State-certified mountaineering, hiking and ski guides

If you want to experience the thrill of alpine mountaineering and high-altitude tours, you must be proficient in a range of mountain sports, including hiking and mountaineering as well as rock climbing, glacier walking and off-piste ski touring. The safe use of crampons and ropes is just as essential as physical fitness, stamina and sure-footedness.

Thanks to their experience and extensive, legally required training, Tyrolean mountain and ski guides are specialists in all mountain sports disciplines. On guided tours, they ensure the highest possible standards of safety and quality, and can minimise risks for tour participants.

Mountain and ski guides are all-round alpine experts and undergo one of the most comprehensive alpine training programmes in the world. In Austria, this training is provided by the Association of Austrian Mountain and Ski Guides (VÖBS) in cooperation with the Federal Sports Academy Innsbruck (BSPA). It is a state-recognised training programme and, at the same time, the only way in Austria to become a certified mountain and ski guide in accordance with the rules of the International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations (IVBV).

The intensive training programme begins with an aptitude test. This is followed by the first part of the training (56 training days), which is a prerequisite for the candidate examination. Passing the candidate examination entitles the candidate to undertake the second part of the training, comprising 40 training days. Before the final examination, candidates must also provide evidence of 14 days’ guiding experience.

Mountain and ski guides are authorised to lead and accompany you on mountain and ski tours – these include, amongst others, via ferrata, climbing routes, high-altitude tours, alpine tours, ski tours and ice climbing tours. They are also authorised, under certain conditions, to provide instruction in the necessary skiing skills in preparation for a planned ski tour, and to lead or accompany you on ski routes, ski slopes and cross-country ski trails. Their responsibilities also include the organisational arrangements for mountain and ski tours.

Exploring the Alpine mountain landscape on foot has experienced a real boom in recent years: when you go hiking, you have time to yourself, you can rest and relax, but you also challenge yourself and, whilst you’re at it, get to know other regions and cultures or discover new areas of interest.

Apart from the fact that, in Tyrol, commercially guided hikes may only be led by those with the appropriate qualifications (at least that of a Tyrolean mountain guide), safe mountain hiking naturally requires a great deal of knowledge and experience. The certified Tyrolean mountain guides tailor the tours specifically to you, turning them into a leisurely experience of nature.

Training to become a Tyrolean mountain guide is regulated by law and takes place in three modules over a period of at least 16 training days. Candidates are first assessed in the autumn to ensure they meet the entry requirements and are introduced to the basics of the alpine sport of ‘mountain guiding’. They are then taught key aspects of alpine safety in winter, with a focus on snowshoeing and avalanche awareness. The final summer part of the training in the Obernberg Valley further deepens the knowledge acquired, challenges candidates on all aspects of route planning and guiding, as well as on topics relating to meteorology, biology and geology, and consolidates existing knowledge in the areas of navigation and alpine first aid.
The training concludes with a theoretical and practical examination set by a panel of examiners.

Mountain guides are permitted to lead and accompany you on a commercial basis on mountain hikes, provided that the routes correspond to a maximum difficulty level of ‘red’ marked mountain trails. Off-trail terrain of up to ‘medium’ difficulty is also permitted. In winter, they may only walk on trails of up to medium difficulty or traverse off-trail terrain of up to medium difficulty, provided these areas are clearly not at risk of avalanches. On glaciers, they may only use winter hiking trails opened by the trail maintainer. Furthermore, they may teach mountain hiking skills and organise the necessary tours.