Founders

For the past 25 years, Susanna Magruder has been skiing and traveling the world, from Jackson Hole, to Kashmir, Japan, Alaska, and especially throughout the Alps, pushing herself in the mountains. Based in Valais, Switzerland, she began coaching women’s backcountry and freeride clinics and exploring the endless access and touring the Alps offer.

Furthering women’s skiing through travel and exploration was her goal, by empowering females through her accomplishments and by guiding them to greater achievements. Susanna was formerly a pro freeride skier for Rossignol, and a charter member of their True Colors women’s initiative, which handled female-specific product design, marketing, and motivating female skiers to erase boundaries.

Whether on skis, a bike, or hiking the myriad trails throughout the Alps, Susanna is a natural guide, and her enthusiasm is infectious. “To me, skiing, hiking, and biking is just a way of life; how you spend your days outdoors, a way to travel the world and meet people, a spiritual healer that brings me back to center. It’s my passion, my life”.

Now as co-founder and Director of Epic Europe, she calls designing once-in-a-lifetime trips in the historic cradle of Alpinism both her passion and her vocation. Come join her for an unforgettable adventure in her backyard, the Alps.

Jack Shaw arrived in Verbier, Switzerland in January 1999, on the eve of the 100-year blizzard that would paralyze Europe for weeks, but made the Alps a powder paradise for the rest of the winter. He fell in love with the history, ski culture and lifestyle immediately. It would begin a career of wanderlust for Shaw, who as a freelance journalist and partner in an international guide business, has had the opportunity to search the world for the ultimate ski and bike descents.

For the last 25 years, Jack has lived in the Alps, exploring the diverse valleys, working with the best UIAGM guides in the world, and experiencing the cultural high life that coexists with the skiing in Europe like no other place on the planet. And when the snow melts, he is just as passionate about the incredible cycling options, using ski lifts and E-Bikes to access thrilling descents on a mountain bike, or climbing historic alpine cols on a road bike.

Having worked with the world’s foremost ski photographers and filmmakers, Shaw innately understands what goes into creating unforgettable images and life-changing adventures. His stories have appeared in dozens of magazines across the globe, and he field-produced television and film segments for Teton Gravity Research, Arris, Timeline Films and Matchstick Productions, as well as NBC, Fuel TV, and others.

Since 2012, Condé Nast Traveler Magazine named Jack their Switzerland Travel Specialist, joining the world’s foremost list of travel experts. As co-founder and managing partner of Epic Europe, Jack puts his experience, knowledge and connections to work for you, creating a full menu of the ultimate ski, bike and hiking adventures in the Alps.