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, mountaineer or adventurer 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. Eliot’s 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 Norway’s 2000m Peaks Resources page.
My Background
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 incredible base for mountain activities and has deep traditions in outdoor recreation – although, I have not lost my love of Scotland in winter!
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 national climbing courses and qualifications. 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 and 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 Instructor & Guide
International Mountain Leader – UIMLA 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, other organisations and private groups. In 2019, I became a Director of BAIML and oversee the technical aspects of the qualification for over 350 fellow British IMLs. In 2023, i joined the UIMLA Technical Commission. For the future, I will be guiding in the mountains of the UK, Europe, Scandinavia, Iceland, Greenland and the Arctic. I hold dual nationalities and thus have the freedom to work in the UK and throughout the EU – but also in Norway, Finland, Iceland, The Faroe Islands, Greenland and Sweden due to the Nordic Cooperation.
The selection of pictures in the carousel below span 20 years are from Norway, Nepal, Greenland, Switzerland, Scotland (x2), and Denmark. The photo of the Northern Lights was taken from my back garden in 2023.
The picture below is featured in the entry logo and banner of the website. I took the photo just after dawn on the summit of Cairngorm in Scotland in the winter of 1997. In those days there were no mobile phones or digital cameras, so this was taken with a 35mm camera. The motive is the iced up weather station that endures some quite extreme conditions at 1244.8 metres above sea level. In the image carousel above, there is a picture of the summit in leaner winter conditions in January 2023.
