Emily Coates is a North Wales based Mountain Leader both summer and winter. She also has a Geography degree from Oxford, a Master’s in Sustainability from ImperialCollege, and six years’ experience as a secondary geography teacher. Emily now works as a freelance leader in North Wales and beyond. She runs her own company, Visit Wild Wales, founded on strong ethical principles, and also works with Leading Edge and the Field Studies Council, while enjoys the odd shift at Joe Brown’s outdoor shop.

In 2025, Emily had a tense adventure in the Himalaya. What began as a trekking trip to a remote part of the range turned into a full-scale mountaineering expedition as Emily and her team were forced to extricate themselves from a serious situation.

The expedition was badly reported in the mainstream media, with Emily and her friends being targeted rather than celebrated. It’s a fascinating story.