Remembering the Beloved New Zealand Guide Thomas Vialletet

Every January, we share a tribute to members of our community who we lost last year. Some were legends, others were pillars of their community, all were climbers. Read the full tribute to Climbers We Lost in 2025 here.

Thomas Vialletet, November 24

Thomas Vialletet, who was born and raised in France, was a member of the French National Young Alpinism Team from 2009 to 2012, and worked as a climbing and ski guide in the French Alps before relocating to New Zealand. At the time of his death, he lived in the small lakeside town of Wānaka with his wife, Danielle—also the co-founder of his guiding company, Summit Explorers—and two children, Layla and Ethan. A fundraiser aims to provide support for his young family in the wake of his passing.

In a public statement, the NZMGA called him “an integral part of the Wānaka and New Zealand guiding whānau (family)” and said he “embodied the professionalism, humility, and passion that define our community.”

Numerous friends and colleagues also posted tributes to Vialletet on social media.  “Thomas, I’ll miss your endless stoke, your big smile and enthusiasm for the mountains,” wrote fellow NZMGA guide Petrouchka Steiner-Grierson on Instagram. “I’ll miss your random hour-long phone calls brainstorming how to improve the NZMGA training and certification program, which I’ve fielded from all corners of the world at all times of day. I’ll even miss bumping into you at New World and getting trapped in conversation inevitably when I’m in a hurry. It’s so difficult to wrap my head around.”

Photographer Camilla Rutherford said Vialletet was her “go-to guide” for any mountain photoshoot, highlighting his focus on safety, and a “bright lust for life.” Guiding company Alpine Recreation called him “an outstanding guide, a trusted colleague, and someone who brought warmth, humour, and deep professionalism into the mountains every day.” They added that his loss was “acutely felt across the New Zealand and French mountain guiding communities.”

Another NZMGA guide and Alpine Recreation co-director, Elke Braun-Elwert, shared a poem in tribute:

Mountains keep your footsteps now,

Your laughter on the wind,

Your courage written in the snow,

Where rock and ice begin.

 

Gone from sight, but never far,

Your spirit rides the crest —

In every climb, in every turn,

In every heart you blessed.

Vialletet fell to his death with his client Kellam Conover on November 25 while climbing Aoraki (3,724m/12,218ft), New Zealand, also known as Mt. Cook.

Read the full tribute to Climbers We Lost in 2025 here.

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