Alpine Guides

Alpine Guides

Alpine Guides
5
About
Alpine Guides is New Zealand's longest-established mountain and ski guiding company - since 1966. We offer year-round activities for adventurous travelers; from glacier hikes, and helicopter skiing to mountaineering instruction and climbing NZ's highest peaks. Our priority is safety and all our guides are qualified professionals.
Mt. Cook Village, New Zealand
Tours and Tickets by Alpine Guides

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5.0
5.0 of 5 bubbles78 reviews
Excellent
76
Very good
2
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Antoine Filion
Chambly, Canada7 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2022
Long story short, amazing experience from A to Z. Me and my partner booked for the Alpine Skills Course (ASC) at Tasman Saddle Hut, and we were not disapointed. Right from the start, even though we decided to embark on this adventure at the very last minute (i.e. 3 days before departure), alpine guides worked to get an additional guide, accomodated all our needs, and had flawless communication with us. This was our first real mountaineering experience, and from day 1 to the end, both guides (Pablo and Gary) worked to keep our confidence up and really pushed ourselves to get out of our respective confort zone, while always making our safety their priority. In addition, Pablo's cooking is flawless (we ate like kings for the whole trip) and both Pablo and Gary had amazing stories and adventures to share, making the evenings just as enjoyable as the day trips. All in all, every penny put into that experience was worth it, and we both highly recommend Alpine guides for their professional services, and the guides for their ability to transmit their love and respect for the mountains.
Written 2 February 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
And thank you both for coming out with us. We wish you many more adventures in the mountains.
Written 9 February 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Keith M
Clovelly, Australia12 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 • Solo
I did the MEC with guide Chris who chose an excellent campsite surrounded by the geographical features we needed to complete the course far from the crowds that descend on the region during summer. He chose to fly us in by helicopter so we would arrive fresh and ready to embrace the course.
We started the course as soon as we had established camp and the tempo was maintained throughout the four days .
Chris is a very good leader and instructor, I learned a lot and challenged my fears under his guidance.
I thoroughly enjoyed the course and can recommend Alpine Guides as a professional and experienced company.
I’ll be back for more adventures!
Written 30 December 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Your campsite is one of our best-kept secret, great locations. I'm glad you enjoyed your time with Chris. Look forward to seeing you back with us.
Written 19 March 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Joseph F
Middletown, CT21 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2022
A+ Highly recommend
As my professional filming with Alpine Guides continued, friendships grew and I really appreciate the hospitality and amazing time in the mountains learning from everyone at the outfit. They are a great group of people, down to earth and incredible professional and approachable.

I had the opportunity first to work with Alpine Guides NZ, filming a short video commercial for their Tasman Glacier Heli Hike Tour. Man was it amazing. Smooth sign in and load up in the heli. INCREDIBLE SCENERY on the flight. Braided river, Lake Pukaki, Mount Cook, peaks as far as you can see and flying fast - facing down the dramatic chasms of the Tasman Glacier. This was the first time I worked with Tai and Pablo and while on the ice, they were the perfect guides.
Tai and I really clicked and linked up again to film the alpine skills course they offer, which is an amazing investment for someone looking to venture into steeper rock, route finding, or snow and glacier travel. The course was incredible and well structured. The amount that you learn and practice in the 5 days is top! The climbing, anchor building, rescue, and travel techniques on both rock climbing and glacier was the perfect stepping stone for when I partnered with Alpine Guides one last time before I left New Zealand, now as a customer to hike Tititea with Taichiro. Not only is he a great guide, but Tai is just a great person to spend time with in the mountains. He and I really enjoy talking about filming and photography or story telling which is a bonus. But as a hiking partner, he is incredibly knowledgable, he solves problems, is thoughtful, doesn’t talk too much or too little, enjoys good food and early mornings and is positive and matter of fact. I’ll cherish the memories of hiking up Tititea with Tai over 3 days at the end of January 2022. Tititea was a flawless trip through and through and an amazing investment. The trip is one on one with a guide and we moved between crampons and rock, some cams or quick belay anchors. And on the summit day could see all the way to the west coast and even mount Aoraki.

Thanks for all of the coordination and amazing guiding and instruction Mark, Arthur, Kevin, Pablo, Jamie, and my brotha Taichiro! Thank you for your friendship Tai and all the best until I see you and your family again!
Written 24 May 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

