About the Backcountry Tour Guides

Guide Bios

Zahan Billimoria

Zahan works as a ski guide because the mountains in the depth of winter are a place of wonder. As a guide his focus is on sharing the awe of being in the mountains with clients of every level. Every step of the journey-- from carefully crafting a skin track, to setting a comfortable pace for the client, to skiing thousands of feet of untracked powder is a rewarding part of the experience.

Zahan has skied all over the world from the Alps to the Andes, and has guided in the Tetons for 4 years. He has skied most of the classic routes in the Tetons including descends of the Grand, Middle and South Teton.

Along with fellow guides AJ Linnell and Don Carpenter, Zahan keeps up to date with cutting edge research and education in the avalanche and wilderness medicine fields.

As a Targhee athlete Zahan is also a member of the US National Ski Mountaineering Team that is headed to Champery, Switzerland on Feb 20,2008 to compete in the World Championships of Ski Mountaineering. Partnered with fellow guides Zahan spends much of his winters deep in the backcountry in constant search of pristine powder slopes.

Read Zahan's training blog here.

Don Carpenter

Don Carpenter has a love of the mountains and backcountry skiing. The Teton area has been his home since the winter of 1993. Don has a broad range of professional experience teaching and guiding in the mountains. He is a Senior Instructor for the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), primarily instructing in the winter/ski and mountaineering programs. NOLS courses have taken him to Denali, India, the Chugach and Alaska ranges of Alaska, and all over the mountains of Idaho and Wyoming. For the past several years Don has taught avalanche courses for NOLS and Yostmark Backcountry Tours, as well as the American Avalanche Institute. Don also works as a mountain guide on Mt. Rainier and Denali for Alpine Ascents International.

AJ Linnell

AJ has worked as a guide for eight years, leading expeditions in the Rockies, Cascades, Alaska, and the Indian Himalaya, including three successful Denali climbs. His own climbing and ski expeditions have taken him to spectacular ranges across North America. He brings a love of wild places that began while following his parents on backcountry ski tours in the Colorado Rockies, and loves the thrill of showing people the wildness of backcountry powder.

When he’s not guiding, AJ spends as much time as possible exploring the high places of the Tetons on his snowboard and skis.

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