Mountain Plan is a company that specialises in mountaineering courses throughout the Highlands of Scotland in both summer and winter. We offer skills courses that have enabled many people to operate in the mountains independently. We use qualified members of the Association of Mountaineering Instructors or British Mountain Guides. Our ethos is that we run courses either skills or guiding with highly experienced guides and instructors who will provide a safe environment for which people can learn from. We also make the experience fun; after all we go into the mountains to seek enjoyment and satisfaction. We all have a huge amount of experience learnt from personal experience in the mountains and mountain plans intention is to give instruction and advice from that. The company was founded and is directed by Dan Goodwin who has spent since early childhood climbing, mountaineering and skiing.
MountainPlan was started in late 2006. Our instructors are all highly experienced and fully qualified members of the Association of Mountaineering Instructors.
I have been climbing and mountaineering since a young age as I was lucky enough to have very active parents. My climbing and mountaineering career has led me to have amazing experiences all over the world. My rock climbing began on the sandstone crags of southern England as young boy and during my childhood many weekends where spent in the lakes with lots of hill walking and multi pitch climbing and the school holidays where spent touring the Alps walking and climbing. My interests progressed to the winter scene where I have spent seven season’s winter climbing, mountaineering and working. I have also spent a lot of time up to five months in the Alps climbing in the Chamonix area, the Ecrins, the Italian Dolomites, Swiss Urner and Oberland Alps and also the Austrian Venedigar, Otztal, and Stubai Alps. My rock climbing has also taken me to the USA climbing in the Yosemite Valley and also Tuolumne high sierras area.
Expedition work has also taken me to East Africa (Kilimanjaro), India and Peru.
The work that I do now with MountainPlan is to share those experiences and hand on some of the skills that I have learnt along the way to those people who have a passion and drive to get out there and have their own experiences in the worlds mountain ranges.
These are some of the people that we may use during the busy periods they are both qualified and very experienced and are among the best in the business...
About Andy TurnerAndy is an MIC with huge amounts of experience of climbing on rock, ice and alpine big walls. He spends his year guiding and instructing the year round working in Scotland over the winter and in the Lakes and North Wales in the summer months. During his free time he tries to get away on as many trips as possible. He has climbed big routes in the Alps such as the American Direct on the Dru and the North face of the Matterhorn. He has climbed the Compressor Route on Cerro Tore and made an attempt on the north face of Machermo Peak in Nepal. Having climbed with Andy in Yosemite Valley and elsewhere I can vouch that you would have a safe journey, fun and informative journey with him! Andy also heads up our performance winter climbing courses you can see his resume in that area on the winter page.
About Vic CheltonVic is heading up the Alpine trekking side of things. She holds the International Mountain Leader award, the Winter ML, MIA and MIC training. She has a huge passion for the mountains she has spent many winters in highlands guiding instructing and bagging climbs. She has also spent a lot of time based in North Wales, rock climbing and working in and around one of the hubs of British rock climbing, Llanberis. She is also one of the climbers that fronts the British Mountaineering Councils Alpine skills video. Having climbed in summer and winter with Vic I know that you would have a safe, fun and informative experience.
About Gillian CulshawGillian Culshaw is a very experienced skier and climber and is based here is the Highlands. She holds the winter ML and MIA and will be completing her MIC training this winter. She has climbed throughout the UK in summer and spent the last few seasons winter climbing in the Highlands. She has climbed in the European Alps in Chamonix and is a very accomplished skier having ski toured in the Highlands, Alps and Canada. Having climbed with Gillian I can vouch that you would have a fun time and would come away with lots of good knowledge.
About Nick CarterNick Carter has been climbing since the early 80's. He holds the Mountain Instructor Certificate (MIC) and has instructed in the outdoors for the last 13 years including working for Plas Y Brenin (The National Mountain Centre for England and Wales) and Glenmore Lodge (Scotland's National Outdoor Training Centre). Nick has climbed extensively around the world. As a keen winter climber Nick has made ascents up to grade VIII in Scotland including the first winter ascent of Hung, Drawn and Quartered (VIII,8) and the second winter ascent of Sidewinder (VII,8) on Ben Nevis. He has put up new routes in the Peruvian Andes and the Khumbu region of Nepal. He has also led expeditions to Nepal, the Kyrgyz Tien Shan, Aconcagua, Kilimanjaro and Mt Kenya. He runs his own mountaineering company called Alpha Mountaineering
