About us
Founded in 2001 by Russell Brice, the Chamonix Experience team has expanded to include Martina, Elizabeth and Anne in the office and 20-25 fully qualified IFMGA mountain guides working for us on a regular basis. All mountain lovers, we have skied, climbed and hiked many of the routes around the area and spend our lunch hours and days off exploring more in the Mont Blanc range and the rest of the world!
You find our office at the Alpcenter in Argentière. During the winter and summer seasons we are open seven days a week to assist you with any last minute bookings or changes. In between seasons we are more or less open Monday to Friday during normal office hours.
SARL Chamonix Experience
Chamonix Experience is a fully registered French business, a member of the Chamonix Tourist Office and a partner with the Compagnie du Mont Blanc.
141 rue Charlet Straton
74400 Chamonix Mont-Blanc
SIRET: 44059232700017
Etablissement habilité Tourisme par arrêté préfectoral H.A.074.04.0013
RC Professionelle: AXA no. 3736598704
Russell Brice
Russell has been located in the Chamonix Valley since 1991, ski guiding during the winter months, alpine guiding during the summer months and on expedition during the spring and autumn. With over 85 ascents of Mont Blanc, and more than 300 Vallée Blanche descents, Russell has extensive experience of the Mont Blanc region.
Russell has also been leading expeditions to the Himalayas since 1974. He has led clients to the summit of Everest and Manaslu, and also Cho Oyo (8,201m)Himal Chuli (7,540m), Shishapangma (8,046m) and Ama Dablam (6,856m).
Individually, he has the world record for the fastest single solo ascent without oxygen of both Cho Oyo and of Ama Dablam. In 1988 he was the first climber to cross the infamous Pinnacles of the NE ridge of Everest. As head of sister company Himalayan Experience, he is now widely reputed as one of the most professional leaders of all guided expeditions to the Himalayas.
His superior organisational skills have been used by several film and television crews including the Discovery Channel, the BBC and National Geographic.
Russell is a member of New Zealand Mountain Guides Association, British Mountain Guides Association and Syndicat National des Guides de Montagne and Founder President of IGO-8000 (International Guiding Operators Association), as well as co-founding Director of Friends of Humanity, a non-profit organisation dedicated to helping disadvantaged peoples in various parts of the world.
The Office Team
Martina Palm
Martina is Swedish and has lived in the Alps since 1998. She decided to settle in Chamonix because of her passion for mountain sports. She mainly skis and ski tours during the winter season and climbs, mountaineers, runs and mountain bikes in the summer. Martina has climbed and/or skied Mont Blanc, Aiguille d’Argentiere, Chardonnet, Le Moine and many other peaks and routes in the Alps and has been to Everest North Col (7,033m) with Himalayan Experience 2004. In 2006 she became the first Swedish woman to ski an 8000m peak when she climbed and skied down from the summit of Cho Oyu (8,201m), also with Himalayan Experience. She has worked for Chamonix Experience since 2002. She can probably be found climbing up some peak with skis on her sack when not in the office.
Elizabeth Aschenbrener
Elizabeth is of American origin but has lived in the Chamonix valley for over 8 years. Although she was raised in the lowlands, she has always loved the outdoors and sport, and like many others, she was immediately smitten with Chamonix. She is a keen snowboarder, downhill mountain biker and runner and is working on improving her skiing and climbing. Elizabeth has been working for Chamonix Experience since 2006. You will probably find her flying down some gnarly mountain track that most people would struggle to walk down, on her mountain bike, when not in the office.
Anne Galdeano
Anne is the most recent addition to the Chamonix Experience team. Although she has called Chamonix home for the past 10 years she is originally from Tours in the north-western part of France. Anne has many years of experience working with mountain-related activities with the Compagnie des Guides de Chamonix. On her days off you will probably find her skiing down one of the Vallée Blanche routes. She loves climbing, mountaineering, skiing and travelling and knows the mountains around Chamonix very well.
Chamonix Experience Guides
All Chamonix Experience guides are UIAGM/IFMGA qualified. This is the only internationally recognized guide certification that is required in order to legally work as a High Mountain Guide in France.
