Our incredible guiding & office team shares their love for the outdoors, passion for their job, and enthusiasm to guide you on an exciting mountain adventure. We have guides who speak French, Spanish, German, Japanese, Italian, Slovenian, and Croatian.
If you are interested in hiring any of our guides please contact us.
Eric is the owner and chief guide. He is a certified IFMGA/ACMG Mountain Guide, CAA Level II & Professional Member as well as CSIA Level II.
Eric brings high enthusiasm, a lifetime of mountain passion, and a great depth and breadth of experience and expertise to Mountain Skills Academy & Adventures.
As a professional Mountain Guide, Eric has been enjoying a very successful career. This is a high-end multi-faceted guide with expert level in Rock, Ice, Mountain and Ski guiding. He has worked in all the great ranges of the world, spending a great deal of time in the Alps but chooses Canada as his base and favourite place to live and work.
Eric has acquired an impressive list of personal and guided accomplishments. He was one of the pioneers of Canadian Mixed climbing, establishing some of the world’s hardest and longest mixed routes. As an alpinist, he did the first ascent of Infinite Patience on Mount Robson’s foreboding Emperor Face. A highlight of his career is what is still the world’s most difficult pure ice climb, Rights of Passage on the North Face of Mt. Kitchener (WI 8).
Eric is a ski guide and a hiking guide with the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG). a Professional Member of the Canadian Avalanche Association (Level 2), a mountain bike instructor PMBIA (level 1),
Eric arrived in the Whistler area almost 30 years ago and began exploring the local mountains. involved in outdoor retail stores and alpine clubs. He began teaching and guiding in the late 1990 for the company.
Eric guides year round, involved in mountaineering, hiking and mountain biking during the summer, provides guiding services for various high school programs, and local outdoor club. on is spare time Eric also enjoy sea kayaking, and various outdoor endeavours in winter and summers
Tim has been working for MSAA since 2011. His current certifications are: ACMG Ski Guide, Hiking Guide, Apprentice Rock Guide and Canadian Avalanche Association: Professional Member. Tim is also a professional educator with over twenty years experience teaching high school.
Sharing the mountains with stoked people is his definition of a great day. Combining guiding with a touch of learning is how Tim likes to bring people of all abilities into the incredible natural environment of Western Canada.
Corey found the mountains as a kid with family trips to the Canadian Rockies and solidified a passion for adventure through snowboarding. After moving to Banff, he began exploring the mountains through rock and ice climbing as well as splitboarding. Drawn to the largest most aesthetic walls, Corey has climbed all around North America. His favourite climbing experience so far is being high up on El Capitan. Being a natural teacher and dedicated guide, Corey delivers material elegantly. He is excited to help you improve your skill set or lead you up one of his favorite local climbs.
Kurt Withers is a ACMG Apprentice Ski Guide Candidate, Canadian Ski Guide Association Level 1, an Active member of the Canadian Avalanche Association and CSIA Level 2 Ski instructor.
For more than a decade Kurt has been exploring the mountains of British Columbia seeking out remote objectives. Gaining a deep understanding of the mountains in places that few have travelled. When not skiing Kurt can be found running ultra marathons and pursuing a passion for mountain biking. He has been in the outdoor industry for over 20 years and brings a well rounded and unique perspective to the outdoors.
Kurt has been part of the Avalanche Skills Training Instructor team since 2015 and has spent several winters guiding in the Heli Ski industry in the interior of British Columbia. This season he is working toward his Apprentice Ski Guide (ACMG) certificate as he works towards his goal of becoming a Ski Guide.
Atsu is a ACMG Ski Guide and a Professional Member of the Canadian Avalanche Association (Level 2).
Atsu has been living in Whistler since 1989 so he knows the mountain like the back of his hand to say the least! Atsu originally started working for Whistler Mountain ski patrol. Then followed 22 years as a full time heliski guiding.
Atsu also has seasonal guiding experience in Mt Cook, New Zealand and Hakuba, Japan.
In 2005, Eliel Bureau-LaFontaine graduated from the 3 years long adventure tourism diploma from the CEGEP de la Gaspesie et des Iles, Quebec.
Eliel since spent the past 16 years developing my guiding skills in a variety of disciplines including Expedition Sea Kayaking and River Canoeing, Back-backing, Mountaineering, Rock Climbing and Skiing.
The desire to expose himself to pristine remote wilderness regions brought Eliel to the Yukon territory where he spent 6 years leading multi weeks exploratory expeditions in the Yukon, Alaska, NWT and Northern B-C’s Wilderness. During his time off, he would go on solo expeditions, would take a plane to climb summits of the Andes and Himalayas or would hike up to the Bugaboos and climb or develop new routes on alpine granite faces.
