Dave Searle

Hometown: Servoz, France | Active: 2013-present | Known for: Aoraki/Mount Cook descents in 2019, The Grand Ski Tour, IFMGA guiding in Chamonix | Disciplines: ski mountaineering, steep skiing, freeride

At 4:30 a.m. on 31 October 2019, Ross Hewitt woke Dave Searle at Plateau Hut beneath Aoraki/Mount Cook. The air was almost still, but the glacier was covered in sastrugi and windboard. Higher on the East Face, a thin veil of cloud muted the sun and kept the snow colder. Searle and Hewitt climbed roughly 1,200 vertical metres through boot- to knee-deep snow before stopping below the summit ridge. It was a ski-mountaineering day built around conditions rather than a summit: climbing, reading the surface and deciding when the line had given them enough.

Les Courtes 2013: managing sluff in Chamonix

In April 2013, Searle set out for the northeast slope of Les Courtes with Davide de Masi, Liz Daley, Drew Tabke and Tom Grant. Other teams were already on the face, and sluff management shaped the descent. Searle waited until people below had moved into safer positions, then skied the line in good snow before continuing toward Col des Cristaux. The day finished with about 1,500 metres of skiing across the two objectives.

Chamonix 2019: completing the IFMGA qualification

Searle came to skiing at 19 after reaching Chamonix first as a climber. A full winter in the valley moved ski touring and ski mountaineering to the centre of his mountain life, followed by years on steeper lines. In summer 2019 he completed the IFMGA guide course. His professional work subsequently combined freeride skiing, glaciated ski touring, ski mountaineering and alpine climbing, with the Mont-Blanc massif providing much of his regular terrain.

Aoraki 2019: lower Caroline Face with Hewitt

During the 2019 New Zealand trip, Searle and Ross Hewitt used Cinerama Col and the East Ridge to inspect the lower Caroline Face of Aoraki/Mount Cook. They later climbed back toward the East Ridge and dropped onto the lower face together. The descent became one of several ski objectives completed during a three-week trip repeatedly interrupted by poor visibility, strong winds and long periods inside Plateau Hut.

Aoraki 2019: turning below the East Ridge

The East Face objective on 31 October ended below the summit ridge when patches of blue ice appeared higher on the mountain. Searle and Hewitt turned their focus to the descent rather than continuing upward. On the ski down, the surface allowed large turns, while Searle managed the moving snow by travelling diagonally across the face. Booting, exposure, sluff control and the decision to turn around all formed part of the same 1,400-metre face.

Bowie Couloir 2019: the second known descent

The Bowie Couloir became the final major ski line of the New Zealand trip. Searle and Hewitt made the second known descent of the couloir on the north face of Aoraki/Mount Cook. Andreas Fransson and Magnus Kastengren had made the first known ski descent in 2013. The line followed several changes of plan around weather and icing, including the decision not to attempt the upper Caroline Face when its snow cover no longer suited their objective.

Grand Ski Tour 2026: Aiguille du Belvédère

In winter 2025/26, Searle launched The Grand Ski Tour, a multi-year series built around 50 ski-mountaineering adventures across Europe and a planned book. The project targets 10 to 15 adventure videos per year, ranging from classic tours to more technical lines. Episode two followed Searle and Aaron Rolph across the Aiguille du Belvédère in the Aiguilles Rouges, combining rope manoeuvres, climbing passages and skiing above Chamonix. Searle also remained a Rab athlete during the project.

On 1 February 2026, The Traverse of the Aiguille du Belvédère was released as episode two of The Grand Ski Tour. Aaron Rolph shot and edited the episode, while Searle and Rolph were the two riders on the traverse through the Aiguilles Rouges.

Selected filmography

• 2026 — The Traverse of the Aiguille du Belvédère — The Grand Ski Tour — Full segment

Selection of his main film projects. Not a complete filmography.