Guides & Staff

Meet our friendly team at Alpine Recreation

Whether it's a friendly voice at the end of the phone or guiding you in the mountains, our enthusiastic team is here to look after you and provide advice. We pride ourselves in being a small, family-run business with high standards - many of our guests return year after year. Many of our guides speak a second language. Wir sprechen deutsch!

The New Zealand Mountain Guides Association (NZMGA), has international accreditation with the International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations, IFMGA / UIAGM.

Management Team

director

Anne Braun-Elwert

Anne helped her husband, Gottlieb Braun-Elwert, to set up Alpine Recreation Canterbury Ltd in 1981, initially based in Christchurch. By 1984 both had given up teaching careers and moved to Lake…

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director

IFMGA Mountain Guide

Elke Braun-Elwert

Elke's passion is ski mountaineering, alpine climbing, mountain biking and her two energetic young kids.

She has climbed and skied throughout the New Zealand Alps for most of her life, represented…

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general manager

NZMGA Ski Guide

NZMGA Assistant Alpine Trekking Guide

Axel Reiser

Tena tatou katoa!

Ko te kupu tuatahi ki te Kaihanga
Koia ra te timatanga me te whakamutunga o nga mea katoa.
Kaua ma te waewae tutuki, engari ma te upoko pakaru.

E rere taku manu ki te tihi o…

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lodge manager

Florencia Diaz

Hi, I’m Flor! I’m originally from Argentina but have been living in beautiful Lake Tekapo since 2016. I came to New Zealand as a Physical Education teacher and completely fell in love with the South…

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lodge manager

Penny Wilson

Catering and Administration Support

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technical advisor

IFMGA Mountain Guide

Mark Austin

Mark has been guiding for twenty years. He's worked in Argentina, Nepal, Japan and New Zealand. He's had fun skiing and climbing in Canada, France, Bolivia, and Australia. He is now attempting to…

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technical advisor

IFMGA Mountain Guide

Tim Robertson

Tim is a Kiwi IFMGA guide based in Wanaka New Zealand and Interlaken Switzerland

He loves helping people realise the dreams they have for challenges in the mountains. He has worked with school…

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Guiding Team

IFMGA Mountain Guide

Adrian Büschlen

I grew up amidst the beautiful mountains of Adelboden and was able to start exploring the world on skis at the age of three—first on the slopes, and later venturing further and further away from the…

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IFMGA Mountain Guide

Jane Morris

Jane began trawling around the mountains during her Otago University days in 1994, where mountain huts were a good substitute for lecture theatres, providing an alternative education.

After a…

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IFMGA Mountain Guide

Pablo Borjas von Bach

Pablo is an IFMGA/UIAGM certified mountain guide with over 25 years of experience guiding in the Andes, the Himalayas, North America, and New Zealand. Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Pablo’s life has…

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IFMGA Mountain Guide

Roy Smith

Roy has over 35 years of guiding and mountain instruction experience and is a passionate and professional mountain and ski guide with incredible attention to detail.

A talented guide, climber…

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NZMGA Ski Guide

NZOIA Alpine 2

Alistair (Al) Moore

Im a passionate mountain recreationalist and enjoy both summer mountain journeys and winter ski touring. Have had a long association with mountain safety through ski patrolling, avalanche safety and…

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NZMGA Alpine Trekking Guide

NZOIA Alpine 2

NZOIA Bush 2

Gideon Geerling

Originally from Australia, Gideon has lived in New Zealand working full-time as a Professional Outdoor Instructor, Guide and Safety Consultant for over 20 years.

Gideon's experience includes…

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NZMGA Alpine Trekking Guide

NZOIA Alpine 2

NZOIA Rock 2

Stevo Stevens

With over 25 years of experience instructing and guiding in the outdoors, Stevo has dedicated his life to sharing the challenge and reward of adventure in wild places. His expertise spans rock and…

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NZMGA Assistant Climb Guide

NZMGA Assistant Ski Guide

Adam Sanders

Australian born. Queenstown based.
Avid rock climber, with a love for the alpine.

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NZMGA Assistant Alpine Trekking Guide

NZMGA Assistant Ski Guide

NZOIA Rock 1

Monika Bischof

Growing up in the mountains in Switzerland, I learned to ski, snowboard and hike. As a teenager I discovered rock climbing, and it became my passion. Living in New Zealand, I started alpine climbing…

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NZMGA Assistant Ski Guide

Shea Hickman

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NZMGA Assistant Climb Guide

Sooji Clarkson

Sooji loves alpine climbing and ski mountaineering throughout NZ's Southern Alps, with a particular strength in harder technical climbing of multiple disciplines - rock, ice, and mixed. She spends a…

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NZOIA Alpine 2

NZOIA Rock 2

NZOIA Bush 2

NZOIA Kayak 2

Andy Thompson

Kia ora - My name is Andy Thompson
Since embarking on my journey as an outdoor professional in 1987, I have continued to traverse diverse locales, spanning from New Zealand to global destinations…

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