Alexander Pokhilko - 151683

The Summary of Alex Pokhilko DLOG for Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor Award.

My name is Alexandr (Alex) Pokhilko. I am 43 years old, married, a British Citizen, originally from Russia, and currently live in Oxford. I have 25 years of experience of climbing, alpine climbing, mountaineering, and trekking, including 34 expeditions on different continents, excepting North America, Australia, and Antarctica. I hold the following UK outdoor qualifications:

Climbing Wall Instructor 2011;

Summer Mountain Leader 2011;

Rock Climbing Instructor 2012;

Winter Mountain Leader 2014;

Mountaineering Instructor Award Training 2014;

Foundation Coach Training 2015;

Development Coach Training 2015;

Basic Water Safety Award RLSS 2017;

Advanced Water Safety and Rescue RLSS 2019;

Middle of Nowhere Expedition First Aid Course valid 2020-2023;

Mental Health First Aid 2018.

I have worked as a seasonal and freelance climbing coach, mountain leader, outdoor education tutor, and expedition leader since 2011 at several climbing walls, outdoor centres, and expedition companies around the UK. My employers include: YMCA Lakeside, RJ7 Expeditions, The Large Outdoors, Mountain Monkeys, Chris Ensoll, Mike Margeson, Scottish Outdoor Education Centres, Calvert Trust Kielder, Durham Climbing Centre, Sunderland Wall, The World Challenge, Outlook Expeditions, Venture Force.

My background is a combination of an academic education and extensive outdoor experience which enables me to interact with clients of all ages and backgrounds (who range from 4 to 70, beginner to advanced). I have worked with a variety of home education, school, scout, NCS, college, university, and corporate groups, families, people with emotional, social and behavioural disorders, learning difficulties, disabilities, and social services.

I have held my Climbing Wall Instructor Award since 2011 and have led around 150 climbing and abseiling sessions at the following venues: Newcastle Climbing Centre, Sunderland Wall, Kendal Wall, YMCA Lakeside Climbing Wall, Oxford Brookes Climbing Wall, Rockantics, Durham Climbing Centre. Notably, at Durham Climbing Centre, I designed and ran inductions, beginner to advanced training programmes, ten-week training programmes, a GSCE syllabus in bouldering, and private couching. I took part in Durham Winter Bouldering Series for two seasons and won fourth place in the finals and first place in my age group. In addition to climbing, I have performed route setting, safety checks, wall and gear maintenance.

As a Rock Climbing Instructor Award holder since 2012 I have led over 200 rock climbing, bouldering, and abseiling sessions at various crags around the UK, for example: Blackford Quarry, Agassiz Rock, Hutton Roof, Causey Arch, Shaftoe Crags, Parrock Crag, TDM Crag, Browes Crag, Almscliff, Scugdale, Hodge Close Quarry, Brant Fell, Tilberthweite Quarry, Cathedral Quarry, Raven Crags in Langdale, Scout Crag, White Ghyll, Tremadog.

The individual climbing wall and single pitch rock climbing sessions are not in my DLOG because they are too many.

Having completed my Foundation and Development Coach Training in 2015, I have focused on coaching movement skills in my indoor and outdoor climbing lessons. Some of my coaching programmes are uploaded to my DLOG.

I have held my Summer Mountain Leader Award since 2011 and led 72 quality mountain days, 39 after my MIA training in November 2014. My employers include YMCA Lakeside, Mike Margeson, RJ7 Expeditions, The Large Outdoors, Mountain Monkeys, Calvert Trust Kielder, Scottish Outdoor Education Centres, The World Challenge, Outlook Expeditions. The majority of my clients are mixed ability school groups and adults. I have led several UK-based training expeditions in preparation for the World Challenge oversees school trips and two expeditions as ML assessor for Mike Margeson. Some mountain days included scrambling. My personal best mountain day was a solo traverse of Cuillin Ridge in 12 hours.

I have held my Winter Mountain Leader Award since 2014 and led 13 quality winter mountain days. My winter climbing logbook has 31 climbs graded I to V. My notable solo ascents are Tower Ridge III and Point Five Gully V.

My MIA logbook has 105 multipitch climbs of VS and above, which I have led or alternate led, including 71 climbs after my MIA training in November 2014, 52 of which are on mountain crags and sea cliffs. The list of my multipitch climbs after my MIA training includes:

Avon Gorge (roadside): Gronk VS, Malbogies HVS, Great Central Route HVS, Clarion VS, Hell Gates HVS, Ffoeg’s Folly E2, Last Slip E3, Piton Route VS, The Earl of Perth E1, Giant’s Cave Buttress VS.

Ben Nevis (mountain): Centurion HVS.

Berry Head (sea cliff): Moonracker HVS.

Bosigran (sea cliff): Suicide Wall E1.

Chair Ladder (sea cliff): Diocese VS, Bishop’s Rib E1.

Cheddar Gorge (roadside): Coronation Street E1.

Haytor (roadside): Aviation E1.

Ogmore (sea cliff): Exposure Explosion HVS.

Trwyn Llwyd (sea cliff): Barad E1, Twinkler VS.

Wintour’s Leap (roadside): King Kong E1.

Carreg Wastad (roadside): Shadow Wall VS, Old Holborn E1.

Clogwyn Du’r Arddu (mountain): Sheaf HVS, Longland’s Climb VS, Great Bow Combination HVS, Great Slab VS.

