Alex Fradley - Trainee Mountain Leader

Alex Fradley has been an MTA member since 2016 and is working towards his Mountain Leader qualification. Read more about his outdoor journey so far...

Have you always been interested in the outdoors? What inspired you to do a qualification with Mountain Training?

Not really, it wasn’t until studying geography at university when I got the bug. It was a mixture of fieldtrips and meeting other people who enjoyed the mountains that instilled the passion for the outdoors. I initially did my Mountain Leader training to gather and develop my skills so that I could be confident in going to the mountains myself. However, now I am a geography teacher, I have found value in working towards my assessment.

What qualifications are you working towards?

Mountain Leader.

What do you do for work?

Geography teacher.

How do you plan to use your qualifications?

School visits and Duke of Edinburgh expeditions as well as any other opportunities that come my way.

5. What have you found most challenging and most enjoyable so far about working through your qualification?

Most challenging has been getting the free time and travelling to the mountains as often as I would like. Most enjoyable has been the excuse to get to the mountains and practice, as well as meeting other people working towards their awards.

What advice would you give to anyone going through this process?

Find a range of other people that you can go out and practice with. Everyone has their own way of doing things, you can always learn from them.

At what stage in your outdoor journey did you join the MTA? What was your main reason for joining?

It was a little while after doing my training. A friend had told me about a free ecology workshop which I thought would be a good opportunity to gain some new skills and knowledge.

What do you find most valuable about being a member?

Meeting new people willing to share their experiences and knowledge.

Have you been on a regional event or CPD workshop?

Most recently, I attended the MTA Yorkshire launch. I attended the navigation refresher, which was an excellent opportunity to practice skills and have a mini assessment too. I also attended the ecology workshop, which gave me lots of more flora and fauna ideas. Who knew wasps could be so interesting?

Would you recommend the Association to others?

Absolutely, there are lots of workshops available, many of which are free or cheap. Also, there are loads of experienced members that you can learn from and can help you towards passing your assessments.

If you had a day to go for a walk or climb anywhere, where would it be and why?

Anywhere in western Scotland, preferably on a clear sunny day and few midges. You can’t beat the stunning mountains and tasty whisky!