Outdoor Lives by Mike Raine

James McHaffie is well known in climbing circles for his high-end ascents of some of the hardest sport and trad rook climbs in the world. He has climbed over 200 routes of E7 and above. He has soled 100 Extremes in a day in the Lake District, he has completed all the climbs in Ken Wilson’s Extreme Rock book and he’s the ‘King of the Pass’ having climbed Jerry’s Roof, Central Icefall Direct and Lor...

Let me tell you more about the pictures used in The Mountain Leader -a practical manual.

This is a bonus podcast where I simply talk about the book, The Mountain Leader - a practical manual. How the book came about, what it covers, who it's aimed at and much more. Just a bit of insight for you really.

Sabine Nouvet is a project officer with the Celtic Rainforest Project. This 7-year LIFE project is funded by the European Commission Nature and Biodiversity Fund and Welsh Government Green Infrastructure Grant. It focuses on protecting and restoring 5 designated temperate rainforests across 40,000ha of Wales. As an Ecologist, Sabine has been working with farmers and landowners across Eryri for mor...

Guy Wilson is the founder of Pure Outdoor, based in the Peak District. An award winning Outdoor Training Centre and B Corp. Guy has been working as a mountaineering instructor and in business development at Pure Outdoor for over 15 years and loves spending all of his spare time in the hills. Guy is another example of people who make things  happen and makes them happen well. Lot's of inspirat...

Dr. Nathan Chrismas, Mountain Leader, climber and Lichenologist. Nathan is a keen outdoor person with a passion for the natural world. He’s a key member of the British Lichenological Society’s education team. Nathan has joined in with one or two of my workshops and his enthusiasm and natural way of introducing the world of lichens has proven fascinating and inspiring to the group. Nathan will the...

Kevin Walker, author, photographer, mountain leader and public speaker, perhaps best known for his range of mountain and moorland navigation books and courses which he runs from Crickhowell, in the Brecon Beacons.

Ned Feesey, Nature Trust Ranger and Farmer.  Ned works for the National Trust in north Wales and he’s currently the Area Ranger for the Carneddau and Glyderau. Ned set up and led the National Trust’s footpath team from 2017 to this year.  Ned, with his wife Teleri Fielden, runs a small nature friendly farm. The farm we visit on our Down on the Farm Workshop. We talk about managing the Na...

For this year's Christmas special I was very pleased to be joined by Nick Livesay, expect it all, with baubles on ! Nick Livesey lives and works in Snowdonia. He’s appeared on podcasts before and has an uplifting story. Many of you will know him from the cheery counter service he provided at the Moel Siabod Café, but what has he been doing since he left? We engage in conversation bout what Nick ha...

Lucy Wallace, Mountain Leader. Lucy is a Mountain Leader, Winter Mountain Leader and International Mountain Leader living and working on Aran. She is also the President of the Scottish Ramblers. She is a member of the Aran Mountain Rescue team. Lucy leads wildlife walks on Aran and travels to work as a Mountain Leader including to train and assess other Mountain Leaders. We also talk about Lucy’s...

John Cousins is the Chief Executive of Mountain training UK and Ireland.  Mountain Training UK & Ireland administers six qualifications and is also the coordinating body for all of the national Mountain Training organisations of the UK and Ireland. John is an experienced leader and instructor himself, being a qualified British Mountain Guide and Mountaineering Instructor. He’s been on man...

Rachael Crewesmith, mountaineering instructor, mountain bike leader, former hockey international and compere. Rachael has been heavily involved in the Women’s Trad Fest and the Women in Mountain Training Conference. She will be hosting a stage at the Kendal Film Festival. We talk about getting to be an instuctor, leader and coach and the importance of role models.

Dom Ferris founder and director of Trash Free Trails. Dom began thinking about doing something different back in 2017 whilst still working for Surfers Against Sewage. He wanted to be for something not against. He knew there were litter problems in our society with many businesses producing materials for us to waste. Rather than see poor littering habits developed in urban and roadside areas spread...

Dr. Mark Avery is a former Conservation Director with the RSPB, a scientist and naturalist, he his passionate about birdlife. Mark is the author of Inglorious (2015) a hugely influential book which accused the driven grouse shooting industry of being completely unsustainable. He campaigns on conservation issues, he’s a blogger, writer and public speaker. Mark, along with Ruth Tingay and Chris Pack...

Elfyn was the Access and Conservation officer for the BMC in Wales. Elfyn hails from Blaenau Ffestiniog, he’s a walker, climber, mountaineer and qualified mountain leader. He volunteers with the Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team. He’s a qualified countryside manager who has worked for the Pembrokeshire National Park and as the National Trust Land Manager for the Carneddau. He’s the son of a farmer, a...

Steve and Helen run a business offering First Aid and other training courses for mountain leaders. Steve and Helen are very experienced mountain rescuers, search dog handlers, they have walked the Munros and most of the Corbetts too. They are both recipients of the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal for services to Mountain Rescue.

Russ is a climber and mountaineer who was a member of the Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Team for twenty years serving as chairman for two years before retiring from the team. He’s climbed in the Scottish winter and the Alps as well as the greater ranges of Greenland, Alaska and Patagonia. He says that whilst sitting in a hotel room once, playing with geo-location code ( as you do) he came up with a...

Pete Barron is the John Muir Trust Property Manager for the Glenridding Estate. He’s the man that manages Helvellyn. Pete worked for the Lake District National Park as a ranger for 23 years on everything from upland management and path maintenance to raptor protection, supervising volunteers and community engagement. He is now charged with looking after one of our favourite mountains. We find out...

In this episode Mike Raine, Nature of Snowdonia, chats to Carey Davies editor of TGO. Carey has made a successful career as an outdoor journalist. He has written for many outdoor publications and the Guardian newspaper. He has also had a stint as the BMC's Hillwalking officer. Carey remains a keen and committed hillwalker.

The Carneddau is a special and varied landscape. A partnership of organisations is delivering a scheme to help people discover, record, care for and celebrate the Carneddau with the help of funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Marian oversees the programme of 24 projects that make up the Carneddau Landscape Partnership Scheme, supporting the core team and partners to achieve the Partne...

Dewi Davies is the National Trust’s Project Manger for the Upper Conwy Catchment Project -a landscape scale project to improve the quality of the environment and heritage of the Upper Conwy catchment. Dewi comes from a background of working in the uplands on land management, access and conservation. He has also worked for Snowdonia National Park as Senior Warden and was the first Cwm Idwal partner...

Franco is the managing director of Pesda Press which he founded and has steered to becoming one of the most respected specialist outdoor publishing houses with a fleet of sea kayak, canoe, climbing and canyoning guidebooks alongside specialist instructional manuals and the visionary Nature of Snowdonia; the ‘ML’s bible’. He worked for many years as a kayaking coach and a mountaineering instructor...

30 year old Teleri is a new entrant farmer who, despite not growing up on a farm, has always wanted to be in agriculture - announcing to her Mum at the age of four that she wanted to be a 'lady farmer'! Teleri has recently began a 10 year tenancy on a 100acre farm in Nantmor, Beddgelert with her fiancé Ned (who also isn’t from a farming background!) and sheepdogs Roy and Ralff. She works off-farm...

Barbara is an ecologist and climber who was, until a few years ago, the Upland Ecologist for Wales involved in researching and advising on the ecology, conservation and management of the Welsh uplands. Her main interest is in arctic-alpine vegetation and she is the expert on the Snowdon Lily. Cwm Idwal is a special place for arctic-alpines and it was Barbara who worked to conserve these plants and...