Explore 360

Rolfe Oostra

Co-Founder / Head Guide / Director

Australian. Born, 1970 (UIMLA, UIAA, Wilderness First Aid Instructor, Rock Climbing Instructor). Rolfe is a Berghaus and Stubai sponsored athlete. You can view some of his blogs here or see what Rolfe is up to by following him here on Facebook or scroll down and have a look at his Expedition CV.

At the age of 20, Rolfe led his first expedition to climb Mt Kenya’s North Face and since then has kept the ball rolling with a passion. He has made notable first alpine ascents in the Andes, Karakoram and Greenland and has established many new rock-climbing routes in Africa, South America and Australia. He has explored many un-paddled rivers in the Congo and Amazon basin and traversed some of the world’s most isolated deserts. After a stint of being a scuba diver he quickly went back to doing what he loves best – mountaineering – which involved setting up 360 Expeditions with Marni.

Rolfe is our head guide and oversees most itineraries and can be found guiding on the 6,7 and 8,000m peaks such as Mera, Ama Dablam, Manaslu, Gasherbrum II, Cho Oyu and Everest. In 2016 he did a double Cho Oyu summit in 24 hours! Rolfe is a sought-after expedition guide who makes each trip individual and hugely memorable. He can be wild, he is fun and is generally a bit of a legend.

Interview

What was your first adventure?

My first adventure was a 3-month round Australia hitching mission with my friends to check out various climbing areas. We were around 14 years old at the time and couldn’t afford public transport. This trip was a hoot!

What has been your most memorable adventure?

I have great memories of all my mountain adventures but the one adventure that stands out as typifying the meaning of the word is one we had in the Congo. Nothing to do with climbing but a lot of crazy experiences were had on this trip.

What item of travel kit you can't do without?

A book. Nothing is better than sitting out a storm reading a book about people sitting out storms.

What three bits of advice would you give to people who are keen on adventures, trekking and climbing?

  1. Learn to walk before you run
  2. Get practical experience rather than book or course knowledge
  3. Go with a guiding company for your first expeditions; they are worth every penny and save you the teething aches

Kilimanjaro was an excellent, well organised trip from start to finish.  Tremendous job done by the porters, guides and support staff locally, they are a credit to 360 and Mussa. The climb was challenging but rewarding!

Alan Bevan, Kilimanjaro
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