Leadership in the mountains

We caught up with Vicky Tapsell to talk about making a career in outdoor pusuits; the demands, challenges, and joys.

I started getting into outdoor leadership after I had worked a ski season. It was my first outdoor instructor job at a family run outdoor centre where they emphasised on team-building. They had taught me different skills on how to develop a team and individuals through plan, do, review. I also learnt about the different styles of learners and how to adjust my teaching to students with certain difficulties like deafness, Asperger, and ADHD.

My parents played a big role in establishing my interest in the great outdoors. I grew up with camping holidays in the UK and abroad and family walks at the weekends. When I was a little’n, they made us walk the whole of the Cotswold's Way; no matter the weather we were out walking. They even made my younger brothers go back and walk the parts they missed when they were too young to walk it themselves. I have always had a thirst for travelling and to do a ski season and from there it bloomed into wanting to see more of the wilderness.

I don’t have a specific person that inspires me but when I see mountaineers, explorers, climbers, surfers, van lifers – I always find them inspiring, famous or not. It helps me think how I can push my own boundaries and what I might be capable of. If I focused in on one person I’d be scared that I would just want to copy what they do and not think for myself. I love watching documentaries and reading true adventure books.

At my first outdoor instructing job, everyone was so friendly and eager to teach new outdoor enthusiasts. After work we would all head off to the local crag or river to go climbing/canoeing. There was so much passion within the group, and it was great to be surrounded in that environment. Despite the centre having in-house qualifications, I loved it so much so that I wanted to expand my knowledge and push myself to gain knew skills. I gained my SPA (Single Pitch Award (now known as Rock Climbing Instructor)) and Level 1 BCU (British Canoe Union).

When I left to work at an off-site centre I was again welcomed into a outdoor community of climbers and hikers. They could see my passion towards navigating and hiking that they set me up with starting my Mountain Leader Award.

It took me a year to gain my Mountain Leader Award, which normally takes people a lot longer. I was so determined that I absorbed as much information as possible, I learnt from leading groups at the outdoor centres and days off were spent hiking on my own in the mountains.

Whilst working at both centres I was in charge of groups of up to 12 students and one teacher. Once you learned how to deliver the activity safely, you can alter it to suit any group and make it your own. Observing, personal experience and actually doing it helped me learn the skills to lead groups.

When I was logging my quality mountain days (minimum of 40 days of which each walk should be eight-plus hours, show navigational skill, higher than 600m, in three different regions, consisting of four wild camps, solo/lead walks and night navigation) - I didn’t know anyone that had the time to join me (at the time hiking was also not very popular), therefore 90% of my walks were solo. This led me to learn quick – if I made a mistake, it was down to me to get myself back on track - I doubted myself all the time (despite being right) but therefore I was less likely to make the same mistake twice.

The build up to my final assessment of the Mountain Leader Award was tough. I had the contraceptive jab where there was a 0.01% chance of joint pain. I was that 0.01%! My hips and knees were in agony! I had to strap my knees with sports tape, invest in poles and top up on paracetamol every 4 hours whilst on hikes. My pain threshold is high and I hate taking any pain relief tablets but the pain was just unreal. I remember climbing into my tent and waking up in the middle of the night in absolute agony and not being able to do anything about it. My Final Assessment was tough mainly due to this (and the snow blizzard). Despite only having the 1 jab – I had to live with the joint pain for 3-4 years (I still hike in the mountains with poles now if I have a full backpack with camping kit).

Currently the hardest part of being an outdoor leader is the build up to an expedition, I find it very stressful. Some days reality can strike and I realise I have up to 80 students out walking with 12 instructors all under my instruction. It can be a little daunting but I remind myself that I am more than capable.

Whilst in my ski season in 2010 I realised how much I loved having an outdoor job. One of my colleagues told me she was going to work at an outdoor centre and thought I would love it. In that second I applied and it grew from there – I worked during their summer season as a summer instructor, they then asked me to stay on as a long term instructor. They saw the potential and enthusiasm I had for instructing and leading groups that I was offered a senior instructor role where I also had the chance to train new instructors, oversee residential groups and run the summer residential program.

My work requires me to train students to confidently navigate and be completely self-sufficient for up to a four days (Duke of Edinburgh Award). I have to stay relevant with my qualifications and ensure what I am teaching is up-to-date. I am also required to recce the routes that we put students on to ensure there are no hazards or potential difficulties that may arise.

I have recently been helping a colleague with gaining her Hill and Moorland Leader by taking her out onto the moors for micro navigation and the understanding of what a leaders role is to a group and to the environment. It have really enjoyed helping train adults for the Outdoor qualifications.

During the school holidays I go out on my own personal adventures where I make sure I can do the skills I teach the students. There is no point in teaching it and not doing it yourself.

When I first started the job, I couldn’t believe how much admin work goes into organising an expedition. On average I organise 21 expeditions over an academic year. Each expedition varies in number from 11 – 80 students participating. Daily tasks could range from writing risk assessments to reccying routes and sorting out kit. There is a lot of responsibility that comes with my job – my main job is to ensure the students are safe which we incorporate through thorough training prior to the expedition. This then helps whilst out in the wilderness. I mainly work with students, ranging from year 7 to 12. I also have to liaise with boarding houses, parents and freelance instructors and sometimes companies.

