As Expedition season and Spring in the UK fast approaches is it worth looking a bit deeper into you leader in who you are employing to take you into the mountains on your trip of a lifetime?
Have a look at the criteria and depth of experience that a qualified International Mountain Leader has gone through to give you their professional best in some of the most challenging places on Earth.
An IML will work as the overall technical expert and be your representative all over the world in all of the climatic regions. You will be ensured that your welfare and emotional and educational needs will be catered for.
Your Leader will have extensive experience in First aid and other skills including people skills; how does one deal with an emotional minefield of clients sometimes under pressure on a trek or UK mountain? By Training,application and continued professional development CPD. This is a pre-requisite for a professional body such as UIMLA. 
The need to interpret the weather is also an essential skill to help you have the most success from your trip. This may a frustrating delay for you or a life-changing moment/vision from the top of a mountain or remote valley.
As Red Adair, the world famous Fire Fighter who put out a lot of the Iranian and other big oil fires around the world, said " If you think a Professional is expensive, wait until you hire an amateur!"
Be aware that value for money in the current economic climate is different from being "expensive" and that you will always get more that what you pay for with a qualified professional, such as an IML
