Alpine Exploratory's People

Who's who?

	Simon Stevens

Alpine Exploratory was set up by Simon and Ailsa to research great walking routes and to plan enjoyable holidays on these routes.

Simon Stevens
Simon has many years' experience of walking and trekking in the mountains. A first climb up Coniston Old Man in the Lake District kicked off a passion that has led to countless trips in the UK and the Alps.

Simon is a member of the British Association of International Mountain Leaders (BAIML).

	Ailsa Gibson

Simon worked in London as an economist before making the move to the mountains.

Ailsa Gibson
Ailsa is an environmentalist and an experienced walker with trips to Iceland, France, Germany, Switzerland and Slovenia as well as much time spent walking in the Lake District and the Highlands.

Ailsa's environmental experience covers the fields of planning, conservation, local environmental quality and climate change.

	Buster

Ailsa spent a summer on the Isle of Skye while researching deer and forestry management for the John Muir Trust. Her expertise keeps us up to date with best environmental practice as we plan our trips.

Buster
Buster the collie-cross loves to walk in new places. He helps us research the dog-friendly options. If Buster knew how he was helping other dogs to follow in his footsteps, we're sure he'd be very proud. As it is, he's happy just enjoying the walking.

Leading our guided trips

All of Alpine Exploratory's guided trips are led by a fully qualified International Mountain Leader (IML). As well as holding this award, our leaders are personable and friendly. The intention is that you'll greatly enjoy spending time with them in the mountains.

	Pete Ellis

Pete Ellis
One of our leaders is Pete. After 15 years in agricultural biotechnology, Pete took to the hills in earnest in 1999 and soon qualified to be a member of the British Association of International Mountain Leaders (BAIML).

Most summers Pete can be found working in the French Alps, and has become an expert in the region around Les Contamines: many groups have benefitted from his in-depth knowledge of this fabulous area. Outside the summer, Scotland is a favourite destination, or Tenerife for a dose of winter sunshine.

We're delighted that in 2010 Pete will again be leading some of our Tour du Mont Blanc (Guided) programme and will also be leading a Walker's Haute Route (Guided) trip. Please join him for what will be some superbly led treks.

	Stewart MacKenzie

Stewart MacKenzie
Stewart has spent a lifetime walking, climbing, skiing and running in the mountains of Europe, and is a leader for our guided trips. Mountain activities are now a full-time occupation after a 30-year career in banking which included time living in Spain and Germany.

Stewart has completed a ski-mountaineering traverse of the Alps from Austria to the Mediterranean. He is a member of the British Association of International Mountain Leaders (BAIML), a teacher of mountain navigation, and is a member of the Langdale and Ambleside Mountain Rescue Team in the Lake District.

Please join Stewart on the Tour du Mont Blanc (Guided) in summer 2010, for a very enjoyable fortnight's trekking. His all-round experience in the mountains will be of huge benefit to the group.

The IML award
The IML is the professional qualification for leading trekking and mountain walking groups worldwide. When Alpine Exploratory began, we decided that all our guided holidays would have an IML as a leader.

The IML is one of two main internationally recognised mountaineering awards, the other being the UIAGM Guide. In the UK the IML holders are represented by the British Association of International Mountain Leaders (BAIML). Until early 2005 the IML was known as the European ML in the UK and the Accompagnateur in France.

The trend in the walking and trekking industry is towards leaders having qualifications, principally the IML award. However, the majority of walking holiday companies have traditionally used amateur leaders typically with no mountaineering qualifications. Alpine Exploratory's approach of using only IMLs ensures for our clients the highest standards in leadership, safety and environmental awareness.

Checking our routes

We research and check all our routes. Trails change over time. This can be due to official re-routing or to convention, or due to natural phenomena such as landslip. Local facilities along the routes change too, such as local shops, bus routes and cable cars. We're lucky to have highly proficient route checkers. Attention to detail is of course key. Equally crucial is the ability to describe a route both straightforwardly and unambiguously.

	Anna-Maria Luton

Anna-Maria Luton
Anna-Maria is one of our route checkers. She is a keen walker and cyclist and has discovered the delights of multi-day hill-walking and mountaineering.

In 2007 Anna-Maria took 3 months off to bag Munros, the highest peaks in Scotland, starting with Ben Lomond (the most southerly) and finishing with Ben Hope (the most northerly). Before long she found herself chasing 4000m peaks in the Swiss Alps. Anna-Maria has a keen interest in the specific challenges that women face in outdoor pursuits and in sporting endeavours in general.

	Chris Beardsley

Chris Beardsley
Chris is another of our route checkers and has been walking and climbing in the mountains ever since he can remember. Growing up near the Peak District quickly led to regular trips to the Lakes and to the Highlands of Scotland.

Chris is an obsessive landscape photographer and his hard drive is full of mountainous scenes, from the Scottish Highlands in winter to the French Alps in summer. He’ll get up early to catch the sunrise or the morning light and stay up late to catch shooting stars.

Anna-Maria and Chris have checked over the West Highland Way, part of the Tour du Mont Blanc, and the North Lakes Circuit. In 2010 they are making more trips to the Lakes and will again contribute to our pre-season Tour du Mont Blanc research during June.

Guided and Self-Guided Holidays - see them all