When booking any holiday with a guide involved, your guide is your window into the world you will be exploring. Our guides are what we are about. Brochures and websites are one thing, but knowledgeable, certified guides are key to having a safe and amazing journey.
All of our guides are either members of the IFMGA or International Federation of Mountain Guide Associations or members of the UIMLA, Union of International Mountain Leader Associations meaning that they have undergone some of the most rigorous training possible and have met all the requirements to lead climbing, hiking or ski trips around the world. Please have a look at these sites for more information regarding certification and for a list of certified guides in the countries you would like to travel in.
At Alpine Interface, we are a small team of highly skilled and highly knowledgeable IMLs with many years of leading trips around the world.
Our lead IML is Louis Marino, founder and director of Alpine Interface Inc. After completing certification in France, Louis also gained certification in Britain and is a member of both the French and the British associations of mountain leaders. Louis' passion for the mountains has led him to attempt some of the world's highest mountains and he is always on the lookout for new and interesting trips in the mountainous regions of the world. He makes his home in both Canmore, Alberta, Canada and Chamonix, France where mountains abound and the trails are endless.
Louis Marino
Born in North Africa of a French mother and a North American father, Louis spent part of his childhood in Indonesia, followed by stints on the East and West Coasts of the USA, where he completed degrees in International Relations and French.
After a brief career in the cycling industry, Louis moved to France and completed his MA whilst teaching English, and has been on the go ever since.
A year long adventure took him through parts of Asia and the Pacific, where he worked as a NAUI Divemaster, along with extended climbing trips in the Andes and the Himalaya, where he has summited Cho Oyo (8201m) and attempted Mount Everest, North Ridge in 2002. For over 10 years, the Chamonix valley has been his home base.
After successfully finishing a three-year course, he was one of the first Americans to become a fully certified International Mountain Leader (IML), and is a member of both the French and British associations.
He provides the leadership skills that will make your trip not only safe, but also insightful. His in-depth knowledge of France's diverse cultures, its mountain environments, its food and wines, and, most importantly, its people, makes Alpine Interface tours unforgettable.
Charlotta Gerremo
Charlotta is a French certified trekking guide (IML) and a member of our highly motivated European staff.
She works for Alpine Interface Inc. during the trekking season and is the only woman ski patroller at the Grands Montets ski area in Chamonix during the winters.
She has now also completed her certification as a physio therapist.
Charlotta is Swedish, speaking English, French and Italian fluently.
She has been living in the Alps for more than10 years, and her extensive knowledge of the area and mountain rescue is a big plus for Alpine Interface.
Mark Jensen
Originally from Denmark, Mark is now based full time in Chamonix, France.
Over the years, he has been fortunate enough to trek, climb, ski and mountain bike in mountain ranges from the wild Yukon in the West to the mighty Himalayas in the East, and quite a lot in between.
He is a certified International Mountain Leader (UIMLA) and an Alpine ski and telemark instructor (ISIA). Mark speaks Danish, English, German and French.
Karin Pizzinini
Karin Pizzinini has been working as a hiking guide for 3 years.
She has been a science and chemistry teacher at the high school in Alta Badia for 15 years. After all this time, she felt the need to work independently and to pursue her big passions: travel and photography.
Now she works as an art director, making documentaries about Ladin arts and culture, as a hiking guide in her beloved Dolomites, where she grew up and lives, and is very active as a photographer.
Living at the border between Italy and Austria and belonging to the Ladin cultural and linguistic minority, Karin has been speaking 3 languages from childhood on.
In 1987 she spent half a year in Canada, improving her English; she has done summer courses in France to learn French, and has spent a year in Spain in 2001, perfecting her Spanish.
Karin says her mission is to transmit knowledge, be it as a teacher, a guide, a photographer or a writer.
Icaro de Monte
Icaro is a fully certified IFMGA mountain guide, originally from Triest.
He now makes his home in the Alta Badia region of the Dolomites, where he guides our Dolomites trips along with Karin Pizzinini.
Icaro is a talented rock climber, telemark skier and amazing chef!
He has an encyclopedic knowledge of European history and is an easy-going companion on any journey.
His travels around the world have given him a wealth of experience, which he willingly shares with his guests.
Lindsay Cannon
Lindsay is a British certified trekking guide (BAIML). Lindsay has spent over ten years exploring the Alps and has great enthusiasm for and knowledge of the mountain environment.
When not in the Alps, Lindsay lives in the Highlands of Scotland and reports for BBC television and radio on a wide range of environmental and countryside issues.
Her film work, which has seen her experience everything from ice-climbing, to pot-holing, and kayaking, enjoys a worldwide audience.
Blaise Verien
A 30-year resident of Chamonix, Blaise is a certified ski instructor, hiking guide, and mountain bike guide.
He has raced mountain bikes on the World Cup Circuit, and has travelled extensively around the world on two wheels.
He has an intimate knowledge of the Alps, particularly his treasured Mont Blanc Range, where he spends most of his free time exploring the many trails and passes surrounding his home.
Blaise is in charge of creating both hiking and mountain biking itineraries for us in the Alps, to be posted soon!
Marcos Couch
Marcos is our man in Patagonia: He is a fully certified IFMGA mountain guide, and has both Argentinean and US citizenships.
He speaks three languages fluently: English, Spanish, and French.
He has several first ascents of South American peaks, and has been rock climbing and ski touring throughout the States, South America and Europe for the past thirty years.
His has a real passion for transmitting his knowledge and love of Patagonia to his guests, and is our 'fixer' for our trips in the land of wind and fire!
Lacchu Bahadur Basnet
Our main trekking guide in Nepal is Lachhu Bahadur Basnet. He is a government-certified trekking guide and expedition cook, and has worked on every 8000m peak except for Nanga Parbat.
He speaks excellent English, Hindi, Urdhu, Tibetan and Sherpa.
He is both Hindu and Buddhist due to the fact that his mother is Sherpani and his father Brahmin.
He is therefore capable of giving us an insight into both religions and their different beliefs.
Tashi Basnet
Tashi has been working as a certified trekking guide in Nepal and Tibet for many years. He is Lachhu's nephew and the two form an excellent team.
Taschi has completed the Sherpa climbing training in Austria and in Nepal but has opted to work as a cook during the expedition season and as a trekking guide during the hiking season.
