I come from a background of exploratory mountaineering, always wanting to see what’s over the next horizon. From early days of scrambling in the UK’s Lake District with my parents, through rock climbing and winter climbing throughout Britain and Europe, I’ve always been attracted to and rewarded by going to new places. I transfer that same philosophy to my guiding work, and try to get as much variety and contrast as possible.
I live in Chamonix all year round, and have an intimate knowledge of the western end of the Alps as a result, but also like to visit areas as far afield as the Bernina in the summer, and Austria in the winter
For an idea of what my life was like before guiding, please see the interview by Bill Wright published in Climber magazine.
In addition to all my guiding work, I work in film safety and also have a major role in the Kendal Mountain Film Festival, Britain’s premier mountain cultural gathering of the mountain family
While technical ability as a climber, mountaineer or skier isn’t directly related to guiding proficiency, some highlights of my life in the mountains are listed below. They’re not necessarily the hardest - just some which have given me the greatest satisfaction in over 30 years of adventure in the pointy parts of the world
- First ascent of Postman Pat on Creagh Meagaidh with Mal Duff. For a long time this remained unrepeated and the hardest route on the cliff.
- A capsule style ascent on the north face of Cerro Kishtwar with Brendan Murphy, stopping just 150m short of the summit after 15 days climbing with another 2 days of descent after that.
- Two rescues on Denali with Neil McNab, the second of which earned us the Denali Pro Award and a Citizen’s Award for Bravery from the US Department of the Interior.
Partners
IFMGA
The IFMGA logo is your guarantee that the guide you are with has the highest level of mountaineering qualification in the world.
Kendal Mountain Festival
Kendal Mountain Festival is the UK's premier mountain cultural event. For the last 9 years I have coordinated the presenters at KMF, which now has 8000 visitors over its main weekend.
Lowe Alpine
Manufacturers of outdoor equipment including backpacks and clothing for a wide range of activities.
ASOLO
Since its inception in 1975, Asolo has gained an important worldwide leadership position in producing technical mountaineering shoes.