Team – About us – Qualified Mountain Guides

The team

“TO BE A GOOD ALPINIST, YOU HAVE TO REMAIN TRUE TO YOURSELF” – DAVID LAMA

We are IFMGA certified Mountain Guides with head office in Aosta Valley, close to the majestic Mont Blanc massif.

We offer professionalism and experience, with several years organizing outdoor activities in many regions, in Italy and Europe, for individual or groups.
As outdoor enthusiasts, we are connected by a strong relation with the mountains and with the unspoiled spaces of the wildest nature.
We love our work, which we carry out with great commitment and deep respect for the Alpine environment, for its inhabitants and its territories.
The passion for exploration drives us to embark on memorable adventures and journeys, which we love to share with people who rely on us.
Safety is a key factor for us, an element of fundamental importance: we offer introductory courses to the different alpine disciplines
(Mountaineering, Rock climbing, Ice climbing, Ski mountaineering, Freeride, Hiking and Travels) to convey awareness and responsibility to our customers.
We offer expertise, training courses and technical knowledge essential to explore the mountains safely in any situation or conditions.
As Mountain Guides and professionals we are able to provide personalized advice and customized programs for every customers demand:
our experience is synonymous with professionalism and guarantee of unforgettable emotions, at high altitude and not only there!

DO YOU WANT TO KNOW THE PEAKSHUTER MOUNTAIN GUIDES TEAM? HERE ARE OUR PERSONAL STORIES!

PEAKSHUNTER STAFF

ELIS MARTIS

My name is Elis Martis, I was born in Magenta, but it was the Aosta Valley, where I moved when I was five, that truly shaped my spirit. From a young age, nature has always been my home, refuge, and passion. Whether riding my mountain bike or hiking the mountain trails alone, I felt a deep connection to freedom and adventure. My passion for mountaineering grew slowly, step by step. It started with simple hikes to huts and lakes, gradually evolving into more challenging and rewarding climbs. Every summit I reached was a step towards greater self-awareness, with each view providing a profound, unforgettable emotion. Seeing the world from the top, knowing I got there with my own strength, is an experience that never fails to inspire me. Live the adventure and share the experience is my motto, a...

EVI GARBOLINO

Sure! Here’s the English translation: Hi! I’m Evi Garbolino, Social Media Manager at Peakshunter and a professional photographer based in Aosta. My passion for mountains, travel, and the outdoors has become my profession: I tell visual stories through photography and share the emotions of high-altitude adventures. I’d describe myself as hyperactive because I can’t stay still — I’m always looking for new ideas, challenges, and projects that help me grow and push my limits. Collaborating with Peakshunter has allowed me to combine my creativity with my passion for mountaineering, working with an extraordinary team that shares my same values.

LUCA MINIERI

Mountains have been my playground ever since childhood: hiking, downhill and cross-country skiing as well as thrilling adventures exploring woods, meadows and rock walls, enjoyed during the long summer days in our mountain house. As a teenager, my attention focused on music: being a vocalist and guitarist, I fully devoted myself to this world and was involved in studio recordings, record productions and concerts around the world. A climbing course with Elis and Silvia rekindled my passion for this dazzling environment: slowly but surely, guitars and amplifiers were replaced by ice axes and skis. My passion for photography was then the icing on the cake. I still work as a sound engineer, though I escape to a mountain top whenever I can, touching rock, ice and snow, capturing pictures of the...

Are you a mountain professional? Join us!
We are always looking for people who share our values to grow the team. Below are some of the positions we are looking for:

Mountain guide
Mountain professional
Photographer or video maker
Customer care professional
Project manager
Copywriter

If you see yourself in any of these positions, but also if you think the mountains are your ideal office and want to tell us more about yourself, write to us at info@peakshunter.com and tell us about yourself!

THE GUIDES

CLAUDIO "Guru" ROSSET

Mountain peaks and pastures have been a constant in my life for as long as I can remember, especially those of Valpelline, off the main Aosta Valley. I was a forest ranger there for fifteen years, but I quit in 1998. Since then I have made my living as a mountain guide, working all over Europe and around the world. I consider myself a traveller, in the sense that the peak, our target, is actually just a pretext. What really matters is the journey! I married Claudia in 2011 and I have two wonderful children, Martino and Clarissa. Over the years, I become interested in security and rescue, specializing as a trainer and instructor in these important fields.

CLAUDIO BASTRENTAZ

I was born in the deep south of Valle d’Aosta, at Pont Saint-Martin, in 1966, but I have always lived the mountain as a place of fun and a space of freedom and adventure. I became an Mountain Guide in 1995 and I am part of the Compagnie des Guides d’Arnad, specialized in canyoning and a member of the Valdostano Alpine Rescue. After graduating from the Pont Saint-Martin Scientific High School, I enrolled at the ISEF in Turin and for more than twenty years I have been following the regional alpine skiing team as an athletic trainer. But it is certainly the mountain that has profoundly marked my life and my beliefs, always confronting me with a loyal environment and punctuated by simple rules that do not allow cheating. This area gave me incredible adventures of great gratification...

