About Me
On Sgurr Alasdair
Growing up in the South East of England, a long way from the rolling hills of the Lakes or Scotland, my
love for the outdoors, surprisingly came at a young age. Joining the cubs opened up the doors to visiting different
parts of the country away from the big city, gaining skills and experience, and a lot of badges, Later moving onto the Scouts.
From learning to climb, map read, bush craft and survival skills, being outdoors is where I belonged.
As I got older, the bright lights of London became the work place, at every opportunity I could, I was out with friends either fishing, walking in the mountains or wild camping trips to Wales and beyond, continuing this trend through
out my working career.
I’ve had a variety of jobs including being a Fork Truck Driver instructor, and a Team Leader at an outdoor activity
centre in Mid Wales, which all stemmed from a position I had with the Prince’s Trust when I was 21. As a team leader, I was working with 16 to 30 year olds from all walks of life,
delivering a 12 week NVQ Qualification personal development programme.
But Life can be full of ups and downs, and in 2015 my Mental Health spiralled downwards..
Never one to stand back from a challenge and before it was too late, I knew I had to find a way of turning my life round and managed to regain my passion for the outdoors. Taking doctors advice, I ventured back out into the hills and from that moment I’ve never looked back.
Ben Nevis, The UK’s highest mountain stood between me and recovery, so for my 40th, I decided to raise awareness about the good the outdoors has done for me and my Mental Health and raise money for Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team, by walking up Ben Nevis everyday for a month.
After successfully completing this mammoth task, I realised my need to be outside in the great outdoors and almost immediately
made the big jump to move to the Scottish Highlands.
Moving to Fort William, the outdoor capital of the Highlands, and attending University of Highlands
and Islands, studying Outdoor Adventure, you would often find me on the mountains surrounding Lochaber, continuosly gaining skills.
Eventually I discovered Skye and the Mighty Cuillin Ridge.
This is where I really found my feet. A short while later I was on the Cuillin Ridge everyday soaking up an amazing opportunity, learning routes and testing my abilities and strengthening my skill set under the guidance of a local Mountain Guiding company who was also a long serving member of the Skye Mountain Rescue Team and Search & Rescue Dog Handler.
I was soon out guiding on the mountains for the company and sharing my passion with others as we made our way through the Cuillin hills and Beyond. I enjoy passing on my knowledge and sharing my stories to others and always keen to learn along the way. Learning the Cuillin Ridge takes time and over the past 4 years its been very enjoyable discovering and learning the ins and outs of the cuillin Ridge.
I have taken many folk over the mountains, as well as friends, on days out on Skye, in England and Wales, while they are on their Munro/Mountain Bagging journey. Unlike most, my Munro journey is slow and only having ticked off about 1/5th of the 282 that lay in Scotland, however most of the munro’s I have completed were in full winter conditions.
I long for the winter months as the mountains become less busy but the conditions become a lot more challenging. Winter in Scotland has been my holiday from the summer seasons. And I get out on the hills just as much as in the summer. Pushing my comfort zones and gaining vital experience as well as taking photographs and making memories along the way. Photography has become a big part of my life since moving to the highlands and I am fortunate to spend a lot of winter evenings watching natures greatest dance, Aurora Borealis/ Northern Lights from my doorstep, almost.
Since rediscovering the mountains fully, I’ve always had a keen interest in Mountain Rescue, and after fundraising for a team back in 2017, I long to to become a volunteer one day in the future for one of the teams across Scotland.
