From the essential skills and mindset needed to stay safe whilst moving through the mountains, from winter walking, to tackling treacherous climbs on ice and mixed terrain, Glenmore Lodge Chief Instructor, Heather Morning, and Mountain Guide Stu McAleese, are unrivalled in their experience of Scottish winter.

Situated in the Cairngorms National Park, Glenmore Lodge has provided to mountain skills training, and opportunities to gain qualifications, for over seventy years.

From groundbreaking first descents, to gnarly backcountry touring missions, Rab athlete and extreme snowboarder, Krister Kopala finds inspiration in exploring the mountain ranges of Northern Norway.

Krister talks of cutting edge descents (including his latest film 'The White Giant'), and his journey from the speed of freeride snowboard to more nuanced technical steep snowboarding where the consequences of one mistake can be fatal. As well as the continual learning and challenge of finding the courage to turn back when conditions seem uncertain.

Chamonix-based Dutch mountain guide, Roeland Van Oss, set out to climb all 4000m peaks in the Alps in a summer, without using any powered transport to travel between them.

In a year where the effects of climate change were felt across Europe more than ever, Roeland wanted to set an example of how we can all do small things to impact change.

Just a few weeks into Roeland’s challenge tragic news broke of a colossal Glacier collapse on the Marmolada, in the Dolomites.

By foot and by bike, Roeland ticked off all 82 peaks in just over 10 weeks.

When Marie Uri first got in to climbing, there were very few women who looked like her, neither her size nor her colour.

Marie has type 2 diabetes, is neurodiverse and describes herself as being ‘a generous body type person’. Raised in Guadeloupe before moving to the suburbs of Paris to finish her schooling, Marie’s passion for languages ultimately brought her to London, where she joined the Marylebone Mountaineering Club.

She was so engrossed in learning how to climb that it did not occur to her to question whether climbing was for her. Instead, she just indulged herself in the places, the movement, the people. Marie is simply in love with trad climbing and now mentors other women at the start of their journeys.

London-based, proud Mum Chelle Nevill has struggled with her mental health over the years. It wasn’t until she discovered climbing, when she really started to make lasting progress.

Chelle was diagnosed with depression in 2009 and says, “I have always done my best to try and be strong and overcome my own obstacles, but it wasn't until I found climbing that I started to really make progress that was lasting and didn't feel like a mask for my issues, but more of a tool-box that gave me what I needed to better understand myself.”

We chat about Womens Trad festival and her dream of one day climbing a Yosemite big wall.

Rachael Crewesmith works as an instructor, coach and mentor across a variety of mountain sports. Whether its winter climbing on Ben Nevis, mountain biking across Nepal or trad climbing on a sea cliff, Rachael loves it all and is passionate about sharing her knowledge and skill.

She combines her technical knowledge with a strong background in coaching, including coaching climbing for the BMC, and is also a key part of the Women’s Trad festival.

Rachael talks about her work and is uniquely placed to share insights on dealing with a fear of heights, a fear of falling, being bold and generally getting the best from yourself.

Angus has climbed hard free routes on El Capitan, he climbed the infamous E9 Indian face on Cloggy as a youth, and recently set his sights on climbing a 9a sport route in Spain. Suffice to say, Angus Kille knows a thing or two about ‘being bold’.

He talks about setting ambitious goals and making them a reality. How he handles the pressure on the climb and off it, and more specifically how he manages deep-seated fear of falling or the thought of it.

He also answers questions such as ‘how do you prepare for a 9a’ and ‘what’s it like trying the same 9a big project as your partner’, in his case Hazel Findlay?

Jerry Moffatt is a living legend. He was one of the best climbers through the 1980s and 90s.

Jerry excelled in all disciplines of rock climbing consistently pushing standards to new heights around the world - in bouldering, trad climbing, redpointing, flashing and on-sighting.

But it wasn’t all plain sailing. Jerry battled with injuries and initially struggled to realise his best form in competitions. He shares the strategies he used to start winning. Jerry, like many people, believe the mind is the most important muscle, he’s even written a book on the subject – Mastermind, Mental Training for Climbers.

Rab athlete Bronwyn Hodgins shares her mental approach to preparing for Golden Gate 5:13a, a desperate 30 plus pitch free route on El Capitan, Yosemite.

As a guide, mentor and elite rock climber based in Squamish BC Canada, Bronwyn shares insights into the workshops she runs to help people overcome the fear of falling.

Bronwyn also regales stories of her recent adventures in South America, big walls in Mexico, and new free ascents in Cochomo, Chile. She rarely sits still. We also ask her what she does on rest days? I mean does she even need rest days?

A candid chat with Professor Lew Hardy, who trained as a British mountain guide but went on to help set up the Institute for the Psychology of Elite Performance at Bangor University.

He worked on research projects with Royal Marines, England’s cricket team, Olympians and countless other groups.

Lew shares insights into what drives high achievers and how we might realise our potential. We chat about self-belief, resilience, what can help us make good decisions even under pressure and why some folk can seemingly handle risk better than others.