The Team – Past and Present

Joel’s Story

I moved to Chamonix in November 2011 for a ski season and I had friends who had already worked in the transfer industry and   enjoyed the flexibility that came with the job.

I applied for a full time role at Mountain Drop-offs and was excited to start driving around the alps! The team at MDO was great with friendly office staff who were always happy to help and a like minded team of drivers who would always lend a passing hand to help clear the snow off your van.

I met many people at MDO who I ended up becoming close friends with and sharing many mountain adventures with. A few of the staff my first winter 2011/12 were trainee British Mountain Guides and I spent lots of my free time with them learning many backcountry skills that enable you to discover lots of the best spots around Chamonix.

I enjoyed the early runs so I could spend my days up the mountain even when I had already done 2 trips to Geneva.

During the inter seasons I would travel back to the UK to complete my Mountain Leader, then International Mountain Leader qualification. It was only possible due to the nature of the seasonal contracts and even when I had my assessment weeks in the summer and winter MDO were flexible with my time off.

After I qualified ( along with another MDO driver at the time, Grant) I spent my first summer guiding the famous Tour du Mont Blanc which was great. I then returned to MDO for their busier winter season when there is less guiding work.

After a couple of seasons myself and Grant bought Happy Tracks the company we had worked for. We offer Trekking holidays around the Alps and now send clients to Mountain Drop-offs as we know we can rely on them and they offer such a high standard of service.

Grant’s Story

I moved to Chamonix in June 2013 with my girlfriend Charlie. We had the idea of staying for a summer season and maybe a winter season. 10 years later we are still here, have bought an apartment got married last year and now are parents

Charlie started working at Mountain Drop-offs in the winter season of 2014/15 and I joined 6 months later for the summer season. We had both worked for other transfer companies and done lots of other odd jobs around the valley. We both enjoyed the stability of working for Mountain Dropoffs, it was great to have set working days, a salary and help navigating the ins and outs of working in France.

We also enjoyed the fact that our colleagues were also “mountain people” and many of them have become ski partners and great friends. Including Joel who is now my business partner as well.

I continued to work with the company for many seasons after I trained to do my International Mountain Leader award. It was perfect working 4 days per week with 3 days off to train, ski climb and get out in the mountains. There was also some flexibility when I needed to take time off to attend courses for my IML qualification.

As I started to work as an IML I continued working for Mountain Drop-offs over the winter to supplement my summer guiding work, first full time and then part time as I got more guiding work in the winters. Working here was a great way to have a secure income whilst I began to work as a guide and I am really grateful for all the help and support I received during this process.

After a few years of guiding Joel and I had the chance to buy a hiking tour operator and we went for it. Mountain Drop-offs is now our transfer partner and we work closely with them to bring our clients to Chamonix for hiking trips such as the Tour du Mont Blanc. It’s great to have a reliable company who are friendly and easy to work with.

I can absolutely recommend working a season with Mountain Drop-offs, I’ll always be very grateful to Vicki and Simon for being very supportive whilst I completed all my qualifications. Plus you’ll meet a bunch of fun people and get a lot of skiing done!

Graham’s Story

There’s an almost universal stereotype in Chamonix “I came for just a winter, but then the summer looked really good so figured I’d stay for just one of those too…” That summer leads to another winter and, before you know it, you’re living in Chamonix, prefer the summer to the winter, and wonder why it took you so long to get here.

You can laugh, but if you’re reading this looking for a job in the valley, there’s a reasonable chance it’ll happen to you.

After a winter working in a chalet, driving for MDO looked like it could give the perfect combination of 3 days off in a row to get stuck into mountain adventures and the chance to get out on work days too. It doesn’t always work that way, but it’s good when it does. After a few years the route between Chamonix and Geneva does get a bit familiar so, like lots of MDO drivers, I gained outdoors qualifications and now get to spend my summers guiding mountain bikers around the alps, working both independently under my company alpineflowMTB as well as bigger guiding companies such as Endless Trails MTB then return to MDO for winters of working at the airport managing the drivers and clients as they arrive.

And skiing lots, obviously.

Being part of the MDO team makes working towards a sustainable life in Chamonix much easier. Unlike most alpine towns, there’s not really an off season locally. However, there’s still definitely peaks and troughs, so a big advantage is being able to get extra time off during the quieter periods to attend training courses and exams, and still be able to earn money with regular employment. The flexible working patterns also lets you get out for the vital mountain days to put in the log book, and for your memories too.

So, are you heading out for just a winter any time soon then?

Daniel’s Story

“My name is Daniel Catalin Pobega, I am an IFMGA Mountainguide based in Chamonix. I have started the French guiding training program with ENSA back in 2017 and graduated in 2021.

But I was not all my life a guide. Actually I have discovered the mountain quite late in my life. I was 25 when I first started to ski and to climb. And I can say that’s when my second life started.

Previously I have graduated the University of Economics and worked for 10 years in a bank in Romania. My job in the bank was stressful, so in order to keep my sanity and freedom, my antidote was simple: going into the mountains as much as I could. I became a weekend warrior.
Also in my vacations I have started to go into the Alps to climb mountains. My first summit trilogy ( Mont Blanc, Matterhorn and Eiger) I managed to squeeze into a 2 weeks vacation back in 2009. I became addicted to my new passion.

In 2014 I was already considering quitting my job in order to move into the Alps, in Chamonix. I had so many climbing projects in mind!
I just needed a flexible job that would allow me to make some money while enjoying the mountains. This is how I heard first time about MDO.

I started to work for MDO in January 2015 as a transfer driver (Geneva airport to Chamonix valley). This job was perfect for me: a professional team at the office, flexible schedule, 3 rest days per week when I could pursue my passion of climbing the mountains. During this time I did some memorable climbs and ski descends with some of my MDO collegues. With Alex Holt I have climbed the N Face of Eiger in the timeframe of our 3 days off from work.

I remember in the winters I could manage to squeeze one or two Vallee Blanche ski descents in powder between 2 runs to the airport.

I have continued to work for MDO during my training to become a moutain guide as well as I had to pay for my training. Vicki and Simon showed me lots of understanding and I could choose a part time schedule. I did this job until the summer of 2019, when I started to work as an Aspirant Guide.

Looking back into my experience with MDO I could say it helped me become more customer oriented, more organized, and it allowed me to meet new people that now I can count among my friends.