Alpine Exploratory's People

Meet the team at Alpine Exploratory!

Organising our trips

Simon worked in London as an economist before making the move to the mountains. He is a member of the British Association of International Mountain Leaders (BAIML).

In 2012 Simon helped with our Tour du Mont Blanc recces before the season as well as being out and about on our UK routes!

In 2012 Chrissie visited Italy to review our new Alta Via 1 trek and its fabulous mountain huts, plus recces closer to home on our Lakeland and Yorkshire routes.

In 2012 Lucy was welcomed into the Alpine Exploratory team! Lucy headed to the Tour du Mont Blanc to help with our updates, plus further research in the UK.

Ailsa's environmental experience covers the fields of planning, conservation, local environmental quality and climate change. Ailsa spent a summer on the Isle of Skye while researching deer and forestry management for the John Muir Trust.

In 2012 Ailsa spent much time in the Alps in winter, including the Dolomites and the French Alps, as well as the Lake District and elsewhere in the UK.

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 he has become an expert in the region around Les Contamines, a village on the Tour du Mont Blanc. Outside the summer, Scotland is a favourite destination - Pete has climbed all 283 Munros, the highest Scottish peaks - or Tenerife for a dose of winter sunshine.

In 2012 Pete climbed Everest! We are thrilled at Pete's achievement, especially as it completed the Seven Summits; the highest peaks in each continent. We're delighted that in 2012 Pete led more guided treks including the Walker's Haute Route (Guided) in July and August. Please join Pete on his superb 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 was a member of the Langdale/Ambleside Mountain Rescue Team in the Lake District.

In 2012 Stewart brought his all-round experience in the mountains to our Tour du Mont Blanc (Guided) trips among others. Stewart also masterminded our first season of Navigation for Trekking courses in the Lake District, where we welcomed our first clients. Please join Stewart in 2013 for some superbly led treks.

	Allan Gibbs

Allan Gibbs
Allan is a trek leader, having led trips to Alaska, Bolivia, India, Peru, Morocco, Nepal and of course the Alps. Allan was head teacher of a school and deputy head of an outdoor centre before turning his efforts full-time to expeditions and training.

Like all our leaders, Allan is an International Mountain Leader (in BAIML). Allan is also an Accredited Practitioner of the Institute for Outdoor Learning (APIOL). He teaches outdoor First Aid and is a member of the Longtown Mountain Rescue Team, both in South Wales.

In 2012 Allan contributed to our Tour du Mont Blanc (Guided) programme as well as helping in our Alta Via 1 pre-season research. New for 2012, our First Aid for Trekking programme was introduced by Allan. Please join Allan on these trips and benefit from his engaging company and phenomenal experience in the mountains.

	Joy O'Flanagan

Joy O'Flanagan
Joy is an International Mountain Leader (member of BAIML) based in the French Alps. Originally a Chartered Physiotherapist in the UK, the pull of the mountains was too strong and in 2002 Joy relocated to Chamonix.

As well as hiking and snowshoeing, Joy is a keen climber, runner and skier. Joy has trekked and climbed across the Alps and also in North America, Pakistan and the Indian Himalaya. More recently, Joy successfully competed in The North Face Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc, the Chamonix marathon, and mountain marathons in the UK & France.

In 2012 Joy covered much of our Tour du Mont Blanc and Walker's Haute Route research. Joy's trips are a pleasure as she shares her love of the mountains and natural environment.

	Keith Miller

Keith Miller
Keith is a hugely experienced mountaineer and environmentalist, and a member of (BAIML). In winter, Keith lives in the Highlands and compiles avalanche reports for the sportscotland Avalanche Information Service (SAIS), as well as teaching winter hill walking skills.

In summer, Keith lives in the Lake District and combines environmental surveys with trek leading and navigation instruction. Keith is a contributor to the key book on the Scottish mountain environment, Hostile Habitats, carries out plant surveys for the Lake District National Park Authority, Natural England and other bodies, teaches about the environment on Summer Training courses for the IML award, and was Senior Conservationist at the John Muir Trust. Keith has ascended all of the Munros in Scotland and was a member of the Langdale/Ambleside Mountain Rescue Team in the Lakes. He is always alert in the hills!

In 2012 Keith led on our Tour du Mont Blanc (Guided) programme and others. Please join Keith for superb company on trek and for inspiration about the mountains and their flora and fauna.

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 4,000m 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.

In 2012 Anna-Maria has led an exciting revision to our Tour of the Three Peaks trip, that will take effect in 2013, as well as planning for our 2013 Lake District treks. Anna-Maria has also worked on our Dales Way and Coast to Coast programmes this year.

	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.

In 2012 Chris was key to our Dales Way and Coast to Coast research for the upcoming seasons, as always with his attention to detail and enthusiasm for the hills.

... and directing our dog-friendly holiday research...

As part of our regular recces on each UK route, we check the path's suitability for dogs. You are welcome to bring your dog on any of our UK holidays. For parties with dogs we book our dog-friendly accommodation.

	Buster

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 him, we're sure he'd be very proud. As it is, he's happy just enjoying the walking.

In 2013 Buster will be glad of any and every walk that he can do... as always! Buster continues to scrutinise our UK programme for its dog-friendliness, so that others can follow in his four footsteps.

The IML award

The IML An International Mountain Leader, or IML, is qualified to lead trekking parties in the Alps. Seek this badge! 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.

Guided and Self-Guided Holidays - see them all