very slick, smooth service that really provides great value for $.

I was looking for a challenging back country snowboarding opportunity for myself and my 12 year old son. It was a father and son trip so I wanted it to be memorable, fun, but also a big learning opportunity. Splitboarding was something neither of us had done. The opportunity to stay at Robrosa Hut was ideal also. Day 2 was an absolutely beautiful day with great snow, total isolation, and the whole mountain to ourselves. The trip wouldn’t have been the same without our guide Jimmy's good nature, knowledge and professionalism. Ben and I now have a well embedded mantra of “what would Jimmy do” whenever decisions need to be made. The backcountry is a perfect metaphor for lifelong learning given the varying conditions on a daily basis. Jimmy was able to make that very clear to Ben in a very teachable way.

How can I say enough about this experience? The location: OMG simply stunning backdrop. The private Rob Rosa huts are well organised and, well, very private. The 15 minute heli ride in was pure joy and anticipation. The course: they delivered big time on avalanche knowledge including theory & practical; a relevant and succinct manual was provided (to keep), as well as a laminated map for each course participant; I learned much more than expected. The skiing: we were fortunate with 3 great weather days plus one snow/rain day in the middle that was firmly seized to deliver theory & practical; meaning that the fair-weather days were used for ski touring & on-mountain snowpack analysis from sun-up to sun-down, most of it on virgin powder. This course is not for the unfit, or for the beginning skier. However if you love nature, skiing, earning your thrills and taking responsibility for your own safety then I cannot recommend this course highly enough.

I feel more knowledgeable, yet realistic that there's so much more to learn and get time in the mountains. There's so much to know and it's super interesting. Four days is just the tip of the iceberg, but it really supports everything else I know about the outdoors. It's great doing the back country skiing (of course) but learning all the time about the NZ mountain weather and snow just adds to the bigger picture.

I took part in the one and half day avalanche awareness course with Aspiring Guides and learnt so much!! All the staff and guides are super lovely people, very knowledgeable and experienced, and I came away from the course with some awesome photos, very achy legs and most importantly a new respect for the mountains! The course taught me a lot about avalanches, and in the field we practised things like safe travel techniques, recognising avalanche terrain, and the proper use of shovel, probe and transceiver in a rescue effort. I would highly recommend this course and the whole company for anyone wanting to experience the wild outdoors!

The trip was everything I'd dreamt of ski touring the Southern Alps, and much more! I enjoyed this trip soooo much! I can't wait to return in a couple years.

A relaxing getaway with an old mate combined with a cool lodge and back country skiing. Awesome slopes. Staying at Whare Kea Chalet was an amazing place with awesome facilities and luxury beds with a view of the Milky Way! Back country ski touring with a guide in remote locations takes all the stress out of making decisions.

Positive ski mountaineering experience and beautiful glacier environment! Great experienced guide in Dan, super professional, extremely hard working. Food was great and plentiful.

It was a wonderful learning experience. It was great to learn safe travel practices for glaciers, ski the glaciers and experience the mountains of NZ. Trip of a lifetime! It opened up a whole new world to me.

Thanks so much for such an awesome few days in the Pisa Range - remote location, amazing conditions, Dan, our guide, was super informative re snow conditions, safety and general mountain tips. Loved skiing a line and looking back up at it and then the relief of making it back to the top again - that satisfaction of getting some great lines after you have done all the hard work to get there! And thanks for the big, hearty, warm meals. Smooth and professional operation, amazing experience.

You guys are JUST THE BEST! Skiing untracked powder snow where you earn the turns. A truly wilderness experience yet so close to Wanaka. High class authentic NZ experience.

I had an awesome day. Andrea was fantastic and did an amazing job of meeting the group's needs. He found us great snow along with some great touring info.

My mates and I went on a single day backcountry tour in the Wye Saddle/Wye creek out the back of the Remarkables. It was 3 days after a storm that delivered 30cm of fresh snow. While the resort was tracked out days before, our guide took us to some stashes where we found some fantastic fresh turns. Some of my mates had not been in the backcountry before and the guide was very helpful in showing them how to use the Alpine Touring gear and skins. He also conducted a quick training session on avalanche safety gear. We had a truly fantasitc day with Andrea.

Really enjoyed our trip to the backcountry of Treble Cone. The guide made us feel safe and confident, and showed us some incredible places to ski. Would highly recommend.