Monte Rosa Backcountry Skiing

While it was not a great snow year, the helicopter experience and our guide Paolo in particular were phenomenal. Would recommend Paolo to absolutely anyone.

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We were group of 3 with Herbert to the Monte Rosa drop off location. Our group has done lots of heli-skiing, cat skiing, and hiked routes. What we look for in guides is 1) safety 2) matching route to technical ability 3) advice in complex sections 4) having a personality and making the day fun. On safety: Herbert did a good safety briefing and told us where to position ourselves relative to his tracks, that was the extent of his safety. One of our group members fell part-way into a crevasse and was dangling on the ice wall, and he leisurely pulled out his rope to throw it down even after being told there was a very far drop. He routinely skiied out-of-sight of the entire group even in more dangerous sections. If someone had fallen through again, there was no rescuing them as he was the only one with the safety gear. On matching the route the technical ability of the group he did fine, the only part that was an issue was the very long flat ski out (he warned us about this, so we knew it ahead of time, I wouldn't do this route again because of this). On advice/tips for complex routes, he had nothing to offer, and was annoyed when you asked him questions, the only thing he said was "lean forward on your skiis", and didn't try to help anyone who had challenges. On the last part, personality, this was the worst. He was extremely annoyed that he had to help the person out of the crevasse, and even more annoyed that a snowboarder in our group was slower in the flat section. He complained to other ski guides that passed by that he was late for his lunch. When we stopped to break and took pictures he asked us to stop wasting time with taking our phones out. When we asked him if we should bring water (for a 5 hour ski) he said it's no necessary, which was crazy. Overall, it really put a damper on the entire experience, we spent a lot of money and came from Canada to experience this, and he nearly ruined it. He's a really good technical skiier, but has no patience nor does he put an ounce of effort in to making it fun or making people feel safe.

Great place to start off-pist without anybody. Elis Martis was super patient. Thank you.

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