guides - who are they?

skioff-piste.com is the winter guiding website for Julie-Ann Clyma and Roger Payne who are both IFMGA mountain guides.  Clyma and Payne are members of the British Association of Mountain Guides (BMG), the Swiss Association Vaudoise des Guides de Montagne (AVMG), and the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE).  They also also work with other guide businesses, the Leysin guides' office and are members of the Leysin mountain rescue team.

skioff-piste.com courses are sometimes staffed by other IFMGA guides and aspirant guides.  The IFMGA is the only international qualification for mountain guides.

Clyma and Payne have extensive guiding experience and knowledge of the Alps.  They are internationally known climbers (see articles in the side panel left), and have been on many expeditions to the high mountains of Asia and also Alaska and Peru.

Clyma and Payne have unique experience working with mountain development organisations such as the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP), the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). 

In 1992 and 1993, as part of expeditions to Broad Peak and K2, they worked with the AKRSP and expedition sponsor Eastern Electricity to facilitate the installation of micro-hydro electricity schemes in two remote mountain villages. 

In 2002 they organised an expedition to Nepal for the UIAA and UNEP to raise awareness about the impact of global warming in the Himalayas and the threat of glacial lake outburst floods (see Everest Meltdown). Also in 2002 they organised for the UIAA and IUCN a Swiss Summit to promote protection of mountain areas in particular the Siachen Glacier which has been the scene of the world’s longest running military conflict.

In addition to climbing and guiding Julie-Ann Clyma has a background in public health research, with a PhD from the University of Manchester.  Roger Payne has a background in education and sports administration, first as the National Officer and then General Secretary at the British Mountaineering Council (BMC), and then as the Sport and Development Director for the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA).