I was born and raised on the Kamchatka Peninsula, one of the easternmost parts of Russia (USSR at the time) and one of the most mountainous regions in Russia. Thanks to my parents, since childhood I was involved in different outdoor activities, and spent all my free time in Kamchatka wilderness hiking, skiing, and biking.

As a result, in 1999 I started my guiding career, working as a guide for hiking trips and non-technical volcano ascensions. In 2004, I got my first job in the ski-guiding industry. For the next several years, I worked as a non-certified guide simply because we had no organization in Russia responsible for guiding education. But I was lucky to have a friend and mentor, Fedor Farberov, who has been a mountain guide since the late 80’s and spent a year in Canada studying guiding and avalanche risk management. I learned a lot from him and from the mountaineering/avalanche/guiding courses he organized for local guides.

Before 2008, guiding was a part-time, seasonal job, and I was still working in other jobs, thanks to my university degree in Economics and Law. Since 2008, I have worked full-time as a guide.

In 2010, I decided to pursue an international certification. After a few attempts in different countries, I went to Canada in 2012. After 4 years of courses, practice, and exams, I became a certified guide and a member of the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides. In parallel with the guiding study, I took several courses and exams with the Canadian Avalanche Association to become an avalanche safety specialist and a professional member of the Association.

In the last 15 years, I have been guiding and skiing for myself nearly all over the world. I’ve been skitouring and heliskiing on 6 continents (Australia and New Zealand are still on the list), with highlights including Canada, Chile, Argentina, the Antarctic Peninsula, Morocco, the Indian Himalayas, Japan, Svaneti, the Alps, Siberia, Kamchatka, and the Altay Mountains.

I am an AST avalanche course provider accredited by Avalanche Canada, running several recreational avalanche courses per winter season.

In 2020-2022, I was involved in the work of the Russian Avalanche Center, a non-profit organization that establishes recreational and professional avalanche education in Russia, in cooperation with Avalanche Canada. As a technical director, I was in charge of different aspects of this project - developing recreational and professional courses, developing handbooks and materials, teaching new instructors, teaching professional avalanche courses etc.

Since 2024, I have been serving as a Technical Director at Avalanche Central Asia, an organization that provides recreational and professional avalanche education in Central Asian countries, including Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

In February 2023, I became a co-founder and a Lead Ski Guide at Altay Mountain Lodge & Yurts, a backcountry skiing company operating in Altay Mountains, East Kazakhstan region. We offer the best skitouring programs in the region across 25 sq km of exclusive terrain.

Since 2013 I live in small mountain village Servoz, in the Chamonix Valley, France.

Ski guiding experience and highlights:

  • 6 years of heliskiing in Kamchatka, including the first historical heliskiing on the North Kuril Islands
  • 14 years of skitouring and expeditions in Kamchatka, including:
    • First guided (and second historical) descent from Ichinskaya Sopka volcano in the remote central part of the peninsula
    • First guided circuit of Ganalskiy Vostryaki massif
  • Occasional heliskiing in the Caucasus, Chile, and India
  • Occasional catskiing in Canada and Siberia
  • 3 winter seasons guiding in Krasnaya Polyana (Sochi), including work for Freeride World Tour and few local freeride events.
  • Guiding in the Central High Atlas (Morocco).
  • Skitouring on the Antarctic Peninsula
  • 10+ years of guiding different regions of Siberia:
    • Pioneering skitouring in the Kuznetsky Alatau range with many first descents
    • First-ever regular guiding programs in Siberia
  • Pioneering heliskiing in the Lake Baikal area
  • Several road trips on Hokkaido and Honshu (Japan)
  • First-ever heli-assisted skitouring program in Svaneti (Georgia Republic)
  • Pioneering skitouring in Altay Mountains, East Kazakhstan region.

More upcoming!