We love, love, love when clients ask for something a little custom for their trips. It gets the creative juices flowing and often provides us with all of the Alps to play with. John and his group tasked us with a trek / mountaineering week in the mountains but pretty much left it at that. Our Ops Director Olly Alkema licked his lips, pulled his socks up and got to work crafting their dream trip. As you will see from the video below he ended up on the trip so perhaps he was building his own dream trip instead. Little rascal!
We first spoke with John in January 2021. 20 months later his group trekked from the Matterhorn and climbed the Allalihorn on their Swiss mountain journey… Dreamy!
The Matterhorn to Allalihorn
Here at Adventure Base we specialise in creating and delivering quality experiences in mountain environments for groups and teams. With decades of knowledge in mountain event management, we pride ourselves in bringing teams together in wild places. Founded by world renowned adventurer and 15 time Everest summiteer Kenton Cool, we’ve delivered great experiences to some of the world’s leading companies and event organisers.
Here’s how we do it…
Discovery Stage
We learn about your objectives, the people, the budget, the time frame, the dog’s name… you get the picture! Take the above trip. We spoke to John back in January and he said the following:
January 2022: “I have up to ten total humans (this can be throttled down if needed) who are physically fit, are adventurous, have definitely trekked, but have essentially no experience on ice. Many of us have done Kilimanjaro or similar. We’d like 5-7 days filled with spectacular views, some hard work, and a sense of accomplishment. Summiting is secondary for sure. We are probably game for something between Mt Blanc and Matterhorn, difficulty-wise. Personally, this is also my one opportunity in the year to be away from humans (COVID-19 isolation aside), so the road less travelled is massively preferable.”
Inspiration Stage
Next our crack squad of operations and creative brains research opportunities and environments that fit the brief before presenting them to you for discussion. Multiple phone calls, a couple of Face times and a few DM’s later we landed on a trip.
April 2021: “Ok, this is a really swell-sounding adventure. Excellent descriptions and I can almost feel the frost in my nostrils.”
Commitment Stage
Once all agreed, you pay the deposit and away we go. Financial terms can be structured according to the Adventure and your company’s requirements. Perhaps the hardest part of any trip is committing. Before the deposit is paid it’s just an idea. Once it’s paid it’s happening.
Pre Adventure
We walk you through the necessary steps to progress the administrative side of organising a trip. Further, we create assets (detailed itineraries, kit lists, training advice and more) that can be distributed to your team. But as with any great adventure, plans change and we do our best to change with it. Where we can be, we’re as agile as an ibex scaling a mountain or a marmot scavenging for ‘myrtles’.
April 2022: “Thank you kindly, Olly. This is all super super helpful. Let me confer with my humans and get back to you on all points. I wish it was August already. “
Adventure
This is where the magic happens. Your adventure manager will oversee your trip and make sure everything runs smoothly for the duration of the experience.
Post Adventure
We debrief and discuss the trip, tie up any loose ends, send across any imagery or videography and reminisce about ‘this time last week’.
August 2022: “My group had high expectations for a tailored experience that hit on several different notes of excitement, technical training, and relaxation Adventure Base absolutely delivered a flawless fit. Despite a dynamic environment and weather situation, AB was able to improvise and provide an unforgettable expedition led by supremely talented professionals.”
If you’d like to put together a custom trip then learn more here or get in touch with us here.