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Derek Bain

Qualifications

MIC

Career Highlights

Being awarded a PhD and even better getting an MIC!  Having the privilege to coach future instructors for the best job in the world. First season in the alps personal climbing.

What inspired you?

Not an individual but many from Scottish mountaineering history. Also, the drama of the Scottish landscape, travel and shared adventures.

How did you become an Instructor?

I decided that I wanted to help everyone to have the fun and adventures that I was having in climbing and mountaineering. I needed to re-train to extract myself from a career in science research, this became a major undertaking over several years until I went full time freelance.

Tell us about a favourite route

There are many! More recently, the Beckey-Chouinard Route on the South Howser tower in the Canadian Bugaboos. A narrow window of opportunity for a 24-hour round trip with the crux at the top and hours of involved abseiling. I was still enjoying myself on the glacier walk back to camp, 22 hours in!

This also could be Curved Ridge for very different reasons. I was inspired by climbers on Rannoch Wall on an early ascent and I’ve enjoyed every ascent since.

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