Mark has been involved in the world of expeditions and adventure travel in one way or another for over 24 years and has worked professionally on all of the world ‘s continents enjoying (and at times suffering) all climatic extremes. These experiences led to a profound love of the outdoors, a passion for communicating that to others and a desire to enable others’ enjoyment of it.Following a degree in Geography, time spent working on Operation Raleigh and time served with the Special Forces Reserve, Mark co-founded Across the Divide with Karen Hannaford, with the aim of providing innovative experiences that are challenging and safe. The challenges are also delivered with a keen dose of humour, which is always a great motivator! Mark’s experience, both on expeditions and in business, mean that ATD has the capability to develop bespoke programmes for employee development, as well as customer development events – which will stretch and cement capabilities and relationships.

Creating Across the Divide’s Corporate Social Responsibility arm in 2007 earned Mark the prestige of being awarded BT’s Essence of the Entrepreneur Award in 2008. He was also made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts to join his election as a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in the early 1990s. Mark’s keen eye for the eclectic and unusual has also allowed him to become a widely published travel photographer in publications such as The Sunday Times, The Sunday Telegraph, Daily Mail, Conde Nast and National Geographic and he is represented by the prestigious John Warburton Lee photographic agency as well as Alamy and Corbis.

He is the founding director of Expedition and Wilderness Medicine which provides the highest level of medical training to medical professionals through courses established in the Lake District, northern Norway, Namibia, Costa Rica and the Indian Ocean.

A founding Director of the company, Karen has over 17 years experience of organising expeditions, large scale event management and charity event work.Karen obtained a BSc in agriculture at Wye College in Kent, now part of Imperial College, London. However, her career took on a less agricultural theme as she headed off into the event and charity world, becoming the Special Event Manager for ICAN, one of Britain’s oldest charities which helps children across the UK with speech and learning difficulties.In 1996 Karen tired of London life, and her passion for running expeditions both large and small around the world led her to co-found Across the Divide Expeditions in Somerset with Mark Hannaford. By leading the majority of the expeditions in the first few years of the business, she managed to continue to enjoy her love of travelling.

Karen was one of the first people to volunteer and become a First Responders in the UK, a local unit that operate in remote areas, responding to 999 medical calls and dealing with emergencies until paramedics arrive. Karen is also a founding director and instructor on the Expedition Medicine Courses.

Karen’s ability to juggle family and work commitments naturally led to her heading up the Operational side of the business whilst also bringing up their children.  Karen’s keen operational skills have been key to the company’s current success.

Ady is a former Royal Marine of 20 years, finishing his time as Chief Instructor of the Physical Training Department at the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines at Lympstone in Devon.In 2000 Ady was awarded the MBE for his part in a mountaineering expedition during which he became the 10th Briton to summit the world’s third highest mountain. Kangchenjunga in the Eastern Himalaya stands 8,586m or 28,186ft above sea level and to date this remains the highest altitude ever reached without oxygen by a British Serviceman.Ady has held the Mountain Instructor Certificate (MIC) since 2001 and is a licensed NLP Business Practitioner. Whilst he finds himself employed to do many different things, he remains a freelance coach, working with organisations, facilitating the development of people at all levels. He also continues to lead expeditions for ATD, take people ski touring in Norway, work for Expedition Medicine and on projects around the world such as the Polar Challenge (a competitive, 350 mile team race to the Magnetic North Pole) where he headed the instructional team in 2008.Ady believes variety, working only with people he likes and family time to be his best routes to contentment. He is married to Hilary – a chartered accountant and businesswoman – and they have three young children.

Alex was born in Kettering and attended University at Bristol reading Economics. Whilst at University he played Professional Rugby for Leicester and later Bristol and was sponsored through University by the Royal Marines.Alex enjoys travelling and has plenty of overseas experience. He has been working with ATD for the past two years in Namibia and China. At present Alex in a commissioned officer in the Royal Marines.

After serving 5 years in the army, Andy travelled throughout Asia giving him a passion for seeing the world.In the 12 years of working for Across the Divide he has worked on almost 40 trips mainly as an EL, to places such as Central America, South America, USA, Africa, the Arctic, Central Asia, The Himalayas, Australia and China.He has a ML summer award, SPA training, qualifications in sailing, scuba, skydiving and has been trying to learn Spanish for several years.He is still a keen runner and enjoys endurance events up to Iron man Triathlon distance.Now living in Poole and working in the construction industry, Andy takes whatever time he can to do the things he loves. He confesses, ‘I have a passion for life, I love to ski, sail and climb, but above all I treasure the time I spend with my wife and 2 children’.

