| Introduction I started working on this website in 2003. Since then I have developed it and worked to present it in usable, simple format without adverts or animated graphics that annoyingly slow things down. It is my portal to the Internet, both for me as a mountain professional but also as a resource to others with similar interests and I hope the site is of interest to you as a walker, climber or mountaineer and will give you inspiration to enjoy the outdoors either on your own or on a guided trip. I selected an extract from T. S. Eliots work to introduce the website as I think it really sets the right mood for you reading these pages. Certainly for me, discovering new areas or climbs, exploring ones own boundaries and returning to visit favourite locations are some of the great elements of being in the outdoors. Two adventurers that I admire, both for their spirit of adventure and ability to convey the spirit of being in the outdoors in writing, are Nicholas Crane and William Cecil Slingsby. Nicholas Crane has written the books Clear Waters Rising, Two Degrees West and Mercator. In Clear Waters Rising, he describes his 18 month solo mountain journey across Europe from Cape Finisterre on the west coast of Spain, via the Cantabrian mountains, Pyrenees, Cevennes, Alps, Carpathians and Balkan mountains to Istanbul in Turkey. A journey of 10 000 km. Two Degrees West describes his journey along the 578 km long line of longitude 2 degrees west through England - he never strayed more than 1 km from the line of two degrees west. Incidentally, two degrees west is known as the line of zero convergence or central meridian by the Ordnance Survey. It is the reference line that was selected for mapping of the British Isles by the Transverse Mercator Projection. This neatly leads one on to his book Mercator, a biography of the great 16th century cartographer Gerard Mercator - and without maps what would we do today? William Cecil Slingsby was a true pioneer, making many first ascents in the late 1800's and pushing the limits of mountaineering during that era, he should be an inspiration to those who venture into the mountains. Read more about Slingsby and his endeavours on my Slingsby page. |
| A Little Background & My Qualifications in Brief Born in 1973, I grew up in Lincolnshire in England and by my early teens I had discovered hill walking in England and Wales. This hobby soon progressed onto climbing and mountaineering when I moved to Manchester to study at the University of Salford. By 1995, I was rapidly becoming an experienced rock and winter climber. After some years of intensively exploring the crags and mountains of the UK, I moved to Scandinavia, where I live today with my Danish wife and two daughters. Scandinavia is an excellent base for outdoor activities although I have not lost my love of Scotland and the national parks of England and Wales. I am now a consultant acoustic engineer which I combine with working in the mountains of the UK, Europe, Scandinavia and the Arctic. I completed my first outdoor leading qualification in the year 2000 and today I am an experienced International Mountain Leader (IML) and member of the British Association of International Mountain Leaders (BAIML) which in turn is part of UIMLA - The Union of International Mountain Leader Associations. In Denmark, I have been committee member of the Danish Climbing Federation for 10 years and I have trained and assessed Danish instructors on climbing wall and rock climbing instructor qualifications and established new climbing qualifications such as the Sports Climbing Instructor. During more than 20 years, I have led groups throughout the mountain ranges of Europe, the Himalayas, Scandinavia, Iceland and Greenland. My mountaineering qualifications include: First Aid, Mountain First Aid & High Altitude Medicine courses British Rock Climbing Instructor - RCI British Summer Mountain Leader - ML(S) British Winter Mountain Leader - ML(W) British National Navigation Award Scheme NNAS Gold Certificate Danish Sports Climbing Instructor Norwegian Glacier Guide (Breinstruktør) International Mountain Leader - IML Holding the qualifications above requires regular participation in professional development courses (CPD). I also regularly provide CPD courses on subjects such as Avalanche Awareness and Transceiver Training for BAIML and other organisations and private groups. In 2019, I became a Director of BAIML and oversee the technical aspects of the qualification for over 400 fellow British IMLs and 200 or so aspirants and associate members. For the future, I will be guiding in the mountains of the UK, Scandinavia, Iceland, Greenland and the Arctic. My guiding and instructional work can be summarised in the four statements below. |
| Clockwise from above left, enjoying the sunshine at the Everest View Hotel in the Khumbu in Nepal when working in the Himalayas in 2004, winter in Glen Shiel in Scotland in 2017, ascending the famous Besseggen Ridge high above Lake Gjende in Jotunheimen in Norway, my wife and daughters during the summer of 2012, instructing in the use of avalanche transceivers at Skeikampen in Norway, and finally a wild camp in southern Norway to break up the long journey south before catching a boat home from Oslo. |
| A Few Pictures in a Few Places |
- Guided mountain walking, trekking and snowshoeing - - Outdoor skills courses in summer and winter - - Mountain safety for schools & expeditions - - Photography in a mountain environment - |
