Certifications

My name is Tom Grant. I am a full-time, year-round mountain guide based in Chamonix, France. I am a member of both the International Federation of Mountain Guides Association (IFMGA) and the British Mountain Guides Association (BMG), which means I hold the highest guiding qualifications in the industry. This allows me to guide virtually anywhere in the world in all mountain disciplines. I am a passionate and dedicated skier, alpinist and all-round climber. I am particularly adept in the art of steep skiing, which has led me to numerous first descents in the Alps, New Zealand, Norway, British Columbia and Baffin Island, Canada.
 

Bio

I was born in Arlington, Virginia, in the United States. At age 11 my family and I moved to Lewes, East Sussex. I began climbing on the sandstone outcrops of Sussex at age 16, but only began to pursue climbing seriously while at university in Nottingham. I have since climbed hundreds of trad routes across the UK and dozens of Scottish winter routes. My growing passion for climbing, adventure and the odd dose of suffering led me to the French Alps, and ultimately to the climbing and mountaineering center of the universe, Chamonix, France in 2009.  Except for a short spell in Tignes, I have lived in this valley ever since. Using Chamonix as my base, I have spent much of the last 20 years climbing and skiing in the Alps and in many other mountain ranges around the world.

I first strapped on a pair of planks at age 13 on a school trip to Austria. It wasn’t long before I was competing in and winning ski races in youth competitions all across Europe. Ski racing and rock climbing provided a solid foundation on which to build my mountaineering skills, and after only a few years of (intensive) study and practice, I earned my IFMGA pin in relatively short order in 2016. Since living full time in the alps, I have spent an unhealthy amount of time on very steep and snowy slopes. I am drawn to both speed and the pull of gravity. But I am also interested in exploring the limits of our capacity as humans for risk, endurance, and physical suffering in what are otherwise hostile, high elevation mountain environments. In addition to skiing extreme descents, I also very much enjoy lift-served freeriding and exploratory backcountry tours, near and far, long and short…even in fair weather. I just love to ski!

Resume

Climbing Highlights:

• 3 ascents of the North Face of Les Droites, twice in winter

• 3 routes on the Grandes Jorasses; the Croz Spur, the Walker Spur and the Tronchey Arete

• Peuterey Integrale

• Matterhorn North Face

• Dru Couloir

• Late to Say I’m Sorry, M6, 5c, A1, North Face Grand Rocheuse

• A rare winter ascent of the Freney Face of Mont Blanc

• Ascent of the Frendo Spur in 3 hours 30, and the Swiss Route in 3 hours 15 with freeride skis

• Solo single push of the Royal Traverse in 12 hours to Mont Blanc

• Super Couloir Direct Start

• Pinnochio, Tacul East Face

• The Nose, El Capitan

• South Face of Washington Column

• The South Face of the Fiz

• Two winter ascents of the north face of the Dru

Ski Mountaineering Highlights:

• First descent of the Caroline Face on Mt. Cook/Aoraki in New Zealand and Malte Brun via the Zigzag Route.

• First descent of Blackfriars North Couloir in British Columbia

• Complete descent of the Kalhiltna Queen West Face without rappel, Central Alaska Range

• Descent of Denali from the summit via the Messner Couloir and the Orient Express

• 2nd Descent of the Grand Couloir of the Brenva (Sentinelle Rouge Couloir), first time without rappel and heli

• First descents in the Mont Blanc Massif: West Couloir of the Aiguille Tour Noir and SW face of the Aiguille Tricot

• First descents in New Zealand, notably the South Face of Mt. Darwin and the West Face of Elie de Beaumont

• East Face of Mt. Cook/Aoraki

• Frendo Spur

• North Face Les Courtes – Cordier Gabarrou

• Multiple descents of the North Face of the Aiguille du Midi – Eugster Diagonal, Mallory and Col du Plan North Face

• Gervasutti, Jager and Diable couloirs

• Rare descents of the Col de La Brenva and the West Couloir Direct on the Chardonnet

• South Face Direct, Les Courtes after climbing the Swiss Route

• Solo of the SW Face of Les Droites off the first bin

• Traverse of the Aiguille Verte to ski the Whymper

• 3rd Descent of the South Face of Mont Blanc du Tacul

• Several first descents in Baffin Island on lines from 800-1500m long

• Polar Star Couloir, North Face of Beluga Spire, Baffin Island

• First descent of Falak Sar in Pakistan
  

Sponsors

I work closely with several outdoor brands who support me in a number of ways. I am an ambassador for Black Crows skis, a relatively young but dynamic ski brand based out of Chamonix. I also receive support from Scarpa, Plum Bindings, Grivel, SunGod, Jottnar, Concept Pro Shop in Chamonix and Edelweiss ropes (click on icons below for website links).