Ceri’s passions are people and their behaviours. He believes that concentration on great behaviours is the way for all individuals and teams to reach their true potential. Ceri has spent the past 20 years working as a sports and adventure coach, operating on rivers and in mountain ranges throughout the world.Ceri actually spent 22 years in the Royal Marine Commandos specialising in Physical and Adventurous Training. Alongside his service as a soldier he became a British Canoe Union (BCU) Level 5 Coach, earned the Mountain Leader Training Board (MLTB) Mountain Instructor Award (MIA), The Winter Mountain Leader Award (ML Winter). Throughout his commando service he spent numerous winters in northern Norway which played to his strengths. Here in the Arctic he gained considerable travel and survival experience. During his time with the Royal Marines, Ceri also played representative rugby and squash and was a member of the Great Britain Dragon Boating Team, paddling in two World Championships.Ceri works now as a professional outdoor coach, a personal and team performance coach and an expedition leader. Together with his outdoor qualifications he is a certified Master practitioner in Neuro Linguistic Programming and a Master practitioner in Hypnotherapy and never ceases to be excited by the power of language in all forms of coaching.Ceri’s expedition and corporate work conspire to take him away from home a great deal; Ceri has successfully led trips to Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya and Mount Kinabalu; crossed the Continental Divide in Costa Rica, trekked the Great Wall of China and spent several weeks dog sledding in Norway. He has led 40 trips for Across the Divide.

As Operations Manager, Claire looks after the overseas department which covers flights, individual Just Event participants, to dealing with charities about their exclusive trips.  Claire studied History at the University of Sussex and the Universitaet Freiburg in the Black Forest. After graduating, she lived in Vancouver, Sydney and London, before heading west to Exeter.

Claire has worked in travel since 1999, starting out at Trailfinders, then working as International Reservations Manager for Oz Experience in Australia. On her return to the UK, Claire worked with Steve Clark at WEXAS before joining Across the Divide in 2005.

Claire’s travels have taken her on a road trip from Canada to Guatemala to the jungles of Borneo the peaks of Peru and - most recently - to deepest darkest Thorncombe.

Clive has been leading and guiding trips for the last 8 years, in which time he has led over 20 UK and International challenges. He has just returned from Antarctica where he was penguin and whale spotting for a month, this jaunt making up part of an 18-month career break from the Police Service. The other few months were made up of swimming in Welsh rivers (kayaking), falling off stuff (climbing), getting cold (Arctic dog sledding) and generally mucking about. Clive got the outdoor bug early, when he moved to Australia aged 19, growing his hair long and learning to surf...this has led to many adventures around the world, such as cycling to Base Camp Everest, working for Raleigh International in Belize and Namibia, and spending 4 years with the Territorial Army.  Clive hopes the Police will take him back to resume what’s left of his career sometime soon, having served in such diverse places as London, Bosnia and Surrey he feels capable of dealing with whatever ATD has to throw at him. Clive has recently started to coach kayaking skills to young people, gaining his L1 UKCC award, Level 2 training, and 2* and 3*British Canoe Union awards, as well as completing his Mountain Leader Training in the last year. He is also a member of the British Psychological Society.

David is a Hong Kong based entrepreneur who was raised in the former British colony. His activities are as diverse in their field as they are wide spread around the world; ranging from retailing in the Philippines, manufacturing in China and the UK, warehouse distribution in Europe and he also has interests in a drag racing team in Holland.   David's retail business operating in the Philippines has shown tremendous growth since inception and has won numerous sales and marketing awards for its winning performance competing against similar retail companies throughout Asia and the Pacific - a successful business working proudly with the highly respected Philippine Tourism Authority.

Read more about David in Hong Kong.

Eight years ago, David invested in Douglas, a flagging 60 year old British equipment manufacturer which employs 130 people in Cheltenham and produces specialised aviation equipment. The company was turned around and featured on Top Gear in 2010 as well as in the James Bond film, 'Casino Royale'. Recently it was announced that Douglas has been awarded two prestigious Queen's Awards for Enterprise - one for Innovation and the other for Sales Growth.

David travels extensively for business and pleasure.  He takes time out to visit remote locations in Tibet, Bhutan, Indonesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka, (he was there at the time of the tsunami and stayed to give assistance). He spends about a quarter of his time in Somerset looking for ways to promote Hong Kong and British industry, something which he looks at as a particular challenge.

