A huge thanks for taking the time to visit our website. Peak Mountaineering Ltd is a long established provider of the highest quality mountain training and outdoor adventures. We are also specialists in providing all types of group events and overseas expeditions. We are extremely proud of our history and the services we provide. Hopefully the following About Us information gives you a taste of what we can offer.
Our business has been built on developing great relationships with our clients and offering a personalised and tailored service. We cater for all experience levels and hope that within these website pages you’ll find what you need. We are also experts at creating bespoke programs. Please do contact us if you don’t see what you need. We very much look forward to hearing from you.
In the meantime, we’d also be honoured if you’d have a read of the information on this page. We’d love you to get to know us better…
Who We Are
My name is Paul Lewis and I started our guiding business with my wife and long term climbing partner Cal. We had previously worked extensively in outdoor education and spent all our free time climbing and exploring. Creating a business based around our own life passion seemed a natural extension of the adventure. We haven’t been disappointed. It’s been a fantastic journey and we relish every minute. We are privileged to lead such a life. If you are interested to know more about us and our journey please do check out my articles Full Circle and What Does Success Look Like?
Over the years my personal adventure tally has grown and, along with playing in mountains around the world for my own pleasure, I’ve also worked my way to the top of the qualification ladder. I’m now a proud holder of the Winter Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor award (previously known as the Mountain Instructors Certificate) and a member of the Association of Mountaineering Instructors. Alongside this I’m a mountain biking instructor and Cytech qualified bike mechanic, a British Canoeing stand up paddle boarding and kayak coach, ITC first aid trainer, Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and Leading Practitioner of the Institute of Outdoor Learning.
Cal is also a Mountain Training qualified climbing instructor and still instructs regularly along with taking the lead admin role as our Office Manager. She’ll be your main port of call when booking a course. We are also helped in the admin department by Brian and Ben who work on our marketing and accounts. We know the quality of our behind the scenes service is very important and we try to make booking as easy as possible. Online bookings are welcome but we are also happy to discuss requirements individually if needed. Above all we want to ensure you are booked on the right course.
Our Base
Our office is a cosy log cabin in the picturesque Peak District National Park village of Castleton. Castleton is also the village where we are privileged to have made our home and raised a family.
The Peak District is a fantastic playground and lots of our courses take advantage of the world class climbing, hillwalking and mountain biking available right on our doorstep. Of course, as our course itineraries show, we also operate across the UK and overseas.
Our Staff
I love running a business but my first love will always be instructing and guiding. I still try to run as many Peak Mountaineering courses as possible but there’s only so much one person can deliver and so, as the business has expanded, so has our instructor team. Learning about us is also understanding how vital we consider our instructor team to be.
The quality of instruction on offer is the lifeblood of any guiding business and we have always ensured that our associate team are among the best in the industry. They are always fully qualified, very experienced, familiar with the areas they work in and, crucially, personally known to us.
The second key determinant in the quality of training you receive is the instructor to client ratio. Ours are always kept as low as possible.
The upshot of this is that, although our prices are generally comparable with other guiding businesses, we don’t let competing with others dictate what we charge. Our focus is always on quality. You may occasionally pay a little more for a Peak Mountaineering course but you’ll get the best possible guides and a ratio that maximises your learning – that’s got to be worth a few pounds more.
Our Business
Year on year our business grows. We have a broad and varied client base and we are delighted so many come back to use our services again and again. We make our clients feel like friends and we are delighted that many of them do over time become good friends both with us and amongst themselves. It’s the most important thing.
We try to incorporate our personal values into our business. You won’t be placed on a course that isn’t suitable for your needs. We keep costs transparent and we are hot on protecting the environment. We also try to use our business as a force for good. Please check out initiatives like our annual litter collection events and trainee instructor support programmes. Above all else, we try to give as many people as possible a passion for wild places and outdoor adventure by being the best ambassadors we can.
Our Wish
There is plenty more we’d like to tell you about us, but if you’ve stuck with us this far you’ll have all the essentials. In that case, we really hope you’ll feel we are the right company for your training or adventures. Whether a standard course or some exciting bespoke itinerary – it is our privilege to help.
Thanks so much for reading.