Off-Piste Skiing, Ski Touring, Mountaineering and Snowshoeing with a UIAGM & BMG Mountain Guide

After getting to know the mountains on family skiing and walking holidays, as a teenager I started mountaineering proper by taking courses in the Mont Blanc Massif and the Vanoise. I worked in Paris after leaving school and weekends spent bouldering at Fontainebleau soon led to rock climbing throughout France.

During student days at Exeter in the late 70s I was regularly dragged away from my studies in civil engineering by the University's mountaineering club; this was a chance to extend my experience and have fun by exploring the various sea cliffs and mountain ranges throughout Britain, including an introduction to the delights of the Scottish winter.

After University, a career in teaching gave me the time to carry on climbing and to travel back to the Alps every summer. By relocating to the Lake District I ensured that I was close to the mountains for weekends and evenings too, but eventually the desire to explore further afield led to supply teaching combined with expeditions to Ecuador, Nepal and repeated trips to Pakistan, climbing a variety of peaks up to 6000m, some previously unclimbed.

In 1995 I was accepted onto the British Mountain Guides (BMG) Training and Assessment programme which I completed successfully in 1998, being awarded the IFMGA/UIAGM Guides Carnet. Since then I have been guiding professionally and have been back to both Ecuador and Nepal and to many areas of the European Alps.

During this time, as well as repeating a number of the most popular routes, I've also enjoyed the opportunity to visit lots of places and attempt climbs which are new to me, and to meet and climb with people from all walks of life. After spending much of my early life in France, I have now resettled there with my wife and, together, we have been building our chalet in the Chamonix Valley and helping bring up our young son.

More About the IFMGA / UIAGM

British Mountain Guides are members of the International Union of Associations of Mountain Guides (IFMGA) also known as the Union Internationale des Associations de Guides de Montagne (UIAGM). This membership is shared at present with guides from sixteen other countries (including France, Switzerland and Italy) and gives British Guides absolute equivalence with Guides in Alpine countries and throughout the world. The award of the International Guides Carnet demands the highest standards of skill and professionalism in all aspects of mountaineering.

200 Chemin du Cerro , Les Bossons, 74400 Chamonix Mt Blanc, France