Danielle Stynes, 39: adventure ski operator

Danielle Stynes's passion for the mountains and a penchant for luxury fuelled an idea to set up her own business four years ago. It organises adventure and heli-skiing tours in France, Italy and Switzerland. This native of Australia's Gold Coast sacrificed scuba diving and yachts on the Mediterranean for life in the Alps. Danielle Stynes says she did the typical Australian thing and went off travelling at the age of 23. Perhaps unlike many of her fellow travellers though, she never returned to settle on the sunny Gold Coast where her parents still live.  
Instead, a passion for travelling took her to Indonesia, where Stynes taught scuba diving, before working on luxury yachts in the Mediterranean. Fifteeen years ago, between two boat outings Stynes got a three-month job in Switzerland teaching skiing to children.
 
She has been here ever since. “I fell in love with the mountains and stayed”.
 
For a decade Stynes continued travelling for nine months of the year, working for a luxury travel company. The Australian, who also has a diploma in hotel management, met many fun-loving travellers who sought adventure by day, but still wanted a bath and a good glass of wine in the evening.
That prompted her to set up SwissSKISafari in 2004. Her firm arranges adventurous mountain activities such as hiking and heliskiing, all in the mountains, and with a luxury flavour. Trips are tailor-made trips  luxury hotels and spas.
 
Stynes says that her Australian nationality helped her overcome some of the challenges of a new business. Being a woman was, initially, more of a help than a hindrance, she says. “The men didn’t feel threatened by me, and they also recognised my passion for the mountains.”
Stynes subsequently created her own list of mountain guides, avalanche experts, and helicopter pilots, who help her keep regularly informed about weather and snow conditions.
 
“One of hardest things I have to deal with is that people think you have to be an expert," Stynes says. "In the European Alps it’s not the case because we don’t have thigh-high snow. It’s more a journey across the European Alps.”
A helicopter is brought in for some parts of the trip that would otherwise be physically too difficult. Stynes says she does not use this method of transport gratuitously, to limit the impact on the environment, but she believes it is sometimes valuable to take people who are not necessarily ultra fit that little bit further.
 
The 39 year-old's next ambition is to take part in the Patrouille des glaciers, the annual mountain hiking and ski trek between Verbier and Zermatt. “The problem is to find time to do training!,” says the entrepreneur, who admits to being married to her job.
You can hear more from Danielle Stynes on Swisster's weekly podcast from Monday afternoon