Some of the notable trips Eliel has done in the past include the 36 days solo winter traverse of the Gaspe peninsula when he was 19 years old, a month-long winter solo retreat along the arctic circle and the fastest known traverse of the Juneau Icefield from Atlin to Juneau. Over the past few years, he also opened multiple first ascents and ski descents in the Yukon territory, NTW and northern BC, Skied Fairweather (Highest Summit of BC) and climbed multiple difficult long climbs on remote alpine granite walls.
Now 14 years after Eliel became an avalanche professional, he works with MSAA as a CAA 2, Apprentice Ski Guide and Apprentice rock guide. You will find him on AST, crevasse rescue or ski mountaineering courses as well as guiding around the sea to sky corridor and the Coastal ranges.
Eliel is an extremely positive, high energy and charismatic guide who has dedicated his entire professional career to make your outdoor dreams come true.
Bronwyn is a professional climber and ACMG rock guide based in Squamish, BC. She enjoys all the rock disciplines — from sport to trad to alpine — but her biggest passion is for the big cliffs! In November 2018, Bronwyn became the first Canadian woman to free climb El Capitan in Yosemite, California, with her 5-day ascent of Freerider (1000m, 13a). Just earlier this year, she topped this feat by becoming the third woman ever to send Golden Gate (1000m, 13b, El Capitan), an ascent which took her 8 days. She has climbed all over the world, and led big expeditions to the Cirque of the Unclimbables (in 2016) and Baffin Island (in 2019).
Bronwyn began her career in outdoor adventure as a river guide. She led white water canoe trips across Canada for seven seasons, including a 52-day exploratory expedition with ten 18-year-olds in 2017. She became an ACMG rock guide in 2021 and has spent her summers guiding in Squamish since then! This 2021 season Bronwyn will be running our new Women’s Rock Climbing Series, a program she has designed to help build a community of confident and knowledgeable female rock climbers in the Sea to Sky Corridor.
Rob has a very diverse skill set and experience guiding whitewater canoeing, sea kayaking, hiking, avalanche courses, and backcountry skiing. He graduated from a highly specialized college program in Gaspé, Quebec and holds a degree in adventure tourism. Rob has led expeditions in Patagonia, South Korea, Mexico, and Eastern & Western Canada. You can find him out in the mountains and rivers, skiing and kayaking.
Rob is originally from Montreal and now calls Pemberton, BC home. After a decade of traveling and guiding abroad he has put roots down in the beautiful Sea to Sky corridor.
Dane is an ACMG apprentice rock guide and an IGA apprentice interpretive guide. For over 20 years he has climbed around the world, but has now built his home in the Eastern Himalayas and has been based there for the last decade. He has established multi-pitch traditional routes on limestone, granite, gneiss, and sandstone, as well as hundreds of first ascents of boulder problems and sport climbs. When not guiding or actively developing new climbing areas, Dane has written a couple different bi-lingual guidebooks for some of the areas he has established in China. For over a decade, Dane has been guiding clients in Canada and in China on multi-pitch rock climbs, through massively long technical caves, on sea and river kayaking trips, and on treks through China’s jungles, deserts and enormous mountain ranges. He recently established the ground-up first ascent of one of the longest rock climbing routes in China with The Allegory of the Caves (Grade IV, 5.11c, 17 pitches) in the Hengduan mountain range of China.
Dane spends his summer months guiding in Squamish, where he first started climbing as a teenager and a place that he still considers to be the best climbing area on Earth. Teaching others how to safely play in the mountains is possibly his favorite thing in the world and his enthusiasm is hard to contain.
April Mason is a L1 guide with the Canadian Ski Guide Association, an Active Member of the Canadian Avalanche Association, and a certified instructor with the Canadian Association of Snowboard Instructors. In addition, April is a trained Medical Responder in Non-Urban Emergency Care.
For the past seven years April has lived and played in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia, dedicating much of her time to honing her backcountry travel skills. April’s love for the mountains is unmatched and splitboarding is her way of exploring them. In the summer, April spends any free moment hiking, running, or paddling wherever the trails and rivers will take her. She advocates that all of life’s great adventures are born in a moment of inspiration but manifest only with diligent planning, and team focus on safe decisions.
