Angie Jaleel - Single Pitch Award holder

Angie has been an MTA member since 2011 and is now a qualified Single Pitch Award holder. She is now looking to focus her attention on the Mountain Leader qualification. Read more about her journey:

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

My initial love of the outdoors started as a teenager in Devon when I participated in the Ten Tors event at the age of 14. I enjoyed any activities in the outdoors and particularly loved rock climbing. When I moved up to London to train as a Dental hygienist I was lucky enough to join the medical students climbing and mountaineering club so I was still able to get out there. I had intended to move away from London and work towards my mountain leader after qualifying in 1987 but life took a different turn! I ended up living in Essex and having 4 children and forgetting about my mountains for quite some time.

What awards do you hold? What awards are you working towards?

Fast forward to 2010 and the family is growing up - I booked myself for a week at plas y Benin and knew then that this was the life for me. I joined my local climbing wall, made loads of friends in climbing and somehow managed to gain my Single Pitch Award . No mean feat when living in the flatlands of Essex at the age of 47. I have also done my mountain leader training and am very slowly working my way through my consolidation period.

What do you do for work?

I still work as a hygienist and use my Single Pitch Award in an un-paid capacity taking friends out and introducing people to real rock.

How do you use (or plan to use) your qualifications?

For the future - when I have passed my Mountain Leader I would like to leave the dental surgery behind and work in the outdoor profession.

What did you find most challenging and most enjoyable about working through your qualifications?

The most challenging part for me is the travelling - a trip to the Peak District is a minimum of 3 hours . North Wales up to seven hours and it's easier to get to Spain than Scotland!! It's worth it though. Also - Trad climbing partners are rather thin on the ground in Essex but once you've found them all is good.

What advice would you give to anyone going through their qualifications?

Keep at it - it may take longer than you initially think and believe in yourself. You do meet some amazing people on this journey.

What do you find most valuable about being a member of MTA?

I was pleasantly surprised on joining that there are some good discounts in some of the outdoor shops especially Cotswold outdoors.

I love the CPD. In the dental profession we have to do 150 hours minimum in five years. The modules on MTA make a very pleasant change.

Have you been on a regional event or CPD workshop? Tell us about it; why was it helpful?

I have just attended the CPD workshop in Kent which was brilliant. I did the climbing workshop but would equally have loved to do the navigation and access and conservation. It was such a bonus to be local. When it's a full days travel to the mountains the priority is being out in them rather than attending workshops.

Would you recommend the Association to others and why?

I would recommend MTA - it's great resource and helps to give an understanding of potential career pathways.

What are your leadership plans for the future?

I really would be so happy to pass my Mountain Leader assessment and use my qualification to help with local DofE expeditions.

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

I've climbed all over the UK and a fair bit in Europe and I think it has to be a nice sunny day at Tremadog for me; the one place you can do a nice multi pitch, go to Eric's cafe and then do another multi pitch - and there's a toilet to use!! … such luxury.