Certifications
AMGA/IFMGA:
Ski • Alpine • Rock
Profile
Joe Vallone is an AMGA Certified Rock, Alpine, and Ski Mountaineering UIAGM/IFMGA Licensed Guide. The phrase “in the moment” could have been invented for Joe. Colorful, focused and energetic, Joe’s qualities shine through in both his personal interactions and his accomplishments. He’s an internationally certified guide (IFMGA), a professional drummer, and a professional freeskier. Joe possesses a unique ability to instantly shift his undivided attention to the task at hand. Before graduating from Colorado State University with a BA in music, he spent three summers in Yosemite, where he climbed more than two dozen big walls. This experience took him to Peru in 2001, where he and his partner completed a major new route on The Sphinx. Joe has climbed and skied throughout the Alps, Canada, Alaska, and the lower 48. He has appeared in major and minor ski films, Ford and Chevy commercials, competed in USSA Bumps and Aerials, judged 5 X-Games, and was a member of the Copper Mountain Freeride Ski Team for five years.
From an unforgiving urban rail to a burly north face in the alps, Joe lives for skiing and will ski just about anywhere on anything with anyone, just for the love of skiing. He is often heard quoting others, and lives by his favorite quote, “no bad snow, only bad skiers” (Doug Coombs). Joe has been guiding professionally for 15 years throughout the world, from the pristine granite alpine spires of Rocky Mountain National Park, to the jagged peaks of the French Alps, to the 6000 meter glaciated summits of the South American Andes. He spent years working as a heli-guide in Alaska, but now prefers winters in La Grave, France, where he works as a professional ski and mountain guide, based in what he calls “the steep skiing mecca of the world.” Joe is also dedicated to guiding education: he is a highly regarded member of the instructor pool of the American Mountain Guides Association, training the next generation of mountain guides.