In 1992 I was working offshore as a freelance hydrographic surveyor and, through an Army contact, had the opportunity to spend a few weeks as an assistant leader for Exodus Expeditions in the central Pyrenees. This re-kindled my interest in leading in the hills and I completed my summer ML and MIA training in 1994. Later that year I co-led the trekking and mountaineering phase of an Operation Raleigh expedition to Patagonia from where I returned to the Pyrenees to spend the summer seasons of 1995 and 1996 and the winter of 1995, based outside Bagneres de Luchon, leading summer day walks, multi-day treks and snow shoeing walks. In 1996 I attended a European Mountain Leader training course in Benasque where I met my future wife before leading a group of 16 on a walking holiday to the Tatra and Prague for Exodus Subsequent events resulted in a hiatus in my professional work in the hills as I returned to surveying whilst we raised our three children, all of whom were dragged mercilessly up Lakeland fells from birth and subsequently on family walking holidays to the alps and beyond. Shortly prior to the pandemic I completed training as a DofE assessor and have subsequently been supporting training and expeditions as a DofE supervisor and assessor with the Hampshire County Council outdoors team and other providers. To test and refresh my skills I completed assessment as a mountain leader for HF holidays in 2024 and in 2025 volunteered with a private girls school to help with their training for the Ten Tors which was both inspiring and rewarding. I gain immense satisfaction from working with young people, seeing how they respond to the challenge and opportunities of the outdoors and sharing my knowledge and experience. I value MTA awards as they support the technical skills and confidence required to operate safely and efficiently in the hills with professional recognition and a structured development pathway.