We have a nice mixture of mostly British and French guides but also some Scandinavian, Canadian, American, Swiss, Austrian and New Zealand guides. Whatever the origin, they all have extensive experience of guiding in the Alps.
English is our main working language, and both office staff and guides speak it very well. Besides French and English, we also have guides that speak Spanish, German, Swedish, Danish and Italian.
What is a Mountain Guide? Watch Sébastien Montaz-Rosset’s film
“A life of Guiding”
Simon Abrahams
Simon has been climbing and mountaineering in the UK and around the world for the last 25 years and has worked full time in the mountains since 1987. He lives in Chamonix with his wife, Dee and 2 daughters Issie and Maddie.
As an International Mountain Guide, he holds the IFMGA carnet, but also holds the Mountain Instructors Certificate (MIC), which is the UK’s highest qualification for Mountain Professionals. He is a member of the British Association of Mountain Guides (BMG).
Simon has worked and climbed extensively all over the UK, the European Alps and in the greater ranges of North America, South America and the polar regions, particularly Iceland, Greenland and Antarctica, many of which have been first ascents and always in an alpine style.
Another part of Simon’s role as a Mountain Guide has seen him working and advising on many film projects around the world, including, Batman – ‘Batman Begins’, James Bond – ‘Die Another Day’, IMAX – ‘Shackleton’s Antarctic Adventure’ and BBC/KEO Productions – ‘Blizzard, Race to the Pole’.
In winter, his focus turns to skiing and snowboarding. Simon has pursued both for the last 20 years and has taken his boards with him wherever he has gone, whether it has been making first snowboard descents in Antarctica, working on Ski Patrol in Canada or skiing in the backyard, here in Chamonix.
When not out and about Guiding, climbing and skiing in snowy places, Simon likes to spend time with his family, get out on his road bike, spin some discs on the record decks and learn to swim properly (at last).
Miles Bright
Miles has been a UIAGM qualified guide since 1998. Of British origin, he has been based in Chamonix for many years. Miles has climbed the North face of the Eiger, North face of the Matterhorn solo and skied the Haute route in 24 hours.
Yves Lagesse
Yves was born in Normandy, grew up in Paris, and has lived in the Chamonix valley for over 20 years. He has been a UIAGM-qualified guide for over 12 years. Like all guides, he has done many north face ascents and climbing expeditions, and love skiing steep lines.
Yves is also an experienced sailor, and in 2004 successfully completed a solo Atlantic traverse.
Pete Mason
Pete is an American UIAGM qualified mountain guide who grew up in rural central New York state. He started hiking, backpacking and skiing at the age of 14, and fell in love with rock climbing and mountaineering when he was in university. After graduation he moved to Boulder, Colorado, and continued to climb and ski as much as possible.
Pete moved to France in 2003 and became the second American to attain guide certification in the French system.
Sébastien Montaz-Rosset
Sébastien is a French UIAGM qualified mountain guide and a certified ski instructor. At the young age of 34, he already has 12 years experience guiding in the Mont Blanc massif and the surrounding region. Growing up in the mountain resort of Les Arcs provided him endless opportunities to further his love and curiosity for the outdoors.
A talented all-rounder with an infectious enthusiasm for everything he does, Sébastien is a highly skilled alpinist, skier, telemark skier, snowboarder and filmmaker.
Miles Smart
Miles Smart is an American UIAGM qualified mountain guide. He spent his first winter in Chamonix in 1999 and has spent part of the year in the Alps ever since. He is the 2004 recipient of the AMGA Guide of the Year award and is an instructor and examiner for the American guide scheme. Miles is an AIARE avalanche course instructor and he leads these courses for Chamex.
Miles has spent many springs heli ski guiding in Alaska. He works equally with skiing, climbing and mountaineering. Some of his guiding highlights include a guided ski descent of the Grand Teton in Wyoming and a guided ascent of the Bonatti Route on the Grand Capucin above Chamonix. He has climbed El Capitan in Yosemite more than twenty times and has made many speed climbing records on the cliff. He has skied lines such as the Gervasutti Couloir on Mont Blanc du Tacul.
Miles lives in Chamonix with his wife Liz.