My advice to anyone seeking a career in outdoor leadership is to dream big and bold. It doesn’t have to be conquering a mountain. Have confidence and curiosity. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes and take calculated risks.

The most useful qualification I have gained is my Mountain Leader. I use the qualification in the classroom (grid references, reading a map, creating route cards and so on) and on expeditions I organise.

For camera gear to record my adventures I just use my mobile! It isn’t anything fancy (Samsung A51) but I find it easier then carrying my DSLR camera out on hikes where I would be worried in damaging it, it adds weight to the backpack and never have room for it. (I also have no idea how to transfer the photos from my laptop onto Instagram).

As I do everything on my own, I don’t have anyone taking photos of me and I don’t set up tripods as I feel this detracts from the experience. I think it’s more the story you are trying to tell and if you have a keen/natural eye for photography more than the expensive kit you own.

I would love to hike abroad. The thought petrifies me – foreign maps are typically less detailed and hiking in the middle of a mountainous area on my own in a different country where I wouldn’t know what to do if I got injured. But technically it’s no different from hiking in the UK. It’s all to do with confidence and research. I have the skill set, I just need to push my boundaries.

I try to set myself challenges. One I had planned to do this year but with the lack of access to Wales (closest mountainous area to me), I haven’t been able to condition myself, was to complete the Yorkshire Thee Peaks, The National Three Peaks followed by the Welsh 3000s, one after the other. At the time of the idea, I was trying to think of a challenge that I could do to raise money for a charity. I felt people see me always hiking up mountains, so where’s the challenge in that. Hence why I came up with one that I know I will have to train for and I will find a challenge mentally and physically.

Before lockdown I was due to work with a company that organises expeditions abroad for schools. I had previously worked for a different company where I took a school group to Cambodia in 2018 – community projects, teaching children, site seeing and a hike in the Kulen Mountains, where you had a local guide and you’re there to risk assess if it’s safe for the group.

But the company I was due to work for before the lockdown was to Everest Base Camp, where I felt my expertise in mountaineering and group safety would have been utilised to its full potential. I would love to be able to work one more year for an adventurous company. This may also give me the confidence to go out to different countries and go hiking.

“I think a lot of people realise they want a career in the outdoor industry later in life than normal careers. People work the 9-5 and find it stressful and realise they can create a job out of their hobbies.”  

I would love to hike in the mountains of Peru, France, Switzerland and Italy. I’ve always wanted to hike a trail and see how I would find it.

I always push myself and never give up but I’ve never had to carry a heavy loaded pack for more than five days. I love the sense of freedom that I have with my van and therefore I think I would love a hiking trail. I enjoy finding ways to lighten my pack by dehydrating my own meals, streamlining the kit and so on.

I have entered The Great Glencoe Challenge this year and thought I would stay up there and explore Scotland for a month this Summer. I don’t really make plans and mostly go with the flow but I’m really looking forward to exploring the mountains of Isle of Skye, hiking the West Highland Way with a friend and finding lots the little hidden gems. I love that Scotland are pro wild camping and I can’t wait – I’ve had some great experiences from paddling The Great Glen and wild camping in hammocks alongside the lochs with pine martins running around you, so I’m really looking forward to exploring more in Scotland.

I think a lot of people realise they want a career in the outdoor industry later in life than normal careers. People work the 9-5 and find it stressful and realise they can create a job out of their hobbies. I have worked with many freelancers and they work extremely hard to ensure they have income throughout the year/enough to survive the winter, as most outdoor industries are seasonal. I don’t feel outdoor instructors get paid enough for what their job entitles them to do – to ensure they keep everyone safe in what can be some pretty dangerous environments.

There’s lots of ways to get into the outdoor industry and it’s very accessible. Lockdown has presented a lot of job changes or centres to close so there hasn’t been a huge rise within the last year. I know a few instructors that got delivery jobs for income and haven’t gone back to instructing as they are uncertain their instructor job is secure. It’s a great shame.

“I think it is hugely important to connect with nature. It helps ground you. The connection and understanding of how powerful nature can be (sea, mountains, rivers, weather etc) is crucial.”  

It’s really hard to think about how to develop my career beyond where it is today – I love my job! You would very rarely see a full time outdoor education position come up in schools. They are like gold dust. A part of me thinks I would be stupid to leave my current role and pursue something else and although it can be stressful during term time and no year is the same, I’m blessed to have long school holidays which enables me to have my own expeditions/adventures/stories and keep my qualifications in date.

I’m looking at taking some more courses that will enable me to gain more knowledge/skills and look at some new leadership techniques to keep it interesting. Besides qualifications, I think it is hugely important to connect with nature. It helps ground you. The connection and understanding of how powerful nature can be (sea, mountains, rivers, weather etc) is crucial.

