THE PILL CREW

PEAKSHUNTER MOUNTAIN GUIDES

Great lovers of nature and mountains, Peakshunter guys like to discover the essence of places and open spaces and explore territories where the elements are a fundamental part of the experience. 9 Mountain Guides and 3 aspiring Guides, in addition to a sales manager and 2 photographers and videomakers, in their work they are able to evaluate every situation and take the best decisions to ensure the safety and tranquility of the people who rely on them. What makes them unite as professionals and colleagues is a great empathy, as well as a great synergy consolidated over years of collaboration.

When was your group of Mountain

Guides born? Peakshunter Mountain Guides was initially born as a personal blog where to post photos of my trips to the mountains. In 2015 the brand transformed into a more ambitious project full of new stimuli. Thanks to the support of friends and colleagues, the project soon consolidated into a team of close-knit Guides, specialized in mountaineering activities and outdoor adventures ranging from the Aosta Valley to Sicily and from the Lofoten Islands to Nepal.

Tell us where the name comes from

and why you chose it. Peakshunter was born as a game when I was still an aspiring Guide: the desire to experience strong emotions at high altitude on the peaks of the most famous mountains of the Alps certainly conditioned the choice of the name of the brand. Over time, the project has developed towards a philosophy of approach to the mountains and the outdoor world that is more focused on the experience of travel, rather than on the summit seen as a destination to be reached.

The outdoors is growing in interest: how do you explain this phenome-

non? In recent years, many outdoor activities, until recently restricted to a super-trained audience of athletes, sportsmen and enthusiasts, have reached an increasing number of people of all ages. The experience of the pandemic has accelerated exponentially the desire to experience the outdoor dimension in its most solitary and extreme expressions, bringing many people closer to discovering these activities and causing a real explosion of their success.

Why is it important to rely on a Mountain Guide to experience

mountain adventures? Most of these activities take place in the mountains often at an altitude above 1500m, in very particular contexts for accessibility and environmental conditions. Mountain Guides are professionals and personal consultants trained to manage the risks that these activities, limiting them as much as possible and ensuring a 360° experience. The reasons for contacting a Mountain Guide may be related to the need to feel safer in those places, more prepared in choosing the correct equipment or simply to the desire to be able to move outside the comfort zone without the fear of running into in unforeseen or difficult situations.

What is the most unforgettable experience you can recommend in

the Aosta Valley? The 4000 of Monte Rosa, otherwise known as "Spaghetti Tour": a spectacular crossing that touches the eight peaks of Monte Rosa all over 4000 meters. It can be done in spring with skis and skins or in a more demanding version in the summer season, with mountaineering equipment, progression on the glacier and in rope teams of 3 people for each Mountain Guide.

Future projects? We like to experiment so we are always ready to leave for new destinations to explore places and learn about new horizons. Covid did not stop us and this year we moved between Piedmont and Liguria and then landed at Gran Sasso. In the future, we would like to be able to consolidate the team as a reference structure for the promotion of proposals and projects with social and environmental impact. We are preparing initiatives dedicated to promoting activities in collaboration with Local Associations and Municipalities of the Aosta Valley for the cleaning of the environment, the care of natural spaces and attention to the reduction of negative impacts on mountain environments. In the meantime, we are also working on new programs to bring children and their families closer to the mountains, offering training internships with fellow Nature and Hiking Guides and inserting modules dedicated to outdoor photography and yoga as supplementary activities to hiking and climbing.