The Certified UIAGM-IFMGA Mountain Guides

Mountain guide is a person who professionally conducts the following activities: leading people through ascents - both on rock and ice - or through excursions in mountainous environments; leading people through ski mountaineering ascents or through ski excursion; teaching mountaineering and ski mountaineering techniques excluding the ski techniques for skiing on ski and cross-country pistes.

This is the definition of mountain guide given by the Law n° 6 of Jamuary 2nd 1989. But what do these few words conceal? A universe made of passion for the mountains, top level training, constant retraining, deep knowledge of the territory, ability to relate to people.

Climbing on rock, classic mountaineering, ski mountaineering, off-piste skiing, climbing on ice falls and canyoning are the activities for which mountain guides are technically highly prepared, but that’s not enough.

The training mountain guide implies a number of other subjects and topics related to the knowledge of the environment, to the nivology, to the self-rescue, to the risk management and to the capacity to relate to other people that make it the only professional figure recognized nationally and internationally.

The Mountain Guide

• Accompany and teach
• Divulge a safe approach to the mountain
• Rispect and give value to the environment
• Are professionals registered in the Regional and Provincial registers
• Are recognized internationally
• Are equipped with identification card
• Wear the UIAGM badge
• Periodically attend retraining courses

Practice of the profession
The practice of the profession is subject to passing some qualifying examimations and to the registration in the Regional and Provincial registers.

Scopes and activities
The activities of accompanying and teaching, where the use of mountaineering techniques and equipment might be necessary, are reserved to the mountain guides. The activities practiced by the alpine guides are several: classic mountaineering in high mountain, ski mountaineering, climbing on rock and on ice, canyoning, training for at-height working, freeride…

Retraining and specializations
The mountain guide is in constant retraining. In order to practice the profession the mountain guide must attend a compulsory refresher course every three years. The National College has introduced two specializations: canyoning and training for fall arrester devices and rope systems to improve the competence of the guides in this specific scopes.

Levels of the profession
The profession features two levels: aspiring guide and mountaineering instructor mountain guide. The aspiring guide is a professional qualified for accompanying and teaching with some limitations.