Phone 01506 872298
Email jon@mountainroutes.co.uk
Jon is based in the Central Belt of Scotland, but has ties to Lancashire and the Peak District too. He has experience of hill-walking, climbing, mountaineering and ski-mountaineering not just in the UK, but all over the world, including from the Arctic to the Antarctic, from Joshua Tree to Nepal.
He has a particular interest in mountain medicine and as well as being a mountaineering instructor is a HCPC registered Paramedic working with the Scottish Ambulance Service Special Operations Response Team (SORT). In this role he is also a Swiftwater Rescue Technician (SRT) and an Instructor in Safe Working At Heights (SWAH).
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Winter Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor | 14/03/2014 | |
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International Mountain Leader | 28/02/2014 | |
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Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor | 28/10/2005 | |
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Winter Mountain Leader | 25/03/2005 | |
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Single Pitch Award | 23/03/2000 | |
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Mountain Leader | 05/04/1996 |
I was born into the outdoor life, with my parents running Buxton Youth Hostel when I was an infant. We moved to a small village in the Peak District before I started school and learned to love the outdoors, eventually falling in with a bad lot who started me climbing! I cut my teeth in the Peaks and spread my wings to the Lakes, Wales and eventually Scotland where I live and work now.
For 26 years I worked as a Royal Marine Commando, specialising as a Mountain Leader, training other commandos to operate in mountainous and cold weather environments. This career also gave me opportunities to visit exotic places and climb, hike and ski when ever I could. Norway, the Alps, Kyrgyzstan, America, Cyprus, Kosovo, Jordan and Bavaria were just a few of the places I found myself able to practice my trade. I also spent a year aboard HMS Endurance the ice patrol ship heading down to Antarctica and South Georgia, where I took the opportunity to cross the Antarctic Peninsula on ski amongst other things. Parallel to this career I continued my own climbing and as well as regular trips to the Alps and North America, I took part in successful expeditions to the Himalayas and South America and have planned ski mountaineering trips in the Alps and Silvretta.
I started building my portfolio of climbing skills alongside my military qualifications and had a great time meeting lots of interesting people on the way. Now I divide my time between mountaineering and my other job as Paramedic with the Scottish Ambulance Service.