Well, it’s been a whole year since I passed my RCI (Rock Climber Instructor) assessment and became a qualified climbing instructor. I don’t want to sound too cliché but this past year has gone so quickly. It doesn’t seem like it was that long ago, when becoming an instructor was just an idea at the back of my mind.

I put a lot of hours into working and shadowing sessions beforehand but passing my assessment, only felt like the beginning. I never wanted to be ‘just’ an instructor, just a job. Becoming an instructor is pretty easy – anyone can learn to rig top-ropes, teach the knots and belaying, look after a group and how to be safe. You don’t actually have to be much of a climber yourself. Climbing in the Peak for over 10 years, I’ve seen a great range of ‘instructors’ out and about on the crags and I’m certainly aware of the type of instructor I want to become or maybe that should be, avoid becoming!

Those who have met me would probably agree that it’s not an understatement to say I’m passionate and appreciative of climbing. It’s opened up a whole new world, life and now career for me. It’s absolutely incredible what it can do for people. The stories you read, hear about and witness are amazing and inspiring. It’s something that’s open to absolutely anyone, any age and ability. It doesn’t matter if you’re scared of heights, suffer with an illness, in a wheel chair, missing a limb or even blind – anyone can catch the climbing bug. People climb for a whole host of different reasons and each get their own benefits from it. It’s part of the reason why I love it and find it so interesting, learning why people climb.

I want to get the experience and become the best instructor I can be. I want to find that point where I can teach, coach and share my love of climbing and make it look easy. The few instructors I’ve met that seem to have this down to a fine art, have said the key is to never get complacent. You never stop learning and are constantly consolidating each session, taking both the positives and negatives and always open to new ideas and methods. It’s taken them years of experience and work to become the instructors they are. Like anything in life really – there are hundreds of hours of dedication to give the appearance of making something appear effortless.

I was in the fortunate position to have work straight away at my local climbing wall. It’s obviously indoor rather than outdoor based but I’ve really enjoyed it. Working on NICAS (7-16 year olds), introduction and improver sessions, I’ve had chance to work with a variety of age groups and a whole range of abilities. You would think that indoors should be an easier working environment. However, strangely, I quickly noticed that wasn’t the case for me. I’ve always been an outside climber, only retreating indoors when the weather forced me to do so. Outdoors has always been my happy place, where I get excited about climbing and as a result I’m naturally relaxed and found it my natural environment to teach. It’s taken some extra effort and time to feel more comfortable to teach indoors.

I’ve taken this past year pretty steady. An intentional effort that I’ve made from the start, not wanting to run before I can walk. It’s all been a bit of the unknown for me – working as an instructor is quite different to working from home, behind a computer, something that I’ve been doing all of my working life. I was slightly worried about how I would cope with both the physical and mental demands of instructing and how it would affect my illness.

It wasn’t just my health I was thinking about but also partly my own personality. When it comes to anything I do, whether it’s work, DIY, woodworking – anything, it has to be perfect, the best job I can do. I can drive myself (and others) crazy and this is definitely more of a flaw, rather than a quality of mine! As such, I didn’t want to just jump into the instructing world with both feet, before I believed in my head that I could do a good job.

So I wanted to take it slowly. Pace myself while building up experience and trying adjust to my new work life. Something I think I have achieved this year. As well as the climbing centre, I’ve also worked with a small handful of companies as a freelance instructor. It’s been brilliant, I’ve had some amazing days with groups and clients. working in the Peak, thinking how lucky I am to get to call this a job.

This past year, I’ve worked with a huge range of clients. From children to adults, individuals, groups and parties, to families, quiet, loud, calm to (somewhat) organised chaos. I think I’ve managed to get something from each session and day. I’ve learnt lots myself, how to adapt and interact with different clients, what works and more importantly what doesn’t.

I’ve also been back to North Wales for more training this year. When I was doing my RCI training last year, there was mention of an add-on to the award in the planning stages, that would allow you to teach leading at single-pitch venues. Well, Mountain Training released it earlier this year – Rock Climbing ‘Development’ Instructor (RCDI).

I went back to Jez  (JB Mountain Skills) for the training. Not only was it his first RCDI course, but it was also the first one to be run in Wales. I quickly realised it wasn’t just a ‘bolt-on’ to the RCI but a completely different level of qualification. In 4 days we covered an insane amount of content. I really enjoyed it though, it was great fun with lots of discussion and feedback about the award. I’ve come away with a lot to think about. I’m really going to enjoy working towards this qualification. I’m very, very excited by it. Being able to teach and develop someone into a fully independent climber would be incredible and something that I know I’d get great satisfaction from.