My Life on ‘Top of the World’ as a Mountain Guide -Stuart MacDonald

After leaving Merchant Taylors’ I spent ten years in the Army. I traveled extensively including trips to Africa, the Balkans, Germany, Cyprus and North and South America. However, my passion for mountaineering was growing all the time and my appetite was insatiable. I managed to get a two year posting to the Joint Service Mountain Training Centre in North Wales. This allowed me to see whether doing my hobby as my job would work for me – fortunately it did, so as the end of my posting loomed I resigned from the Army and spent the following 2 years as a full time climbing-bum. I lived in my camper van and on various sofas. This time allowed me to gain all the pre-requisites to begin training as an International Mountain Guide.

In 2008, after 3 years of training and assessment, I was fully qualified and began carving out a new career for myself in the world capital of Alpine Climbing – Chamonix, France. Seven years later I still love going to work. Winters are a mixture of ice-climbing and ski work, and summers are mostly spent guiding the classic high peaks of the Alps such as Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn and the Eiger. I meet interesting people every week, I live in a beautiful place, and I no longer suffer the seemingly constant rain of the UK !

I have now climbed and skied in some of the most incredible places on earth – from Antarctica to the summit of Everest, and from the North Face of the Eiger to Greenland. The adventure keeps me sane in a world where people seem to be working more hours every day, and constantly chasing money. I genuinely love my job and my lifestyle.

If anyone would like to get in touch, feel free to do so at [email protected]

Stuart MacDonald (Leaver 1991)