I also think it is super important to educate children how to look after our world, leave no trace and understand our impact. I have ‘blue mind’, where you instantly feel happy when you see water. The connection of grass, the breeze, smells etc really makes a difference in our hormones and releases endorphin’s. Children respond differently to education when it is lead outside.

The hardest part of managing time and work pressures is stress. I don’t deal with stress very well. With the lockdowns, I have been playing catch up and I feel like I am just scraping by with getting expeditions organised on time and not working to my full potential. I’m not great with failure. When I’m not in work, I don’t stop – I always have to find something to do with my days off – I feel guilty at not taking the opportunity to go do something, connect with nature and do what I love best.

My own confidence is usually the greatest enemy in achieving my ambitions. I truly believe that you are your biggest hurdle – if someone else blocks your way, you think of ways to get around it; whereas when its yourself, you tend to stop right there and then. I know I am blocking myself when it comes to confidence – in meeting new people, going abroad on my own, expanding my qualifications.

I really want to get back into my trad climbing as I don’t have anyone to climb with anymore - friends have got partners/married, had children or moved far away so my hiking took a step forward and my climbing a large step back.

Again it’s confidence to join a climbing club – I think having had a bad experience with a local one where everyone was in their own social groups, I felt I wasn’t able to connect with the same like-minded people I had when I first started.

I live in Dorset, so getting to a mountainous area that I haven’t explored much can take from 5 – 9 hours! It’s just in my head and I know I will absolutely love it when I get there but I think just the thought of driving can be boring and tiring.

I wouldn’t call myself a content-creator as I don’t have a high number of followers on Instagram, so I don’t feel the pressure normally felt by some of the outdoorsy people who are active on social media. I try not to use my mobile a lot apart from photography. The reason for why I use Instagram is to connect with my family - my sister lives in Australia and it’s our way to keep in touch.

I love photography and sharing them so Instagram was amazing when it first came out. Over the last couple of years I have noticed it has shifted to people creating jobs through it, advertising etc and there is a lot of editing, showing only the best bits which creates ‘fear of missing out’ and people comparing their own lives to others. It can be quite dangerous.

I think it is really important to be true and be yourself. I’ve had a couple of people say to me that I’m inspiring, which I really don’t understand as I’m just being myself. I’m not doing anything to show off, get more followers etc I’m just being me – (I have so many photos that I would love to put on but the thought of being on my phone every day to edit a photo and think of something to say is just too much.) I like to get people thinking, tell the truth and open conversations.

If I could go back in time to when I started out I’d tell myself: don’t be a sheep! Be more confident, push yourself out of your comfort zone, learn from you mistakes, pick yourself up, dust yourself off and try again. Do what you want to do and not what everyone else is doing.

And my advice to anyone thinking of starting out on a career in outdoor pursuits is: you will love it! Any job in the outdoor industry has its rewards. If you’re creating a business in this space then do your research first and try to find a unique angle. Has someone already come up with the idea? How could you make it a unique experience? Is there competition in your local area?

I’m proud of myself in many ways. I’m proud of myself for going out on my own and achieving my Mountain Leader! For doing up my own van. For not allowing anything to stop me from doing what I love (I get a lot of comments about how brave I am that I go out on my own and do I get lonely or scared, and to be honest yes it can be lonely and sometimes scary but if I didn’t do it, I wouldn’t be doing what I love and I’m not going to let that hold me back).

Outdoor leadership has had a massive impact on me – it’s helped me grow. It’s also been a huge impact on the students I teach. When I see them out on expeditions – I see a completely different student! They have no technology to distract them, no pressures of doing well in exams/grades. The shear excitement when they see me at the correct location and they know they haven’t got themselves lost, enjoying cooking at camp or laughing at the memories they have made really highlights just how important it is.

If it wasn’t for the like-minded people that surrounded me when I first started being an outdoor instructor and my own enthusiasm, I don’t think I would have got to where I am today.

One particular memory that stands out for me was in 2015 when I worked a season at a off-site activity centre on Dartmoor. They showed me what the real outdoor industry/life was all about. My favourite was helping instruct a group of university students navigate to certain locations on the moor where they had to complete a team-building task. Later in the day we taught them night navigation to Crazy Well Pool where we had to strip off to our underwear, put on a buoyancy aid and swim across (in the middle of March!) and it was absolutely freezing!! (The type where you can’t breathe). We had what seemed to be the most amazing hot chocolate on the other side to warm us back up and then hiked out. That experience has always stuck with me – the excitement and thrill of it all. I also think it is really important for students to see me do exactly what they are doing.

Although I say I am not very confident, I have come a long way. I wouldn’t be going out and exploring on my own if I wasn’t. From when I was at school to really wanting to sign up to the Bronze DofE award but not doing it because none of my friends wanted to, to going out and adventuring on my own. I’m very confident when it comes to my skill set.

The one thing I feel that has enabled me on my journey recently is my van, it has given me so much freedom to go and stay out to explore more. I’m not as scared as what I used to be when I first started out and every time I go out I feel like me again. Rejuvenated, connected to nature and passionate.