From Mountain Leader to Mountain Climbing Instructor

There is something slightly dangerous about achieving a goal isn't there? You spend months, sometimes years, working towards it. You train, practise, log those mountain days, get things wrong, get better, worry about assessment and eventually, hopefully, someone shakes your hand and says, 'Congratulations. You’ve passed'.

But then it begins....you're now in the danger zone. Let me tell you why.

I passed my Mountain Leader assessment in June 2026 (after 13 years of dithering about and feeling like an imposter), and for approximately five minutes, I was delighted to have reached the finish line. Then I started wondering where the next one was.

So… what next?

My journey into the mountains hasn't followed a particularly conventional route. I haven't spent decades climbing increasingly difficult routes or collecting qualifications since my twenties. In fact, I only started climbing in early 2026! However, I always wanted to acheive the dizzy heights of the MCI - to have that AMI badge and know I was a true mountaineer, but to get to that stage I had to pass my ML - and so I did.

Why MCI?

The MCI represents the kind of mountaineer I would eventually like to become. It brings together climbing, mountaineering, technical ropework, judgement, movement and the ability to look after and teach other people in more serious mountain environments. But there's an important word in that sentence...eventually. I have a lot of experience still to gain.

There are routes to climb, multipitch days to log, techniques to practise, mistakes to learn from and probably quite a few occasions when I'll wonder what on earth I've got myself into. That's precisely why I'm writing about it.

This isn't an “expert tells you how” blog

There are plenty of people who can tell you how they became an MCI after the event. I want to document what happens before that - the messy middle. I'll share the training, climbing days, consolidation, coaching, breakthroughs and frustrations. I'll talk about the skills I'm developing, the things I find difficult and those wonderful moments when something that previously seemed impossible suddenly starts to make sense. Because to get to the MCI training, never mind assessment, you have to put in a lot of mileage. I'm going to show you just how much mileage is needed.

I'll also talk about confidence because becoming technically competent is only part of this journey. Learning to trust my own judgement, manage fear, make decisions and gradually become more independent is every bit as interesting to me as learning another piece of ropework.

And potentially beyond…

I don't actually know where my own journey finishes. MCI is the next big objective. Winter mountaineering is waiting too. There are mountains elsewhere in the world that I'd love to explore, and qualifications and adventures that currently sit firmly in the “perhaps one day…” category. And perhaps that's the point, I don't need to know the ending yet.

This blog is about finding out what happens when you remain coachable, curious and willing to be a beginner — even when starting something new feels uncomfortable.