David and Mark have been friends for nearly 30 years and their mutual respect for one another allows them to share and bounce ideas off each other- thanks to their diverse backgrounds and interests they're able to look at these ideas from opposing angles and explore as well as develop programs for the greater good.

David is married to his childhood friend Cara, has two teenage children from his first marriage and they have two dogs and two cats.

Daz was born in Sheffield and after leaving school joined the Royal Engineers. In 1983 he left the Army and moved to London where he joined the London Fire Brigade and never looked back! Over the years as a fire-fighter Daz probably dealt with every emergency situation a fireman could be faced with and a couple you wouldn’t expect! Daz has been part of ATD since 2000, successfully completing in excess of forty international expeditions as a guide or expedition leader. He recently retired from the fire service and is now living in Ireland riding horses and practicing his magic. 

Dean made his maiden appearance in the 3rd Just Walk in 2009. A very competitive and adventurous type, he likes to win and is very determined to finish any challenge put his way.He found out about ATD by taking part in The Princes’ Trust Coast to Coast trip across Costa Rica in 2008 and when he returned decided it was something he would like to do more often. During the trip he found that he enjoyed helping other people overcome their challenges and fears, as well as his own, so wants to pursue this through ATD.Now a manager for a software company in Berkshire, Dean was a short time member of the ATC (the youth RAF) as a teenager which involved taking part in many camping and orienteering adventures. He was also sponsored by the Rotary Club to attend and succeed in achieving a Youth Leadership Award. He plays many sports at an amateur and competitive level and hopes to continue to be a valued team member on future ATD events.

Donna is an outdoor specialist, who is passionate about helping people to develop themselves and maximise business learning through experience-based outdoor activities that stretch the individual's capabilities. She has a wide range of experience delivering management training, graduate assessment and development, personal development programmes and outdoor education programmes around the UK and rest of the world.Her solid organisational skills and attention to detail allow her to perform a variety of roles which include; planning and design of programmes, project management, facilitation and coaching, safety cover, outdoor technical support and logistical backup. She has planned and led many of our UK challenges.In her other life Donna enjoys kite surfing, geocaching, VW campers and generally chilling out on the beach and sea. She lives with her husband James and children Finnegan and Rosie on the south coast of Devon.

Emma came to us from an environmental / charity background.  A keen traveller, runner, rider and cyclist, she is in her element planning events.  Emma has a Masters in Conservation Biology and investigated the hunting patterns of timber loggers in the Peruvian Amazon for her thesis. On completion of her Masters she headed out to South Africa for a year and a half to work on a number of different wildlife conservation research projects.  Returning to the UK in 2007, Emma worked for the charity United Response before finding her way to Across the Divide.

Emma and her husband Andrew settled in Somerset 12 years ago, and enjoy the country life with their two young boys who assist with the many animal-based tasks on their aspiring smallholding.  Emma joined the ATD Board in 2008 as a non-executive Director and brings a wealth of experience in business growth and processes, change management, financial controls and a long-term strategic view.

Born and bred in Namibia, Faan is Across the Divide's mover and fixer in Southern Africa and has built up an enviable team of staff and support staff.As he says about himself ’A stern fella who’s smile is only used sparingly but is ever willing to give a hand, likes new and old folks a lot, prefers to do things the hard way and loves to be challenged. Loves Africa and the wilds and loves it even more to spend time with friends and family in places where one could get bitten or worse!’

Gemma joined ATD in 2007 to work in our UK Events team. Through the years she has been part of the planning and managing of many UK events from multi activity team challenges through to UK and Europe bike rides, endurance walks and triathlons. One of her favourites is being part of the development of our flagship UK Event Just Walk.

She graduated from Oxford Brookes University in 2005 after studying a Modern History degree since this she has always worked in the events industry.

Gemma has been part of the ATD staff team with groups to China and Costa Rica and independently has travelled to Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, India and many more places! As well as heading off to explore the world in her spare time Gemma likes nothing more than enjoying living in Devon, walking the dog and exploring the best areas the UK has to offer rain or shine, working for ATD or in her own time.

Gyles is a trained Landscape Architect and teacher of Environmental Studies. Throughout his early life he has spent many weeks of the year walking, cycling and camping in remote parts of the UK, Europe and more recently India and Nepal. These experiences paved the way for Gyles to become a Director and Leader of Forest School Camps; an educational Charity taking children camping in remote parts of the UK. For the past 5 years Gyles has successfully run a field studies education operation on a freelance basis combining formal curriculum-based courses with adventure training and team building and is now director of Naturebase.