April began working with MSAA four years ago guiding several of our summer programs, but since then she has taken an active roll in our Avalanche Skills Training program and regularly instructs our Introduction to Backcountry Skiing and Splitboarding program. Last season April launched The Women’s Backcountry Series – a program designed to provide women in the Sea-to-Sky corridor the knowledge, mentorship, and community support necessary to ski & splitboard safely in the backcountry regardless of age or ability. The ‘WBS’ is back up and running this winter for a second season.
“Nolan cut his teeth skiing on the Niagara Escarpment in Ontario as a young child. He began skiing at just three years old and has now moved on to backcountry skiing. After taking a few ski trips to BC as a young man, he decided the mountains would be the place he would call home.
Not wanting to pursue the 9-5 lifestyle, he enrolled in the Thompson Rivers University Adventure Tourism Program. There, he learned all the ins and outs of guiding, with lots of emphasis on avalanche safety, ski guiding, and rock guiding.
Nolan is an Apprentice Rock Guide with the ACMG, has taken his Operations Level 1 with the CAA, and has been guiding Via Ferrata with MSAA for the past few years.
Squamish is the place Nolan loves most, having the highest density of rock climbing in Canada. When he isn’t guiding with MSAA, you can usually find him climbing cracks here on the Coast.
Nolan is a passionate instructor who loves teaching people new skills about travelling in the mountains. His goal is to ensure all his clients are having fun while also learning something.”
Rob is originally from Montreal and now calls Pemberton, BC home. After a decade of traveling and guiding abroad he has put roots down in the beautiful Sea to Sky corridor.
Cloe Marcoux, originally from Quebec city, is a Level 1 active member with the CAA who has been teaching and guiding with MSAA for a couple years.
Although from an artistic background, it is a burning passion for the mountains that drove her to embark at 17 years old on a journey around the globe in chase of high vistas and endless adventures. She has since been travelling in over 80 countries pursuing rock climbing, alpine climbing and skiing in Alaska, the Alps, the UK, the Andes the Himalayas and the Canadian Rockies. She set up a yurt in the interior of BC and joined the ski industry 7 years ago, gaining experience guiding in cat-ski lodges, patrolling and teaching AST courses.
She has found home in the Sea to Sky, and great joy in sharing with others the beauty, the peacefulness and the power of our Coastal mountains.
She is fluent in French, English and Spanish.
Tyler Duncan is a CAA Level 1 Active member as well as a Manager with Squamish Search and Rescue.
Tyler was raised in the coast mountains and has called the Sea to Sky home for over thirty years. Growing up in Whistler instilled in Tyler a love and appreciation of the outdoors and he enjoys staying active in a wide variety of outdoor pursuits. Tyler enjoys the mountains twelve months of the year either climbing and hiking in the summer or skiing touring and ice climbing in the winter. Some of Tyler’s Career highlights include many summits in the coast and tantalus mountain ranges in the Sea to Sky area, as well as expeditions to some of North Americas more challenging peaks including Canadas highest mountain, Mt. Logan.
Tyler has worked with MSAA for three years guiding some of our summer programs and Teaching for our Avalanche Skills Training and Backcountry Skiing programs in the winter.
Jeremy is passionate about exploring the local mountains, the vibrant mountain culture surrounding them, and the people he gets to share these experiences with. Rock climber, mountaineer, and splitboarder, Jeremy has been playing & working in the BC backcountry for 25 years and has as much fun introducing people to the mountains as he does on epic trips with long-time partners. A Whistler Search & Rescue member, Jeremy is a wilderness first responder, avalanche CAA level 1, rope rescue technician, skilled teacher, and storyteller. He’s easily impressed by a well-built alpine sandwich and he counts it a good day when there’s been powder to ride, apres to celebrate, and everyone goes home happy, tired, and with a few good stories of their own.
Kirill started out as a freeride skier and Athlete for RMU Skis. With his background as a skier he decided to get qualified as a CAA Operations Level 1 and is now teaching and guiding with MSAA.
Kirill dedicates his winters to touring and developing as a guide. He is passionate about the mountains and meticulously tracks conditions to chase the highest quality snow. With an educational background in engineering, he has a high aptitude for operating and problem solving in complex backcountry terrain.
You will often find him with his waterproof notebook, gadgets and friends having a deep discussion about what looks like a plain wall of snow…
Maria is based in Squamish, having relocated from the (virtually) snow-free UK to explore the mountains of Canada. Backcountry skiing is her winter passion, and she loves sharing her knowledge with new ski tourers whilst teaching our AST and Intro to Backcountry courses. Some of her favourite local trips have included the Misty Icefield traverse and Mt Garibaldi. She’s also spent over a (cumulative) year skiing and working in East Greenland.
