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TALKING LOCAL
Adventure Magazine
supporting local
business
CHARLIE HOBBS
The "old" mountaineer
No one knows the Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park like local
guide and mountaineer Charlie Hobbs. Having lived and run
his own successful adventure guiding businesses since 1989,
his name is synonymous with the area.
We sat down with Charlie to chat about his connection to his
beloved alps, what the mountains give him, and why every
kiwi must explore this special part of Aotearoa.
"When the
mountains speak,
wise men listen."
What drew you to Aoraki/Mount Cook?
I was living in Timaru working as a tradesman in
the early 80’s, spending my weekends and spare
time in the mountains. I was working for the
Mountain Safety Council and heavily involved
with the local alpine club where I was also doing
some instructing and helping club members.
Something just clicked with me one day and,
like many others, I thought “maybe I’ll become a
guide”. I got the necessary guiding qualifications
and moved up to Aoraki/Mount Cook which then
led to numerous overseas guiding expeditions.
The natural next step from there was to establish
my own business where I could share my
passion, knowledge, and genuine love of the
area. I’ve never really looked back.
What’s kept you there?
The mountains are a spiritual place to be –
they’re beautiful, they speak to me, I love
working there. The glaciers are continually
changing and ice structures remodelling; my
office is never the same. You get up there and
there’s no one around, it’s a truly special place.
I’ve always loved the saying “when the
mountains speak, wise men listen”. You can’t
muck around in nature, you have to treat it with
respect and listen to what she has to say. I truly
believe if more people took heed of that, more
people would make it home safely.
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