Who We Are

ALISON 

The concept of CHX was developed while hiking in the Chamonix Valley, as a result of a passion for the mountains and a desire to share this. Having worked as a volunteer, Alison and Co-Founder, Damien, wanted to raise money for Streets of London, a charity close to their hearts. In 2015 they invited a group of friends to join them on the Tour du Mont Blanc as a fundraising challenge and CHX Challenge was born.

Alison co-runs the business, focusing on sales and development, working with existing and new clients to develop the perfect event based on individual requirements.

Alison loves hiking, being lucky enough to have undertaken numerous treks in countries across the world. She spends her free time trail running and has completed a number of ultra trails in the Alps, winning podium positions in a number of them.

Robbie 

Robbie is our Director based in Chamonix, where he works with our accommodation providers, catering team and mountain guides to curate CHX Challenge events. He loves sharing the mountains with our groups and enjoys planning adventures that will live long in the memory of everyone who attends. He was brought up in the mountains by his family with a passion for the outdoors and is an ambassador for partner charity The Glacier Trust. When he isn’t working on events, he is exploring the Alps for new adventures; ski touring or snowshoeing in the winter and hiking, running or climbing in the summer.

Robbie has a background in high performance sport, having spent almost 10 years at Chelsea Football Club, working in the UK and the US as Performance & Development Director for professional teams. He holds a MSc in Environmental & Social Psychology, as well as being a CHX Performance Scientist of Yourself ® accredited coach. Robbie is passionate about how clients can optimise mood and performance through their physical, social and biological environments.

Candy 

Candy is also responsible for the Finance, HR and Sales support for our sister company CHX Performance.

Based in the UK and with a busy family life of kids (and dogs!), she doesn’t get to Chamonix as often as she’d like. However, that does mean she is the one you have contact with regarding all booking logistics, which is good news!

Nic 

Nic has spent the vast majority of his life climbing, mountaineering, hiking, biking and generally having fun in the mountains.

With over 10 years in the health and fitness industry, Nic is a highly qualified personal trainer but, more importantly for CHX Challenge, he is a hugely experienced mountain adventurer. Nic has climbed globally, including in the Alps, the Himalayas and the Andes. Nic was also a key member of the EverestMax team: The first team to go from the lowest point on earth to the highest – cycling from the Dead Sea in Jordan through 8 countries and finishing by summiting Mt Everest.

Nic has great knowledge of the areas CHX Challenge uses for trekking, having spent a lot of time exploring them. He is available to advise all participants on preparation and kit, and also leads on our events.

Jess

Jess is a dual-qualified Physiotherapist & Nutritionist and has worked across a broad range of health settings from the NHS to professional sport. She is perfectly placed to help you in preparing for your Challenge and leads on some of our events in the Alps.

A strong athlete, Jess loves being outdoors and spends her time in Chamonix hiking, running, skiing and climbing. She leads ‘Mountain Movement’ sessions in the Chamonix Valley, combining her background as a physiotherapist with strength-based yoga to provide a functional movement base for a range of mountain sports. 

Francois

Francois is often the lead guide for our Charity events.

Phil & Amanda

Phil and Amanda organise all the catering for CHX Challenge events. From delicious, hearty three-course meals in the chalets to street food from their famous vintage food truck, they make sure our groups are well fuelled for full days in the mountains.

Damien 

Damien co-founded CHX Challenge in 2015 with Alison, based on wanting to get a group of friends together to support ‘The Connection at St Martins’, a crisis centre for the homeless in central London where he had been volunteering for a few years.

Raising money for the charity ‘Streets of London’ was where this all began, and although Damien now runs our sister business – CHX Performance – he still actively supports our partner charities ‘Millimetres 2 Mountains’, ‘Jamie’s Farm’ and ‘Streets of London’.

Damien is a passionate believer in charity, is a source of great momentum in many of our fundraising efforts, and loves nothing more than helping figure out ways to maximise fundraising potential!