Graham Derbyshire – Activities Manager
Graham joins the Full Time Team at Glaramara in February 2010 having worked there as a regular Freelance Instructor over the last eight years.

Graham has worked in the Outdoor Activity industry since 1982 as an Instructor and Independent Activity Provider. He holds professional level instructional qualifications in both Mountaineering and Caving (MIA and CIC) and is a member of their relevant Professional Associations. He is also a member of the Institute for Outdoor Learning.

His particular interests are hillwalking, rock climbing and caving and his adventures regularly take him from the deepest and longest caves in the Yorkshire Dales to the highest and rockiest mountains of the Lake District and beyond…

Tom Ambrose
Tom Ambrose grew up in Somerset. After completing an HND in Outdoor Education at The University of Central Lancashire (now University of Cumbria), Tom pursued a career as an Outdoor Pursuits Instructor. Having based himself in Keswick eight years ago, he worked as a Seasonal Instructor for several years before joining Glaramara in 2005.

Tom has been climbing and trekking throughout Europe, New Zealand and, most recently, the Alps. He holds a Single Pitch Award, Summer Mountain Leader and is working towards his Mountain Instructor Award.

As well as a long-held enthusiasm for Mountaineering, Tom is a keen mountain biker having completed his Trail Cycle Leader Award and is working towards his Mountain Bike Leader. He spends his spare time testing himself on trails throughout the UK.

Simon May
Simon May joined Glaramara in 2004 and is an enthusiastic, lively member of the team. He is a keen, qualified Mountaineer and holds the Single-pitch Climbing Award, the Mountain Leader Award and has completed the Mountain Instructor Award Training. Simon often spends his days off climbing on the mountain crags that surround the centre.

Alongside climbing, Simon is also found hitting the trails hard on his mountain bike. For 2009, Simon will be competing in various downhill mountain biking events in the UK and Europe.

As a qualified Mountain Bike Leader, Simon has run many successful skills courses and has guided clients around Cumbria for Glaramara. Customers have commented that his experience and passion for the sport is invaluable.

(pictures: Simon climbing on Innominate Crack, Great Gable, and racing in the Scottish downhill championships at Pitfichie)

Lucy Woods
Lucy Woods grew up in Somerset and, whilst at College, started climbing throughout Cornwall, Dartmoor, North Wales and Swanage.

After completing an English Language degree at The University of Central Lancashire, Lucy started pursuing a career as an Outdoor Pursuits Instructor. Having based herself in Keswick eight years ago, She has worked as a Seasonal Instructor, Freelance Outdoor Pursuits Instructor and as a Centre Manager at a Keswick based Marina/Outdoor Centre. Lucy started working for Glaramara in April 2008.

Lucy has been climbing and trekking throughout Europe, Malawi, New Zealand and, most recently, Thailand. She has also done mixed winter routes in Scotland and has been climbing in the French Alps, Al Froid. She holds qualifications in her Single Pitch Award, Summer Mountain Leader and is working towards her Mountain Instructor Award.

As well as a long-held enthusiasm for Mountaineering, Lucy is a keen paddler and has completed three major expeditions on the Orange River-South Africa, Lake Malawi and the East Coast of New Zealand’s North Island. All three of these expeditions were for a duration of three months and included the building of a fleet of plywood Canadian Canoes.

Dan Platt
Dan Platt grew up in Cheltenham and later moved to North Wales, completing a Diploma in Outdoor Leadership at St David’s College. Dan has worked in a wide range of Outdoor Centres , throughout, England for the last nine years.

Having moved to Cumbria in 2005, Dan worked as a Senior Instructor and a Freelance Outdoor Pursuits Instructor, before starting at Glaramara.

Dan has been pursuing his interests in Climbing and Mountaineering since his school days. He has been on expeditions, both rock climbing and Trekking, throughout Europe, the Nepalese Himalaya, the Andes, New Zealand, Thailand and Malawi.

Dan has completed his Single Pitch Award, Summer Mountain Leader and is working towards getting his Mountain Instructor Award.

As well as his interests in Mountaineering, Dan is also keen paddler. He has paddled the rivers and coast throughout England and Scotland and has completed two major canoe expeditions with Lucy Woods (also an instructor at Glaramara); After building their own Canadian plywood canoes, Dan and a group of Peers spent two months on the waters of both Lake Malawi and the East Coast of New Zealand’s North Island.

Ian Boorman
Ian has developed all the new skills courses on offer at the centre, including gaining providership from the MLTUK to offer Mountain Leader Training courses and the Single Pitch Award.

Ian is a keen and active climber and mountaineer with over 20 years experience; having climbed all over the UK, Europe, America and India. Ian climbs to a very high standard in both traditional and sports climbing. Ian is also a very accomplished skier and last year was asked to be part of an instructional video (Off piest Esssentials) put together by the British Mountaineering Council (BMC) and Plas y Brenin (The National Mountain Centre).

Ian holds the UK’s highest mountaineering qualification the MIC, as well as having a BSc in Outdoor Education. Ian is passionate about the importance of outdoor education and continues to develop new and interesting courses for all our clients.

Guy Lee
Guy Lee is our technical advisor with many years experience in outdoor education. During the 1980’s, Guy was a secondary school teacher specialising in Geography and Outdoor Education. Thereafter he was Operations Manager at Cumbria Outdoors for 5 years before setting up his own Company, Adventure Experience. He possesses both a Mountain Instructor Certificate and a Mountain First Aid Certificate and until 2007 was an ML and SPA Trainer and Assessor. He also boats a Caving Instructors Certificate. Climbing and caving have played a large part of his professional and social life with 49 world wide expeditions in climbing (including Hindu Kush, Patagonia, Baffin Island, the Himalayas with 36 Alpine seasons). His caving exploits have included Gouffre Berger, Picos de Europa and Covntosa & Torca Tonio).

Recent photos from the Via Ferrata and Ghyll Scramble