As of June 2009, Hugo is in his 10th year working for ATD, having worked on 26 trips with over 20 being as Expedition Leader. He holds the Mountaineering Instructor Certificate which enables him to train and assess people for both their Mountain Leader and SPA awards. Hugo works part-time for the John Muir Trust managing their educational environmental award scheme throughout Wales, and also for the charity Odyssey which enhances the quality of life for people with cancer through imaginative programmes of challenging and dramatic activities using the outdoors. Hugo lives in North Wales with his wife and two teenage sons who are all keen hockey players and also members of Aberdovey rowing club. When not working, his main passion is fell-running, and despite getting older has an unreasonable expectation to keep getting quicker.

Ian has significant experience of delivering community based projects. He has been involved with Across the Divide from the very beginning of its journey and is currently responsible for leading a number of events in the UK and overseas. Recent projects include Tamar constructing a classroom in Capetown, Simplyhealth constructing a medical centre in Brazil and working with Skandia to deliver a series of projects around the UK.

Having been introduced to the mountains of North Wales at the age of 17 Ian became passionate about the mountain environment here in the UK and also throughout the rest of the world. He has climbed extensively in the UK and the European Alps. He is a holder of the coveted Mountaineering Instructors Certificate - the highest mountaineering instructional qualification for the UK enabling him to guide and instruct every aspect of mountaineering. He is also a keen paddler when not out climbing. Ian has traveled extensively throughout the Southern part of Africa having developed a passion for that part of the continent after his first visit to Zimbabwe. He has also traveled extensively across Australia, Asia and South America.Ian has led over 20 expeditions for Across the Divide as well as researching and planning several of the current international challenges. He is also an active member of the ATD UK events team.

Professionally Jenny is an Ecologist and has spent many years working on conservation projects in Africa, helped set up the first terrestrial protected area in Vanuatu and has completed Action Plans for tourism sites in the Commonwealth of Dominica. She is also a mountain leader and qualified in wilderness and remote first aid.Jenny has led numerous expeditions worldwide and with ATD has travelled to Vietnam, Borneo and Costa Rica – all jungle treks as she can get over enthusiastic about the wildlife there.She has also worked with an African game capture unit, radio-tracked badgers in Gloucestershire, lived in a hammock for a year and survived four cyclones. She is never far from the next adventure and looks forward to the next challenge.

Jo started her career as a Cordon Bleu Chef. However, she found that there was a larger call for bookkeepers since leaving London in 1992, getting married and moving to Somerset.A number of years later, having had two children and finishing her exams, Jo started working for Across the Divide. Jo’s husband and two children are passionate about sailing and try to spend as much time as possible afloat. They have explored most of the South West of England coastline and done passages to the Channel Islands. They are planning a longer trip in a few years time when the children will hopefully be a more handy crew and Jo can climb the mast! She is also a keen skier and having spent six months in the Alps now returns every year.

John is a Yorkshireman who has lived in Scotland since the early 70‘s.  He is now based just south of Edinburgh near Kelso, with Vee his wife and Nell his dog.  He took early retirement from a nursing career to start Retreat Travel, providing meditation retreat and adventure holidays to the Himalayas and Costa Rica, and Singing Bowls Etc importing lovely things from Nepal to sell in the UK.

After a trip with ATD as a participant he got a job with the company as a guide/medic and has done several trips abroad (Nepal, Costa Rica, Ladakh, Peru) and lots in the UK including London to Paris and the 3 Peaks challenge.  He climbs a bit, cycles some and runs a bit (training for Ultras now thanks to Steve from ATD!) and is a probationer with the Borders Search and Rescue Unit.

Julie joined ATD in April 2004 and looks after all advertising, marketing and PR. Julie studied economics at University in London, before setting off round-the-world, travelling to India, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, New Zealand and Central America.

On her return she worked at STA Travel for 6 years as Senior Marketing Executive at their busy HQ just off Kensington High Street, before moving down to Somerset, not quite Kensington High Street but just as busy!

Leon has a broad love of sport including football (was once paid to play – calls it semi-professional) climbing, golf, trekking and generally being outdoors. Travel requirements at work mean that Leon spends much of his time in a plane, taking advantage of this he always packs his trekking kit alongside his laptop to get away from the office when in other countries. Leon is an ordained Reverend and can perform weddings in seven US States.

