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Anyone who works as a hiking guide is always on the move. So it's no wonder that the community of South Tyrolean hiking guides is not standing still and has launched a whole series of projects to provide all mountain enthusiasts with an even more professional and comprehensive program.
We present the most important ones:
There are seven nature parks in South Tyrol, seven areas that enjoy very special protection by the province of South Tyrol due to their unique beauty and special natural features. Strict rules apply here, not only with regard to possible construction, but also to agricultural use and, last but not least, tourism.
South Tyrol's hiking guides have now entered into a co-operation with the administration of the South Tyrolean nature parks in order to act as mediators of this wonderful world and provide interested parties with very special access to it. Together with the nature park administrators, the hiking guides have developed special programmes for all target groups, which they offer mainly in the warmer months of the year.
More information is available from the hiking guides or at the information centres at all seven South Tyrolean nature parks.
Stone by stone, South Tyrol's hiking guides are building a solid foundation for their relatively new profession. The foundation for this is training and further education, on which a further stage is being developed in the form of recognition as an "International Mountain Leader" (IML). This recognition extends the South Tyrolean hiking guides' area of operation far beyond the borders of their own country and potentially encompasses the whole world.
Training to become an IML is based on cooperation in the "Union of International Mountain Leader Associations", or UIMLA for short: a worldwide association of hiking guide organisations. And then there is the training to become a South Tyrolean hiking guide.
Building on this, the South Tyrolean Chamber of Mountain and Ski Guides offers additional training to obtain the IML title. This bilingual training course comprises a total of 21 course days, meaning that the internationally recognised hiking guides will have completed no less than 53 days of training.
The additional training is about deepening and expanding the knowledge and skills acquired during the basic training. For example, it is once again about didactic subtleties (e.g. on hikes with children and families), safety, the weather in the mountains, first aid and high-altitude medicine, as well as planning hiking trips abroad and medical care in different parts of the world.
It is interesting to note that the additional training also includes a winter part, which also covers basic knowledge and practical experience in avalanche search and rescue.
At the end of the training, as already mentioned, you will be recognised as an "International Mountain Leader" (IML). And with it, access to a whole new world.
