I am delighted to confirm that I am set to go back to Mount Elbrus, thanks largely to the generous support of my expedition sponsors.
Gillard-Reid consultants were the first company to back me following a meeting in my other spiritual home, Wasdale Head in the Lake District. They are also regular visitors and keen walkers and climbers, and their contribution was a huge help in those initial planning stages.
Subsequently support has come from Royal Sun Alliance group, one of the world’s leading multinational insurance groups. Today, they employ around 23,000 people, serving 17 million customers in around 140 countries.
The Coaching Academy, is indisputably at the forefront of coach training worldwide. As the largest UK school for coaches, they have developed a reputation for quality training and has been training coaches in coaching skills since 1999.
I am also delighted to have been awarded the Julie Tullis Award from the British Mountaineering Council. Julie Tullis was the first British woman to climb an 8,000m peak, but tragically died after summiting her second 8,000er, K2, in 1986. She was a longtime member of the Sandstone Climbing Club (SCC) and after her death the Club initiated the Julie Tullis Memorial Fund (JTMF) as a permanent memorial to her life and achievements.