After studying Tourism at uni, Luci spent a year travelling before returning to Somerset. After working for 3 years with a local tour operator Luci moved to ATD in 2005. Luci organises the kit which goes out on all our events, plus all our insurance, as well as helping out with general office admin!

Lynne and her sense of adventure were born in Edinburgh, Scotland. As a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award leader and Raleigh International participant by the age 21, she was hooked to the outdoors. Lynne worked in Zimbabwe and developed a love affair with Africa, learning its cultures and traditions by working in remote areas. After extensive travels throughout East and Southern Africa she took a short course in South Africa studying wildlife conservation before returning to the lure of the Scottish Mountains and a “proper job” as a firefighter. After a secondment as an instructor at the Scottish Fire Services College, Lynne returned to an operational manager role and continues to feed her passion for the outdoors by combining her enjoyment of fitness with her group and mountain leadership skills.  Since joining our team in 2001 her expedition passport has taken her to Peru, South Africa, Namibia, Borneo, Sahara, Nepal, China and Kilimanjaro and with a great interest in “all things endurance” can also be found on the British Triathlon circuit or cycling the country with her partner John.

Mark graduated with a Degree in Architecture in 1998 but soon decided that this was not his calling! After spending time working in Europe, Mark then spent a year in New Zealand. Travelling back to the UK, over land and without a guide book, took him through Indonesia, South East Asia, China, Tibet, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey and finally across Europe. Mark has also worked as a soccer coach in the US, interrailed around Europe, spent 8 months backpacking around South America and has had a couple of relaxing holidays in North Africa!

Mark now works as our flights manager, having over 5 years experience within the travel industry including Dragoman overland adventures and a Branch Manager for Flight Centre, and spends his lunch times running across muddy fields.

Mark Read is a wildlife biologist who specialises in things that bite and have the potential to kill you.One of Australia’s most respected crocodile biologists, Mark has spent 15 years working with these animals in Australia, Papua New Guinea and South Africa. He has spent much of that time leading teams in remote locations counting, catching and researching crocodiles and trying to learn more about these miss-understood animals.Mark joins us on our charity challenge trips as an accomplished outdoors man and has experience working in Papua New Guinea, Antarctica and Central and South America.Mark is also a senior instructor on the Jungle Medicine training course based in Costa Rica and the Diving and Marine Medicine course.

Martin is an ATD EL and is an officer in the police force. He has led over 30 international expeditions for ATD and numerous UK charity and corporate events. He has a real passion for effective management and leadership which he practices in the police and the outdoors as he is a qualified mountain leader and a single pitch supervisor.

Matt works and lives in Hampshire with Catherine and three mad sons. He has been an Expedition Leader for Across the Divides Charity Challenges virtually from the first day. He is a keen mountain biker, runner and general outdoor enthusiast but he does have an unhealthy obsession with gadgets!

Max Milligan is our Peru expert and there are very few people in the world that know the area as well as he does. He is the author of numerous books but most importantly the Realm of the Incas- the definitive photographic guide to Peru. Click here

Mick is an outdoor management development facilitator with over 20 years experience developing people and teams through challenge and adventure in the UK, Europe and around the world. He can also reflect on 10 years reserve service with the British Army’s Airborne Forces where he had great fun jumping out of things and blowing things up. Mick has an ethos that you should follow your intuition and dreams whilst also challenging fate, which has enabled him to make a living and a business from his love of the outdoor world and adventure activities. He is a firm believer that most people can achieve outstanding things if they have the passion and opportunity and has spent much of his working life enabling people to do just that.Mick lives in the Derbyshire Peak District National Park and maintains a long established passion for cave exploration which has kept him off the streets for well over 30 years. He is now an active member of the Derbyshire Cave Rescue Organisation.

Mike went to university in North Wales where he enjoyed a great deal of climbing, white water kayaking, and mountaineering. Upon leaving he went on to work in two outdoor centres in Wales and after several years set up a management training company with some colleagues, based in Bristol. This has grown into a happy and successful business.Throughout all of this time, Mike has managed to make trips abroad to a range of places, notably several trips in the French and Austrian Alps, and alone in Morocco and the remote mountains of Northern Mongolia.He has also visited South America, Africa, and the Middle East. He is a keen runner, competing regularly at 5k and 10k distances.Mike has led 5 expeditions for ATD in S America, Africa, and Asia.

