Working in Antarctica

I have been offered a job as a field assistant for British Antarctic Survey. I leave the UK on October 15 and will be away for around 18 months. My job will involve many tasks but one of my primary roles is to assist the scientists and keep them safe while they are doing their research.

What this means for Climb-Mountains. Unfortunately this does mean that I will not be around for the next year to a year and a half to run courses and guiding. I do not intend to close the business and will be able to offer a number of services:

• Email Question and Answers - If you have any questions please email them and I will be happy to answer them (perhaps you need advice on buying your first rack, or choosing a rope. Or maybe you would like some suggestions on places to go or routes you are ready to tackle independently. Whatever the question please just ask - just remember it may take me a while to reply as I can be out in the field for up to a month at a time)
• Desperate for instruction/guiding? - If you are unable to wait till spring 2012 for your next instruction/guiding please get in touch by email and we can discuss the options. I may be able to arrange a colleague of mine to run the course for you on my behalf and if that does not work I can recommend another instructor/provider who can offer what you are looking for.
• Exciting Blog entries - I hope to keep you all informed of my adventures down south. Initially I will post these on the blog here on this web site. However if things take off I may start up a new Antarctic Blog. Over the winter months (your summer) when I have more free time I will try and put some short films together of my work and experiences. These will either be on this site or on my you-tube account. 

A BIG thankyou to all of you that I have spent time on the crags and mountains over the last 4 years. It was not an easy decision to leave the UK and the business behind especially when I was just starting to build a regular client base and had just produced a new web site with new and exciting courses.

I have enjoyed getting to know so many of you and had many fantastic days out increasing your independence and having adventures with you. I will be keen to continue where we have left off when I return from Antarctica so keep on planning and dreaming and let me know what you would like to do next.