Philosophy
OUR PROMISE
Philosophy
Our promise is the back bone of what we do, the declaration of which has defined mountain guiding for generations. This client-guide relationship is eloquently described by Gaston Rébuffat as ‘the brotherhood of the rope’.
Our promise is to look after our clients in the pursuit of assured experiences, doing everything we can to reduce the risk in an increasingly uncertain world. It is this promise that genuinely sets us apart from those marketing on another adventure alone.
Our assured training aims to equip independent climbers, mountaineers and alpinists with the skills to mitigate risk in the mountains for themselves. We firmly believe that the role of a guide is not only a companion on technical climbs, but that of an instructor, educator and coach.
Assured expertise is the banner under which we assist individual leaders, instructors, guides and providers, to be the best that they can be at risk mitigation in their own areas of operation. We also have a responsibility to assist the next generation of guides and instructors who will continue to share the finest mountaineering experiences of the future.
While a guide shoulders the burden of the enterprise we believe that effective teams can only operate effectively by shared endeavour.
“People have a fixed idea of what a guide is: a professional, who, in return for a certain sum of money, takes you to the summit to which you aspire. But the guide is more than that: he is a competent friend who controls the party, but who also teaches you and stimulates your interest. “There is only one real luxury, that of human relationships,” Saint Exupéry has written. Mountains offer one of the finest frameworks in which these can develop. Your climbing companion is the man with whom you will share the good and exacting moments of mountaineering, and many of your finest experiences. The choice of companion is as important as the choice of climb.”
Starlight and Storm, Gaston Rébuffat
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
Associations and communities
Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors (CIEHF) – Associate
Applied Psychology & Human Factors Group (APHF) – Industry Associate
TESTIMONIALS
What people say
“One of the trickiest aspects of Les Droites was the approach across a highly crevassed glacier. James found a safe and superbly efficient line, in the dark. Reaching the top in good time, this was a truly memorable way to climb my final 4000er.“
Chris Bedford
Alpinist
James acted as one of the guides working on essential alpine skills on the 2019 Alpine Club Aspirant meet in Saas Grund. He is thoughtful and thorough, and is a gifted communicator, which was a big inspiration for our new members. Thanks!
Nicholas Hurndall Smith
The Alpine Club