Nancy was born and brought up in West Sterlingshire where she was introduced to the outdoors. Nancy Brooks is an active mountaineer, climber, skier, paddler, mountain biker and orienteerer. Nancy holds the Mountain Instructor Certificate (MIC) which is the highest British mountaineering qualification, in addition to many other professional outdoor qualifications in the above sports.

Nick served in the Royal Marines for 22 years and travelled widely during that time, somehow managing to spend more time on mountaineering expeditions than in war zones! A keen rock climber and mountaineer , Nick holds the MIC and IML awards. He left the Royal Marines in 2005 and works as an outdoor instructor and management consultant. Nick led a team to climb the NW ridge of Everest in 2003, where he and his team were instrumental in the highest ever rescue on the mountain. He has led civilian teams to Mongolia, Nepal and the Alps, and when not working can be found on a rock face or in a sea kayak!

Per-Thore Hansen is Norwegian from Skutvik. After finishing College he joined the Army, serving in the Norwegian Special Forces as a Paratrooper for seven years, spending 2 years in Lebanon, 6 months in Bosnia and 3 months in Somalia. He was in the Norwegian National Team for Cross Country Skiing when he joined the Army.Per-Thore is happier with a team of Huskies in the mountains than in an office and is the mainstay of the Across the Divide charity dog sledding expeditions in Norway and Sweden and works also an instructor on the Polar Medicine Courses run by Expedition Medicine Ltd.In 2006 along with other ATD staff he attempted to cross the Greenland Icecap on skis but was forced to turn back by bad weather and injury.

Peter is a zoologist with research interests in seabirds and seals of the higher latitudes, and has participated in expeditions to Antarctica, Alaska, New Zealand and the subAntarctic islands. He has also spent a number of seasons working in Antarctica, involved as a scientist for the national research programs of New Zealand and Australia Peter lives in New Zealand currently works in the field of ecological restoration and in conjunction with the SubAntarctic Foundation of Ecosystems Research see SAFER’s site here.

Philippa’s passion for the environment and travel led her to cycle from Alaska to Brazil studying projects for WWF. She runs a deer farm on Dartmoor, works as an outdoor instructor and holds the IML award. She has led teams of adults and teenagers to Poland, Morocco, Kenya, Tibet, Nepal, Spain, Ecuador, Pakistan and Mongolia. Philippa was horse mad for years, riding as an amateur jockey until new interests took over 10 years ago - she realized she would only get to see her husband if she took up climbing and ski touring!

Robs experience includes design and delivery of team development programmes for high level public sector and corporate clients, as well as coaching on a freelance basis for business consultancies. Rob is passionate about adventure and the outdoors. He is a dedicated climber and mountaineer and holds the Mountain Instructor Award. He has climbed extensively in the UK and Europe and has lead trekking expeditions to Europe and South America. He is also a committed kayaker and British Canoe Union Level 4 Coach.

Steve has worked at Across the Divide for 8 years and is the Managing Director. In his time here, he has done pretty much every job you can think of from planning, right through to delivery. Steve has led and recced events in arctic, desert and high altitude environments and feels he is at his best when in spectacular wilderness environments in the UK and overseas, working with people pushing their mental and physical limits. He is currently exploring the creation of new events and experiences that have high impact on individuals, organisations, teams and communities. 

Sid has a degee in Performance Arts which included three years of ballet – which explains his delicate nature and poise! He was originally an actor before he went on to work in the Charity Sector, starting at Raleigh International, where Sid was part of the Expedition Assessment and Training Team. During this time he was also Director at Mile End Climbing Wall in London for over 10 years. After Raleigh, Sid worked for VSO as a Partnership Manager which involved working in some very challenging countries. Then he went onto work at Community Service Volunteers as Head of International Volunteering. Sid has lead over 30 charity challenges for ATD to Lapland, Namibia and Nepal to name but a few and is a key member of our UK events team.

Tony is an occasional outdoor freelance instructor for Plas y Brenin and Expedition Medicine and he has for 20 years been a volunteer instructor with Bremex, responsible for training aspirant instructors and course director of Summer ML training and assessment courses and for the several years a trustee with specific responsibility for the safety committee. Tony holds the Mountain Instructor’s Certificate (which also means that he holds the Mountain Instructor’s Award, Summer ML, Winter ML and holds the Single Pitch Award) and is an honorary lifetime member of the Association of Mountaineering Instructors. He is a member of the Alpine Club, with around 25 climbing visits to the European Alps and hass climbed in Peru, Kenya, Tanzania and Nepal with ascents of Chulu East, Island Peak, Lobuche, Chulu. Pumori.