Solo summiting of Barre des Ecrins 4103m
About me
I was born and grew up in Enniskillen, N. Ireland moving to Edinburgh at the age of 18 to do a bachelor degree in Business Studies which I graduated with honours four years later. Whilst on this course I had a very brief spell working in the financial services sector as part of a sandwich placement which I cut short and returned to a regular 3rd year, quickly confirming that sustained office work was not for me. I started a small business delivering draught beer services as a means of escaping an office bound fate and providing some 'perks of the job' at the same time.
After completing the Bachelors degree I embarked on a Masters degree in International Event and Festival Management and worked in numerous festivals and events following my graduation, whilst this was enjoyable I was still running my business part time. I started getting out into the outdoors, mainly hill walking and really enjoyed it so my career direction took another turn.
Over the next few years I was to return to education a couple of times to participate in more vocational based outdoor leadership and adventure courses in Perth and Fort William respectively, gaining invaluable experience and importantly professional qualifications. I have also been involved with the Air Cadet youth organisation as a cadet myself in my youth and as a volunteer instructor for a number of years, where I taught and delivered adventure training experiences and the DofE award scheme to cadets.
In 2014/15 I was a member of the Glenmore Lodge Instructor Development Scheme team aka 'Nightwatch', which is a much coveted position in the outdoors with unrivalled access to courses and some of the best instructors in the UK, living and working in the National Outdoor Centre in the heart of the Cairngorms. Since then I have been working with a number of local authorities delivering their residential outdoor education programmes, freelancing with a number of other high quality private sector outdoor providers, whilst I have been increasingly been moving into guiding clients around the best of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland on foot, boat and bike.
As a self-confessed 'eternal student' I am always keen to learn and develop myself personally and professionally and below is a list of my current outdoors qualifications and training to date, however I see it as a 'work in progress' as there is always more to learn. With a solid range of qualifications in all of the disciplines I am interested in; I have switched focus from 'ticket chasing' (as the quest for outdoor qualifications is referred to), to developing the depth and breadth of knowledge of the natural cultural and historical environments I work in to enhance others time there to enable me to interpret the landscapes we traverse.
I love to travel and have increasingly been indulging this passion, typically spend a couple of months travelling the mountainous regions in Europe in my campervan and a further afield trip each year to more exotic locations. I have been lucky to have undertaken some amazing expeditions to Norway, India, Tanzania & Kenya, Morocco and Nepal amongst others, but the Alps remains a strong draw year after year.
I started out as a mountaineer but kept collecting different ways to explore the outdoors, but I would find it really difficult to choose between any of the outdoor sports as they bring different things to the table. They all offer the possibility of the perfect day given the right people, conditions and location. A picture is worth a thousand words, so I have some images of me doing the things that make me get up in the morning at the bottom of the page.
In addition to my outdoor work, since Nov '22 I also serve as a director on the board of the British Association of International Mountain Leaders (BAIML), the professional association that represents the interests of the holders of the International Mountain Leader award in the UK and Ireland.
I was born and grew up in Enniskillen, N. Ireland moving to Edinburgh at the age of 18 to do a bachelor degree in Business Studies which I graduated with honours four years later. Whilst on this course I had a very brief spell working in the financial services sector as part of a sandwich placement which I cut short and returned to a regular 3rd year, quickly confirming that sustained office work was not for me. I started a small business delivering draught beer services as a means of escaping an office bound fate and providing some 'perks of the job' at the same time.
After completing the Bachelors degree I embarked on a Masters degree in International Event and Festival Management and worked in numerous festivals and events following my graduation, whilst this was enjoyable I was still running my business part time. I started getting out into the outdoors, mainly hill walking and really enjoyed it so my career direction took another turn.
Over the next few years I was to return to education a couple of times to participate in more vocational based outdoor leadership and adventure courses in Perth and Fort William respectively, gaining invaluable experience and importantly professional qualifications. I have also been involved with the Air Cadet youth organisation as a cadet myself in my youth and as a volunteer instructor for a number of years, where I taught and delivered adventure training experiences and the DofE award scheme to cadets.
In 2014/15 I was a member of the Glenmore Lodge Instructor Development Scheme team aka 'Nightwatch', which is a much coveted position in the outdoors with unrivalled access to courses and some of the best instructors in the UK, living and working in the National Outdoor Centre in the heart of the Cairngorms. Since then I have been working with a number of local authorities delivering their residential outdoor education programmes, freelancing with a number of other high quality private sector outdoor providers, whilst I have been increasingly been moving into guiding clients around the best of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland on foot, boat and bike.
As a self-confessed 'eternal student' I am always keen to learn and develop myself personally and professionally and below is a list of my current outdoors qualifications and training to date, however I see it as a 'work in progress' as there is always more to learn. With a solid range of qualifications in all of the disciplines I am interested in; I have switched focus from 'ticket chasing' (as the quest for outdoor qualifications is referred to), to developing the depth and breadth of knowledge of the natural cultural and historical environments I work in to enhance others time there to enable me to interpret the landscapes we traverse.
I love to travel and have increasingly been indulging this passion, typically spend a couple of months travelling the mountainous regions in Europe in my campervan and a further afield trip each year to more exotic locations. I have been lucky to have undertaken some amazing expeditions to Norway, India, Tanzania & Kenya, Morocco and Nepal amongst others, but the Alps remains a strong draw year after year.
I started out as a mountaineer but kept collecting different ways to explore the outdoors, but I would find it really difficult to choose between any of the outdoor sports as they bring different things to the table. They all offer the possibility of the perfect day given the right people, conditions and location. A picture is worth a thousand words, so I have some images of me doing the things that make me get up in the morning at the bottom of the page.
In addition to my outdoor work, since Nov '22 I also serve as a director on the board of the British Association of International Mountain Leaders (BAIML), the professional association that represents the interests of the holders of the International Mountain Leader award in the UK and Ireland.
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Outdoor Qualifications & Awards
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