GABRIELE SILVESTRI

I was born in 1993. When I was a child and until the age of 15 I raced in alpine skiing’s regional circuit of Aosta Valley. I also competed in a cycling team for four years and I did a short time of ski-mountaineering competitions. I started to practice mountaineering, rock climbing and ice climbing because slowly I realized that I was starting to dream about becoming a mountain guide. From the begin of 2019 I have devoted all my time and energies to training for the Mountain Guide training course. In 2021 I have successfully passed all the exams, receiving my Aspirant Mountain Guide licence. Today I am really proud to lead my clients and I always try to teach them to explore the Alps, approaching mountains with responsibility, safety, enjoyment and sustainability. I love to travel and explore...

MAURICE GAILLARD

I have been a mountain guide since 1983. I can trace my passion for mountaineering to the stories my grandfather used to tell me when I was just a young child. He had worked at the Tête Rousse hut on Mont Blanc and, to earn a little more money, would offer his services as a porter, clocking up to twenty-odd climbs every year. I work all over the Alps, but primarily in the Aosta Valley. I find the mountains still inspire me as much today as they did when I was a little boy. I live in Fenis (Aosta), together with my wife Marilia and my daughter Nelly. In my spare time I help to run our small B&B “Chez Gaillard”, welcoming Italian and foreign tourists, who love the mountaineering world.

LUIGI "Gigio" GAGLIARDI

I was born at the sea but the passion for the mountains led me to become a mountain guide. The nearby Finale Ligure and the Ligurian and Maritime Alps were my first playground and I’m still strongly fond of these places. Curiosity and quest for adventure often led me far from home. So I found myself climbing, skiing and cycling around the world, from the boundless Hielo Continental to the windy peaks of Iceland through the steppes of Mongolia and the fjords of Norway. “Ready to go!” is my personal claim!

MARCELLO BARZANO'

I was born in the Po Valley (where I still live), although I recently lived for four years in Trentino in the Brenta Dolomites. My passion has always been the mountains. The Grigne are the mountains closest to and dearest to me, the ones that gave me the inspiration and great motivation to transform my devotion to the Highlands into a profession. My first “mountain” experiences were mainly exploratory rather than mountaineering. I have always been attracted to Eastern philosophies: I traveled and walked for long periods in little-known places in the Indian Himalayas, as well as the more well-known ones in Nepal. I have long explored the heart of the largest mountain range in the world. During this period, I was lucky enough to meet a kung fu master: in addition to the art of tai...

PAOLO MOLINARI

I was born in Gavirate (VA) in 1988 and at 21 I moved to Macugnaga, at the foot of the east of Monte Rosa, where I managed the municipal swimming pool for four years. Here I met an Alpine Guide and Instructor of the same who taught me and transmitted his passion for the mountains in all its forms, making this profession my dream.So I decided to move to Valle d’Aosta to train and cultivate this passion; in 2020 i have successfully passed all the e exams to became a Mountain Guide. Now my objective is to accompany people to the places of their dreams and try to pass on my values to them in the mountains.

MATTEO UPINOT

Born in Turin in 1984, but living in Biella. My connection with nature dates back to childhood. Growing up among the peaks of the Alps, I have always considered the mountains not only a physical place, but a true spiritual home. From a young age, I cultivated a passion for exploring Alpine peaks and trails, transforming the mountains from a simple passion to a way of life. For as long as I can remember, every free moment has been dedicated to returning to the peaks that I consider my refuge. The decision to turn my passion into a profession matured naturally over the years. Today, as an Aspiring Mountain Guide, I try to embrace the mountains in 360 degrees. I consider myself an eternal explorer, constantly looking for new routes, breathtaking views and challenges that push me to the limit....

CLAUDIO RAVERA

I was born in the province of Cuneo in 1978 and spent my childhood in the hills of the Langhe. From there, I watched the mountains on the horizon, dreaming of discovering what lay beyond. Over time, that distant boundary became my world. Today, my goal is to share this world with anyone who truly wants to experience it. Whether it’s a great alpine classic or a climbing wall, the mountains should be enjoyed in their purest form.I have always preferred the quieter, less traveled places, where nature feels more intense and every journey turns into an adventure. I love guiding people who want to challenge themselves those who dream of reaching a summit or simply want to walk on a glacier for the first time. For me, it has never been just about the peak it has always been about everything, the...