Through the warmer months Maria instructs sea kayaking and enjoys trad and big wall aid climbing, usually escaping to the warmth of Yosemite in the shoulder seasons.
Matt was born and raised in the suburbs of Toronto, where he first fell in love with skiing. Right after finishing high school, he moved out to BC and has never looked back. Matt has lived all over BC, including Revelstoke and Terrace, but now resides in Squamish.
He is very passionate about skiing and climbing, which shows in how excited he gets when he is teaching or talking about them. He has skied and climbed all over the world, including: Norway, Argentina, Chile, France, Thailand, Cuba, Mexico, and many parts of the United States. In Canada, he has spent much time in the west coast mountains, Rocky Mountains, Roger’s Pass, and the Bugaboos. When he is not skiing, climbing, or guiding, you can find Matt devoting his time to working as a paramedic in Vancouver with BC Ambulance.
His favourite quote is from Alex Lowe: “The best climber [or skier] is the one having the most fun.”
Jonas is a graduate of the TRU Adventure Guide Diploma. He has been with MSAA since the Spring of 2022. Jonas works full-time in the office for MSAA and tries to guide as many days as possible. He is a certified ACMG Apprentice Hiking guide, took his OPS1 and obtained various First Aid training up to EMR standards.
Originally from Germany, but Whistler has been home from him for the past decade. When he is not working for MSAA, he enjoys long days in the mountains hiking and ski touring and the occasional round of Golf in the valley.
In all of his roles at MSAA Jonas strives for professionalism and providing a fun, but safe mountain adventure. If you need someone to plan your next trip Jonas has you covered.
Born in Spain (native Spanish) he and his family have decided to move and start a new adventure in Canada. Living in Squamish Victor has spent the last winter season teaching snowboarding at Whistler Blackcomb (ISIA level 3 member; AST-1; AST-2).
When he’s not working in the winter you can find Victor splitboarding, it’s his passion, he has traveled to splitboard in different countries Monte Rosa in Switzerland, Tromso in Norway and Chamonix in France.
He is certified to guide Via Ferrata, hiking and snowshoeing and if you want to learn to speak Spanish the activity will be a lot of fun.
He wishes to share his experience and passion with all of you and continue to grow as a guide in Canada.
You can also find him climbing with his son Elias at an indoor or outdoor climbing center in Squamish.
Michael Vert has a passion for sharing the outdoors with others. As a teenager he was inspired by long canoe expeditions to build his life around being outdoors. A graduate of Algonquin Colleges Outdoor Adventure Program he has been formally trained in multiple disciplines to keep students safe and happy! He loves the outdoors so much he wants to share the joy with as many people as possible.
Focusing on building self efficacy and maximizing enjoyment Michael has a wide horizon of involvement in leadership roles within the outdoor industry. With experience as a Whitewater Raft guide, Flatwater Canoe Expedition leader, Outdoor Educator, Outdoors Gear salesmen, Trip coordinator, Snowboard instructor, ACMG Top Rope Climbing instructor Michael has traveled across the world teaching skills to students. He shares his knowledge humbly and with excitement. Knowing just how much one experience with the outdoors can change a person’s entire life he is committed to making sure everyone has a great time outside!
Currently living in Whistler BC, Michael teaches rock climbing courses, guides hikes, leads Via Ferrata tours and teaches snowboarding in the winter. He continues to educate himself on new topics and can’t wait to share his passion with you!
Michael Vert has a passion for sharing the outdoors with others. As a teenager he was inspired by long canoe expeditions to build his life around being outdoors. A graduate of Algonquin Colleges Outdoor Adventure Program he has been formally trained in multiple disciplines to keep students safe and happy! He loves the outdoors so much he wants to share the joy with as many people as possible.
Focusing on building self efficacy and maximizing enjoyment Michael has a wide horizon of involvement in leadership roles within the outdoor industry. With experience as a Whitewater Raft guide, Flatwater Canoe Expedition leader, Outdoor Educator, Outdoors Gear salesmen, Trip coordinator, Snowboard instructor, ACMG Top Rope Climbing instructor Michael has traveled across the world teaching skills to students. He shares his knowledge humbly and with excitement. Knowing just how much one experience with the outdoors can change a person’s entire life he is committed to making sure everyone has a great time outside!
Currently living in Whistler BC, Michael teaches rock climbing courses, guides hikes, leads Via Ferrata tours and teaches snowboarding in the winter. He continues to educate himself on new topics and can’t wait to share his passion with you!