fcgg
Fort Lauderdale, FL249 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2022
Our guides (Dave "Gnarly", Pablo "Pablito", Mark "Tubs", and Dave "Shaggy") were simply the best guys we could have ever gotten to take care of us and guide us.
They went far and beyond what could be expected from us, from the minute we met them un Wanaka, to the minute we left to Queenstown.
Super friendly and cool to be around with, as well as extremely knowledgeable and professional.
All angles were covered. We always felt as safe as we could be. These guys are beautiful beasts! Unbelievably dexterous and unstoppable. They were able to accommodate for our individual capabilities and conditions, making every one of our personal experiences extremely satisfactory.
I would not hesitate one second to recommend them for any adventure anyone was to undertake. In fact I personally look forward to exploring with them in the near future.
Written 2 January 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Lissy148
Auckland, New Zealand9 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2021
I had a great climb to Mueller hut staying overnight 14th April 2021. I was travelling solo to Aoraki Mt Cook and have no alpine climbing experience Chris Mackie of Alpine Guides was my guide and I really appreciated that he took time to share his extensive knowledge and experience along the way. He taught me a lot about how to climb & descend efficiently using energy saving and ergonomic principles, aspects of mountain safety and the dangers of rockfall, choosing a best route and so much about alpine plants, the provenance of Aoraki and the geology of the mountain area and Mueller glacier. Chris was empowering in his approach to instructing me in skills and I felt so good about what I was able to achieve. Chris impressed me with how approachable he was and proactive about showing interest in everybody’s wellbeing on the mountain. The first day with a 2000 step ascent & rock scramble was in stunning clear sunny still weather. The sunset from the hut with fresh snow all around was utterly vast and beautiful. Overnight the weather closed in with 70km high wind gusts, rain and ice. It was fantastic to feel confident (but I was definitely terrified at the same time) in the descent with tips and help from Chris and using crampons for the first time. The two days of different extremes of weather graphically proved to me that it was essential to know my limits and that I was right to rely on experts in such an awesome but unforgiving environment. Thanks Chris and Alpine Guides!!
Written 20 April 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Suze
16 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2023
For my husband's 50th b'day he chose for myself, he and our two teenagers to stay overnight at Plateau Hut. While we needed patience for the weather to deliver it was well worth the wait. Our guide, Dave, was phenomenal. He was informative, safety conscious, a great story teller, patient and a great chef to boot. Someone needs to write a book about his alpine experiences! The landscape was unbelievably beautiful. It's not cheap but if you're lucky enough to afford it you absolutely achieve value for money for the experience you get. I could not recommend this experience more highly. We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful country and to visit this special spot is something none of us will forget. Thank you Alpine Guides for your faultless service and experience of a lifetime for us all.
Written 17 July 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Deestyle17
Brisbane, Australia14 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2024 • Couples
Today was a day we’ll never forget after doing the Heli Glazier Hike Tour.
The beauty of where we were completely spoke for it self, it was utter magic, However I did want to express our gratitude for our fantastic guide Scott, what a wonderful guy, so incredibly experienced, so calm, so clear, so understanding.
I doubt we’ll ever have a guide like him again.
His took us through his day office with such ease and the utter enjoyment was all ours.
We wish Scott all the best with his tours and everyone he meets, and hope that one day soon he gets to live his dream of guiding our less abled friends through magic places like we were so very lucky to do today.
Thank you!
Written 29 January 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you! Scott is a star. We will pass your kind words on to him.
Written 19 March 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Peter Ruygrok
2 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2021
We are extremely grateful to Alpine Guides and in particular Lewis, who stepped in at extremely short notice (3 days) when another company had to cancel our Rabbit Pass adventure because of injury. Their "can do"/"how can we help" attitude is to be applauded.
My daughters aged 28 and 30, and I always felt 100% safe and fully trusted Lewis to take us on this amazing journey through Mt Aspiring National Park - from Jumbo Land (Upper Wilkin Valley) to Cameron Flat (East Matukituki). Although some of it was type 2 fun (miserable while happening but euphoric & comfortably numb after), most was awesome and exciting as we trekked along.
I highly recommend Alpine Guides if you are planning a bespoke or specific adventure in the mid-lower South Island. I have no doubt they will be keen to help and make it memorable for you.
Written 15 April 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Sue van Daatselaar
3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2021
I had just thought how fantastic it would be to have my first helicopter flight onto a glacier and do my bit to support the NZ Mt Cook Aoraki tourism industry. Little did I realise what an amazing day I would have. This was largely because the Alpine Guide Chris Macky took us on a 2 hour adventure that involved hiking over the glacier, learning about its geography, its history and understanding its future. Chris started us with a crampon lesson that enabled us to grow in confidence to traverse the glacier, and observe its features and life cycle. This did include climbing into some incredible ice caves and taking some great photos for sure. But I can't emphasise enough how the experience was enriched by this knowledgeable guide who really knew this glacier and how to share that with us. It expanded my mind and my appreciation for people who really know their craft. On the flight back i was speechless with the beauty of this region. I highly recommend, especially for kiwis who want to appreciate this land
Written 15 February 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Nat L
Corindi, Australia9 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2023 • Friends
A group of us (6) arranged a private course with AG, and I simply cannot fault them. They were well organised, incredibly knowledgeable, & open to the needs of the group. I'm especially grateful for their guidance & time in helping me address my fear of heights & "Elvis legs". Jamie & Jimbo, you're both awesome!!!
Written 9 March 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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