Cyrn Lass (mountain): The Grooves E1.

Dinas Mot (mountain): Lorraine VS, Diagonal HVS, Direct Route VS, The Mole HVS, Plexus E1, The Link E1, Super Direct E1, Western Slabs VS.

Glyder Fach (mountain): Lot’s Groove HVS.

Gogarth (sea cliff): Lighthouse Arete VS, Lighthouse Arete Direct VS, Rap VS, Pentathol HVS, Wen HVS, A Dream of White Horses HVS.

Dow Crag (mountain): Eliminate ‘A’ VS, Isengard HVS, Murray’s Route Direct VS, Tarkus E1, Leopard’s Crawl HVS.

Gimmer (mountain): Gimmer String E1, Outside Tokyo/Dight E1, The Crack VS.

Pavey Ark (mountain): Golden Slipper HVS, Poker Face E1.

Raven Crag Langdale (roadside): Holly Tree Direct HVS.

Scafell (mountain): Central Buttress E1, Botterill’s Slab VS, Slab and Groove Route VS, Leverage E1, The Fulcrum VS, The Yellow Slab HVS, Great Eastern Route VS, Phoenix E1, Trinity HVS, Hell’s Groove E1, Ichabod E2.

White Ghyll (roadside): The Gordian Knot VS, Haste Not VS, White Ghyll Wall VS.

Buachaille Etive Mor (mountain): Crow’s Nest Crack VS, Hiccup VS.

Etive Slabs (mountain): The Pause E1.

I have been following the ‘MIA Must Haves’ tick list. My favourite climbs are Central Buttress E1 (Scafell) and A Dream of White Horses HVS (Gogarth). Exposure Explosion HVS (Ogmore) was the most challenging climb because it was wet and my climbing partner fell off on the traverse. It has taken me six years to prepare for my MCI because I was delayed by a house move from Durham to Oxford and a sport injury (ripped pectoralis major in 2017). In addition to the multipitch climbs listed above, I have been training consistently all this time. My training routine includes daily fingerboard exercises, 1 weekly session at Brookes Climbing Wall, 1 weekly drytooling session in my garage, and multipitch climbing twice a month at Avon Gorge, Wintour’s Leap (the nearest crags to Oxford), and other venues. I have regularly revised rescue techniques and scenarios.

In addition to my RCI single pitch work and in preparation for my MCI assessment, I have led 22 multipitch teaching sessions, 35 climbs in total, mostly at Avon Gorge and Llanberis Pass. I had developed tailored training programmes for some of my students which enabled them to progress from beginner to confident S leader and 4C second. These training programmes are uploaded to my DLOG (Multipitch Teaching Sessions by Alex Pokhilko).

My expedition logbook includes 34 trips since 1996, as a leader or member, some of which may be relevant to the MCI syllabus.

The majority of my expeditions include wild camping, multi-day treks at altitude up to 6000m or in the jungle, multiple summer or winter international quality mountain days, community project work. For example, I have taken part in several expeditions to remote Subarctic Ural Mountains, alpine climbing expeditions to mountain ranges in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Caucasus, during which I climbed routes up to TD, soloed Mt Elbrus, and attempted Mt Ushba. As a commercial expedition leader, I have worked for The World Challenge, Outlook Expeditions, and Venture Force. The list of my school expeditions for UK, US, NZ, and Australian schools includes:

The Silk Route: Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, summer 2013, altitude trekking, 14 members.

Tanzania, Mt Kilimanjaro, summer 2014, 20 members, 18 summited Mt Kilimanjaro 5895m.

India, Ladakh, summer 2015, high altitude trekking, 16 members.

India, Uttarakhand, winter 2015, altitude trekking, 22 members.

Bolivia, summer 2016, altitude trekking, 20 members, all summitted Pico Austria 5300m.

Malaysia and Borneo, winter 2016, jungle trekking, 19 members.

Fiji, summer 2017, jungle trekking, 15 members.

Mongolia and China, summer 2017, horse riding, 17 members.

Cambodia and Thailand, winter 2017-2018, jungle trekking, 18 members.

Malaysia and Borneo, summer 2018, jungle trekking, 19 members.

India, Ladakh, summer 2019, high altitude trekking, 18 members.

Laos and Cambodia, winter 2019-2020, jungle trekking, 13 members.

Six expeditions have been cancelled due to covid.

In the role of an expedition leader, I have gained valuable experience of team management, problem solving, budgeting, dealing with medical issues, including acute mountain sickness, fractures, and malaria, risk assessment and management, facilitation of experiential learning and personal development.

In addition to climbing and mountaineering, I have delivered outdoor education programmes, personal development, team building, experiential learning sessions, as well as many other adventure activities such as abseiling, ghyll scrambling, king swing, crate stack, tree climbing, zip wire, high ropes, low ropes, challenge courses, archery, initiatives, problem solving, orienteering, bushcraft, bivouacs, group canoe, raft building, and other outdoor activities for a wide range of clients.

I am passionate about mountaineering and strive to achieve the highest safety standards, focus on protection of the environment, and have consistently received excellent feedback. My employers characterise me as a resourceful and effective tutor and facilitator with extensive outdoor and expedition experience and a passion for the outdoors, a trustworthy provider of quality outdoor education, expedition services, safety cover with a focus on personal development and the facilitation of outdoor skills. The Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor Award will help me to expand my work and develop my own outdoor business.