About

ABOUT US

Amora Vida was founded by IFMGA Mountain Guide Jeff Dobronyi to provide exceptional and unique experiences while climbing and skiing the world’s mountains. Amora Vida means “love of life,” and his approach to mountain guiding brings out the joy that comes from challenging yourself in the mountains. Whether you’re powder skiing in the backcountry or climbing to remote summits, Amora Vida promises great adventure and deep connection between guests and guide.

Jeff’s love of the mountains was born in New England, and forged among the peaks of the Adirondacks and Green Mountains. At age 14, he began as a ski instructor at Okemo Mountain, and instructed through four years of high school, learning the art of outdoor education. At age 17, he started leading summer hiking and canoeing trips at Camp Lanakila in Vermont, which he continued through the end of college, honing his leadership skills. As a student at Middlebury College, he ski patrolled for three years, apprenticed with Mountain Guides in Colorado and Alaska, and began the formal guide certification process in 2012 while pursuing a degree Philosophy and Buddhism.

The summit of the First Flatiron, Boulder, CO

Along the way, he learned that nothing provides clarity and connection quite like long skin tracks, deep powder, steep hop turns, or the bond of the rope. He devoted his life to sharing the experience of the mountains with others.

After graduation in 2013, his path led to Telluride, Colorado, where he began his career as a mountain guide in earnest with San Juan Mountain Guides. Long, snowy winters guiding skiers to fresh powder and keeping them safe from avalanches was complemented by short, sweet summers guiding climbers to the highest peaks in Colorado. Springs were spent in Alaska, guiding climbers to the summit of Denali, the highest peak in North America. Each autumn, Jeff guided climbers in Colorado, Utah, and Nevada, exploring the wilderness of the desert southwest.

In 2016, Jeff joined Exum Mountain Guides for the summer, and moved full-time to Jackson Hole in 2017. Five summers and winters guiding skiing and climbing in the Tetons, among the ranks of the finest mountain guides in North America, turned Jeff into the guide that he is today. He passed his final guide exam in 2020 and became the 153rd internationally-certified Mountain Guide in the US. During this period, he also began offering yearly backcountry ski trips to Revelstoke, British Columbia each January.

A Mountain Guide climbs a vertical rock face in the Dolomites of Italy with mountains in the background.

Guiding in the Dolomites, Italy

2021 dawned a new chapter in Jeff’s career as he began offering trips to Europe, and has since guided heli-skiers in Iceland, ski mountaineers in Norway, climbers in the Swiss Alps, and backcountry skiers all across the continent including Austria, Switzerland, France, and Italy.

Lift-accessed backcountry skiing in Davos, Switzerland

Currently, Jeff bounces back and forth between Boulder, Colorado and Jackson, Wyoming, climbing and skiing with motivated individuals and groups, and operating as an independent guide. Each winter and summer, he spends a few weeks in the Alps guiding rock climbing, mountaineering, and backcountry skiing. He also guides occasionally in Telluride, CO, Moab, UT, and Red Rock Canyon, near Las Vegas, NV. His style is particularly focused on patience, passion, honesty, safety, and skillful travel through the mountains. Jeff has guided over 1,000 days in the mountains since 2013, and he now focuses on backcountry powder skiing and ski mountaineering in the winter and spring, and rock climbing in the summer and fall.

When he’s not skiing or climbing, Jeff can be found in the kitchen, whipping up a good meal. He also plays the drums, and loves playing music of all types. He dabbles in mountain biking and is an experienced whitewater rafter, having piloted boats down the Grand Canyon twice, as well as other western rivers.