CONTRIBUTORS

DAVIDE MARINOVICH

I was born in Bolzano in 1968, foothills of the Dolomites, where I still live today with my family. Growing up in the mountains of South Tyrol/Südtirol, I discovered the passion for climbing and mountaineering. Becoming a mountain guide was the natural consequence of a life philosophy that began many years ago, when I first approached climbing in the mountains at home, such as Dolomites and Ortles. I work as a guide in both summer and winter. I accompany my guests by sharing with them the adventure of a climb, on the Dolomite rock faces or on the great ridges of the 4000’s of the Western Alps. Without neglecting safety, the success of a climb for me always remains a great challenge!

IKER MADOZ

I was born in Pamplona in the Summer of 1993. I come from a family of mountain enthusiasts, so I began to know nature and alpine environment from a very young age. Bike rides, routes through the valleys of the Pyrenees, mornings at the Etxauri climbing school playing with climbing equipment, trips across Europe with the van, etc. When I was about 12, I started climbing with my father. Like a lifelong mountaineer, he accompanied me when he saw my growing interest in his climbs. Thus, the months passed, while the acquired knowledge and the sporting level grew. In a few years, I moved from easy climbing to climbing on multi-pitches routes, to alpine skiing, ice climbing and, lastly, mountaineering. During the course to become a Guide I met many people from the mountain world, some of whom became...

GIANNI FRANCHI

Born and raised in nature, where my passion for the mountains and all its naturalistic and geological aspects matured. Lived up to 13 years in a small village in the Twin Mountains where I started my first excursions following the paths traced by local hunters. Today I spend all my free time in the mountains; the practice of hiking, climbing and ski mountaineering allowed me to become an excellent connoisseur mainly of the Abruzzo mountains but also of the Dolomites and the Aosta Valley. Lover of long treks, I am always on the lookout for new paths and wild places. For years now, my passion for the mountains has become my profession, which takes the form of a Medium Mountain Guide and Hiking Instructor. This means being able to best convey the passion and skills that we bring out every day...

FEDERICA CORONA

Born in 1985, I grew up in Milan. I first worked as a copywriter in an advertising agency, then I decided to join the family business. The mountains have always been part of my life and the Presolana, in the Bergamo Prealps, has increasingly fueled this passion. In recent years, I realized that the city was tight on me and my love for the mountains pushed me to embark on a new path. In 2020 I became a Medium Mountain Guide and I got back into the game by moving between the mountains. Accompanying people on the paths, making known the beauties of nature and the wonderful landscapes that surround us is a beautiful emotion and being able to share my passion is the greatest satisfaction.

The team

“TO BE A GOOD ALPINIST, YOU HAVE TO REMAIN TRUE TO YOURSELF” – DAVID LAMA

DO YOU WANT TO KNOW THE PEAKSHUTER MOUNTAIN GUIDES TEAM? HERE ARE OUR PERSONAL STORIES!

ELIS MARTIS

QUALIFICATIONS

CLIMBING HIGHLIGHTS

STEEP SKIING

OTHER ACTIVITIES

EVI GARBOLINO

LUCA MINIERI

CLAUDIO "Guru" ROSSET

QUALIFICATIONS

CLIMBING HIGHLIGHTS

EXPEDITIONS

TREKKING EXPEDITIONS OUTSIDE EUROPE

CLAUDIO BASTRENTAZ

QUALIFICATIONS

CLIMBING HIGHLIGHTS

STEEP SKIING

EXPEDITIONS

GABRIELE SILVESTRI

QUALIFICATIONS

CLIMBING HIGHLIGHTS

STEEP SKIING

MAURICE GAILLARD

QUALIFICATIONS

CLIMBING HIGHLIGHTS

EXPEDITIONS

LUIGI "Gigio" GAGLIARDI

QUALIFICATIONS

CLIMBING HIGHLIGHTS

STEEP SKIING

OTHER ACTIVITIES

MARCELLO BARZANO'

QUALIFICATIONS

MAIN PEAKS

STEEP SKIING

TREKKING EXPEDITIONS OUTSIDE EUROPE

PAOLO MOLINARI

QUALIFICATIONS

CLIMBING HIGHLIGHTS

STEEP SKIING

ICE

MATTEO UPINOT

QUALIFICATIONS

CLAUDIO RAVERA

QUALIFICATIONS

DAVIDE MARINOVICH

QUALIFICATIONS

IKER MADOZ

QUALIFICATIONS

CLIMBING HIGHLIGHTS

ICE CLIMBING

CLIMBING EXPEDITIONS OUTSIDE EUROPE

GIANNI FRANCHI

QUALIFICATIONS

MAIN TREKKINGS

FEDERICA CORONA

QUALIFICATIONS

MAIN TREKKING AND CLIMBING HIGHLIGHTS