As we’ve gotten older here at NCMG, we have started to think more and more about milestones. Most of these milestones revolve around our kids – first birthday, first bicycle, first black diamond run etc., etc…. These milestones and our families are by far the most important things in our lives, but the milestones around NCMG and the life we’ve chosen as guides are also very important to us.
Powder Turns on the Haute Route
2014 will mark the 30th year of NCMG’s existence. In those 30 years NCMG has evolved into what some people would call a “boutique” guide service, offering low-ratio, high-end mountain adventures around the world. Most of us here would prefer to use the word “small” as opposed to “boutique” but small doesn’t fully describe what we do at NCMG.
Skiing towards Mount Velan
Take for example the world famous Haute Route. Last year marked our 10th year of guiding this amazing ski tour from Chamonix to Zermatt. It is a trip that every ski mountaineer needs to make once in his or her life. It is a trip of a lifetime, but what happens to the guide that does the “trip of a lifetime” multiple times a year for decades? It starts to feel less like a trip of a lifetime and more like work. That is why we’ve only been offering one of these trips a year and keep the group size small. We have continued doing what we do because we enjoy the work and we know this enjoyment is contagious.
Skiing down from the Pigne d'Arolla
We are very grateful for the opportunity to fully enjoy our jobs. Our biggest professional milestone is being able to make a living as mountain guides for past several decades. We would like to thank everyone that has helped our dream come true. We look forward to playing (Did I say playing? I meant to say working.) with you in the mountains in the near future.