Mountain Skills and me - Corinna Parry

I have worked for Mountain Training for over 12 years, however I have never really stepped into the world of the outdoor scene. My job here is to provide customer support (such as telephone or email support for candidates) and administer membership and events across all Mountain Training organisations and associations.



In May 2019 my world changed and changed all for the better; I ascended Snowdon for the second time, however this time it really ignited something inside me. Since then I have continued my journey, summiting many of the mountains here in Snowdonia where I have lived all my life; even venturing out to Scotland and England!

I recently attended a Mountain Skills course with one of our providers. It was a difficult decision and there were so many thoughts going through my mind about the perceptions I always believed others to have of me… “well, she should know this working for Mountain Training.” I chose a provider I didn’t know very well and booked my skills course with Lou Tully – Freedom Outdoors.

The nerves really started to set in – had I bitten off more than I could chew? I had always relied on others to help me out on a mountain day, but I really wanted to become confident in being able to do this for myself. I never really understood the concept of a map and compass and because I relied on others, I was too scared of failure if I got things wrong. But that was the end goal and the reason I wanted to attend a skills course; to develop my pathway into the outdoors.

Our group got talking quickly about our adventures and why we had all chosen a skills course. All four of us wanted the same outcomes and our pathways were very similar. We got to grips with looking at our maps and trying to distinguish the little features on our maps and compare them to what we could see around us. I have to say already, Lou was certainly the right person to help me on this part of my journey and already I felt comfortable being in her company and for Lou to teach me these new skills.

Fast forward to the end of the first day of learning and I was ecstatic that I could now begin to understand the concept of map and compass work, but more than anything, taking a bearing! This was something that just wouldn’t click with me, yet I felt fully confident after our first day of learning with Lou and our group that I had certainly learnt new skills from just one day of learning.



The second day was our mountain day to test our new skills! We managed to navigate a full mountain day in the Glyderau and what a moment that was for me. I felt confident throughout the day, managing to pinpoint exactly where we were each time and get us around safely!

Here’s to the next part of my journey!