Profile
Alpine Recreation is a family-run guiding company based in Lake Tekapo, offering outdoor experiences and instruction throughout the Southern Alps. With over four decades of experience, the company provides guided adventures, training courses, and mountain treks led by qualified and experienced mountain guides.
Activities cover both summer and winter seasons. In summer, Alpine Recreation offers alpine trekking, guided ascents, and mountaineering courses designed to teach essential skills for travelling in alpine terrain. Winter programmes include ski touring, snowshoeing, and split-board trips, as well as backcountry ski and avalanche awareness courses. These options allow groups to experience the Southern Alps across all seasons, with professional support and instruction.
A key focus of Alpine Recreation is on mountaineering and alpine skills training. Courses include introductory and advanced options, with topics such as avalanche safety, rope skills, and glacier travel. Instruction is delivered by IFMGA and NZMGA certified mountain guides, ensuring high standards of safety and technical knowledge. Small group sizes allow for more personalised teaching and hands-on practice.
Accommodation is available through Alpine Recreation’s own facilities as well as public huts. The Edelweiss Lodge in Lake Tekapo provides a comfortable base before or after expeditions. In the mountains, groups may stay in the Rex Simpson Hut or the Caroline Hut, both privately owned by Alpine Recreation, or in public conservation huts depending on the trip. This flexibility makes it possible to combine training with real alpine experiences in authentic mountain settings.
With its professional guiding team, purpose-built huts, and a wide range of year-round activities, Alpine Recreation offers structured outdoor experiences for groups and individuals looking to build confidence, learn alpine skills, or take on guided treks in New Zealand’s Southern Alps.
