get to know our team of instructors & guides
We pride ourselves on being a close-knit group of passionate instructors working together to craft unforgettable outdoor experiences. Our dedicated team works with unwavering commitment to ensuring your safety, enjoyment, and personal growth during every adventure we lead.
Aaron Lowndes
Aaron has 3 decades of rock-climbing experience. He has travelled all over the world in pursuit of amazing rock, and enjoys classic low-grade adventure routes just as much as harder technical climbing (if grade 29/8a/5.13a means anything to you, that’s his top so far).
Prior to starting Melbourne Climbing School, Aaron spent countless weekends voluntarily teaching organised groups rock climbing safety skills, and has facilitated hundreds of new climbers in their transition onto real rock.
Now fully qualified and with a thriving business, Aaron is fully committed to the rock climbing industry, and is a current board member of the Australian Climbing Instructor’s Association (ACIA).
Hamid Shafaghi
Having written two instruction manuals for Navigation training in Iran, plus another for Bigwall climbing, Hamid is the founder of these courses in Iran and has taught them in Iran, Europe, and Australia.
Hamid operates his own Iran-based guiding business, and spends his Australia-based months running courses, guiding and ski touring. Make sure to check out skitouring.com.au as well!
Joanne Lee
Jo is no stranger to the climbing world – she spent 6 years travelling, climbing and instructing around the globe, easily enthused about long, epic, multi-pitch trad climbing, is a lover of all big furry doggo friends and the founder of Women Uprising (give her a follow at @womenuprisingaus)
Anyone who’s participated in one of our @shewentwild.co trips will know her as the super friendly, competent, smiley person who can coax the most timid newbie to attempt the big airy abseil.
As a qualified SPG guide, she will be MCS’s go-to person for all things guiding related.
Simon Murray
Simon ‘Wombat’ Murray has extensive local snow camping, ski mountaineering and rescue experience, he’s the local area expert for the program and affectionately termed ‘Camp Dad’. He’s put together the Ski/Split touring program for the Victorian Backcountry Festival six years running and before that, the ‘MSCs Slay Safe’ Program, overseeing literally hundreds of independent ski/split participants participants without incident.
He’s a Mountain safety educator and backcountry guide around Hotham.
Alysa Atkinson
Working as a ski patroller between Australia and Canada, and having just finished a season ski patrolling in Japan, Alysa spends 11 months of the year working and recreating in snowy alpine environments.
Prior to patrolling, Alysa spent 2 years working in outdoor education, facilitating hard top and journey programs to young people in the Alpine National Park.
Lachlan Short
Lachlan Short spends 200+ days a year working and breathing in the outdoors as an outdoor educator and adventure guide, working primarily in alpine and rock environments.
Some of the organisations and clients he has worked for include the University of the Sunshine Coast, Mt Buller, Thredbo Backcountry Guides, The North Face, Australian School of Mountaineering and Climb the Seven Summits. He has a dual degree in Science (Ecology) and Education (Secondary Education) and a Diploma in Outdoor Leadership.
Luke Frisken
Luke has a wealth of experience backcountry skiing in many locations in Australia. He currently lives in Mt Beauty (near Falls Creek) and has spent Winter seasons at a wide range of interesting ski touring locations around the world including Republic of Georgia, Kamchatka Russia, New Zealand, and Japan.
Luke contributes his skills as an MSC observer, and is a founding member and volunteer forecaster for the Avalanche Georgia NGO.
Ryan Siacci
Let’s go touch some rocks!
Reuben Bennett-Daly
I’ve been climbing for well over twenty-five years now and actually did some of my first outdoor climbing being guided by some of the original legends of The Climbing Company at the Mount! People often say they always think of me as a boulderer and while I do still love trying hard moves close to the ground or to a bolt, most of my climbing these days is faffing with trad or going on bigger adventures at different crags around the country. I’ve been lucky enough to have made a living from climbing in one way or another for most of my adult life and even after all these years there is nothing I enjoy more than being able to share with new climbers how great climbing is, full of diversity and adventure.
Andy King
Andy has over 2 decades of climbing experience on Rock, Ice and in the Alpine. For over a decade, Andy has been the Technical Sales Rep in Australia for some of the largest climbing brands like Edelrid, DMM, La Sportiva, Grivel plus many more. With his extensive gear knowledge, Andy loves to use the latest innovations in equipment to move fast on long climbs while sticking to his “simple is safe” motto.
Karl Bromelow
Climbing since 1981. Born in Northern England, I have climbed rock, snow and ice widely iaround the UK, mainland Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand and The South Pacific. Currently making my home in Victoria Australia, I live by the ocean for the surf but still head to the boulders, crags and mountains whenever I can.
Danny Wade
John Kazanas
John is a passionate rock climber who has been an ACIA qualified single and multi-pitch climbing guide since 2015. He has been rock climbing since 2003 in both sport and trad climbing environments.
John has also spent many years in various alpine environments backcountry skiing and ice climbing including in New Zealand’s Southern Alps and on its highest peak Mt Cook. He has also summited the world’s highest mountain Mt Everest (8864m).
With a Master’s Degree in Business Administration, John is also a Private Pilot with over 20 year’s flying experience which increases his skills in people leadership, risk management and operational safety when guiding.
Faith Meckley