Introducing Nicolas Champey

An Interview with Nicolas Champey, IFMGA  France

Every season we get a number of guides from other countries stopping in for a visit.  Last summer Nico Champey contacted us but he was different from the usual guide on holiday.  Originally from Grenoble France, he was married to an Australian, he had a work permit and he was checking out Wanaka to move here permanently with his partner Kate and their two small children.  We hosted him on a few trips and the rest is history, they have moved to town and Nico is a valuable member of out team here at Aspiring Guides.

Tell us about yourself Nico, how does a guide from Grenoble end up living in Wanaka?
I was guiding climbing in Canada and I met Kate. She came to France for six years and then we move to Australia for one year, and then we moved to Wanaka.

Australia was no place for a mountain guide?
I was doing rope access work in Sydney but there are no mountains there!

So what’s it like moving to Wanaka?
It's difficult to move with a family but we knew people to share a house with before we found a place to live. Life in Wanaka is pretty good, lots of places for preschool and lots of parks.  Everyone here is very helpful.

What did you think of your first New Zealand winter?
I was surprised at how short it was, I expected more time for ice climbing.  Working on the Bow Glacier in Canada was very similar to guiding here.

Is it different guiding here than in Europe? 
The mountains are so far from the road, you go on bigger trips here, the other thing is the huts have custodians in France so you don’t have to cook.  The mountains here are quiet; there are much fewer people and tracks.  Also the animals, keas is have not eaten my gear so so far I am happy with them.

What peaks in France are similar to Mount Aspiring?  
It’s a classic summit like Les Bans or Les Ecrin or Aiguille du Tour.

And the Matterhorn?  
No, on the Matterhorn the hut is already on the mountain so there is no approach.  The Matterhorn is steeper and more consistent straight to the summit.

What was the guiding in Canada like?
I used to guide Assiniboine, Bow Glacier and Athabasca.  There the valleys are U shaped not V shaped like here, so the trails are easier.  The forest in Canada is very thick so it is much easier to get lost.  Assiniboine is a nice pyramiyd like Mnt. Aspiring, it is harder than Mnt. Aspiring but it’s only about 600m to climb.

In France your last job was Search and Rescue, which was run by the police, so you are a policeman?  
Yes we had to do all the same training as a policeman.

Did you carry a gun?
Not while I was working but we had to train with a gun three times a year which was a funny day for us, we were mountaineers so we all didn’t care much about shooting.

What was the work like?  
I work in the Mercantour National Park there were lots of canyons and cliffs so we did lots of canyon rescues, when it was busy we sometimes had six or seven rescues a day.

Do you have places in New Zealand you are looking forward to climb?
I haven’t really studied where I want to go yet I would like to climb around Milford Sound and the Mount Cook area.  One route I saw was Pope’s Nose, that looks nice.

Where do you think you will be in 10 years?
(laughing) Living between France, Canada, Australia and New Zealand I guess!

Jasper, Kate, Lauren and Nico.  Jasper is 3yrs old and speaks two languages