When did you know you wanted to be a mountain guide?

Lena and Merrick were eager to start guiding in the Tromsø area when they first moved there. For Merrick, that was in 2017, and for Lena, the following year. They knew of each other, and their partners were good friends. Once they decided to make Tromsø their home, they were ready to figure out a model that would allow them to combine family life and guide life. Most guides at this point were traveling the world to work, so they knew that they needed to start something to allow work to come to them.

They started the company in 2020 and Edda was on board in 2021 when both Lena and Merrick realized she was the missing link to hold the operation together. All three women are very different and have complementary styles that allow the company to function as well as it does.

You've climbed and skied around the world. What is your favorite place?

We love our home base around Tromsø - the mountains around Tromsø are incredibly varied, spanning different snow climates and providing such diverse landscapes and snow conditions in a relatively “compact” region. Also, you have both easy and very accessible peaks for guests that are completely new to ski touring while offering spectacular views and fun skiing.

How has your experience been growing TSG?

Growing a company together in such a short time and witnessing our steep learning curve in all different aspects of the company, from marketing to accounting, was probably one of the most notable accomplishments of the last couple of years. We grew from a small business that provided part-time work to only the three of us to employing and collaborating now with a fantastic bunch of guides. It has been such a fun and rewarding process, and we look forward to many more years of Tromsø Ski Guides!

What conditions are you looking for when deciding to enter or avoid avalanche terrain?

We practice transparent guiding, meaning we openly share our assessments of the snowpack, terrain, and weather with the group. This ensures everyone is on the same page when it comes to identifying risks—and, more importantly, avoiding unnecessary ones. Each trip is tailored individually to the customer's experience and motivation, and including them in the decision making when deciding to enter avalanche terrain or not based on the current conditions, is an incredibly important process to provide safe and rewarding ski touring adventures.

Why do you use Safeback SBX?

It intrigues us that the SBX system can extend the chances of avoiding asphyxia by 90 minutes. Working as avalanche instructors and training rescue scenarios with course participants, we often see it can take up to 10 minutes for participants to find and dig out two backpacks. In these scenarios, we generally work in a small search radius and with easy digging conditions. Thus, increasing the time you have to get a person out of an avalanche is an incredibly powerful strategy to increase the likelihood of digging someone out alive. Personally, using the SBX system is an extra safety precaution to hopefully survive if I ever get buried in an avalanche.

How does SBX fit into your understanding of snow safety?

We like the simplicity of the SBX setup (as a user) and that you can easily test and employ it at any time. In that sense, it’s similar to a transceiver that you can play around with in different settings or situations to get accustomed and comfortable with the system. How the device is integrated into the backpack does not affect the backpack negatively and the system is also light, so it does not feel cumbersome to have the SBX system as part of my ski touring setup.