Petrouchka Steiner-Grierson has been at the forefront of exploratory ski mountaineering in the Southern Alps.
She is an IFMGA mountain guide, climber and skier based in Lake Hāwea. Her climbing and ski mountaineering resume spans the globe — from Patagonia and Arctic Norway to Yosemite’s iconic big walls — alongside numerous first ascents and ski descents in the Southern Alps of Aotearoa New Zealand.
In recent years, she has completed demanding descents on peaks including Aoraki/Mt Cook, Mt Dixon, Mt Haast High Peak and Mt Silberhorn. Her projects blend technical climbing, complex route finding and a willingness to embrace the unexpected – sometimes resulting in what she jokingly calls “accidental ski descents” of grade 4 ice routes.
Alongside guiding, Pet contributes to the wider mountain community through roles with the New Zealand Mountain Guides Association and avalanche education programmes. When she’s not in the mountains, she’s just as happy sharing music and stories around a campfire while waiting for the next weather window