Born and raised in Vermont’s Champlain Valley, Brad Carlson discovered and promptly fell in love with the Adirondacks at the end of high school. Brad got his first summer job working at the Mountaineer, and continued to spend summers working for Rivermede Farm and Cloudsplitter Mountain Guides. As a college student in Vermont, he couldn’t stay away from Keene Valley, and dedicated as much time as possible to exploring the clean slabs, pumpy splitters, icy crags and sweeping backcountry slides of the High Peaks, not to mention the impenetrable krumholtz...
After college, Brad and his wife, Hillary Gerardi, moved full-time to the French Alps, initially “just for a winter season”. The city of Grenoble became home for the next six years, where Brad completed a PhD in alpine ecology and was accepted into the French national high mountain guide program (ENSA). Today, home base is in the quiet village of Servoz, just outside of Chamonix, where Brad is an IFMGA certified high-mountain guide working with the historic Compagnie des Guides de Chamonix.
As both a guide, Brad is highly in tune with the mountain environments he works and plays in. He studies how climate change is impacting the Alps, and works with other guides to raise awareness about environmental issues and develop responsible and respectful mountain practices. He is driven by an experience-based approach to the mountains and loves sharing his passion for mountain environments with his clients.
After more than 10 years living in the Alps, Brad still loves to come back to the Adirondacks and the community that helped him build his love of the mountains…and of course, get his butt kicked on gnarly trails and sandbagged routes!
Follow along with Brad’s adventures, or get in touch to join him in the mountains here:
Instagram: @brad.z.carlson