STEVE HOWE

Steve has been an active mountaineer since the 1980s, his love for the outdoors includes walking, climbing, backpacking and canoeing. Steve has climbed and canoed throughout the world and was a well-known climber in the 1980s pioneering several routes in North Wales and the Lake District.

He is the Regional Director of Rescue Emergency Care for Wales. Steve was a Mountain Instructor at Plas y Brenin, the National Mountain Centre from 1997 to 2014 having years of experience to draw on, and is one of the country's most experienced ML instructors and assessors.

In more recent years he has been involved in Mountain Rescue having been a member or Ogwen Valley MRT, SARDA Wales and now Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team. Steve is an Advanced First Aider for the Llanberis team.

QUALIFICATIONS

- Mountain Instructor Award
- Mountain Leader (Summer)
- Winter Mountain Leader
- REC First Aid Trainer
- International Mountain Leader
- Mountain Rescue ECMR Advanced First Aid
- Queen's Silver Jubilee Medal for Services to Mountain Rescue
- Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal for services to Mountain Rescue

HELEN HOWE

Helen has been into the outdoors since a young age from when her family used to climb mountains in the Lake District and Scotland. At university she was Vice-President for the YHA (mountain walking club). Helen has been involved in Mountain Rescue since 1991, initially joining Teesdale Search and Rescue Team as a student, she was a member of Rossendale and Pendle Mountain Rescue team when returning to her native Lancashire and SARDA England for fifteen years before moving to North Wales.

Helen is one of the most experienced and qualified Mountain Rescue Dog Handlers in the UK having qualified three Mountain Rescue Search dogs. She completed three years as Chairman of SARDA Wales. She was a member of Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team,the UK's busiest Mountain Rescue team for 18 years and was one of the team's Advanced First Aiders. Before that, she was a member of Rossendale and Pendle MRT and Teesdale & Weardale MRT. 

Helen trained as a geography teacher and taught for many years at Clitheroe Grammar School. She holds the Winter Mountain Leader Award and is an International Mountain Leader. She has many years experience working with young people in the outdoors both as work and in a voluntary capacity for the Church Youth Fellowship Association. She worked for the Field Studies Council in Snowdonia for six years. During this time she has lead many field trips for school groups, as well as to Iceland for NST.

QUALIFICATIONS

- Ba (Hons) Geography
- PGCE in Secondary School Geography
- OSSM Certificate
- OSSM Trainer
- Mountain Leader
- Winter Mountain Leader
- REC First Aid Trainer
- International Mountain Leader
- Mountain Rescue ECMR Advanced First Aid
- Queen's Silver Jubilee Medal for Services to Mountain Rescue
- Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal for services to Mountain Rescue

MARK 'CHARLIE' VALENTINE

Mark, or 'Charlie' (a nickname given due to a dodgy school year's haircut) enjoyed nothing better, during the freedon of youth, than leaving the house early on a 'school holiday morning' with some loose change and a squashed sandwich in his pocket. Long summer days were spent exploring the Yorkshire Dales and Moors, as long as he was home for when the street lights came on. The time constraints of adulthood saw these adventures restricted to mountain biking now and again, but the love of the outdoors never left him.

Previousy having held employment as a Heating Engineer, Print Maintenance Engineer, and (for a much longer period than expected) as Door, Head Door Supervisor at Venues from Leeds to Majorca, Charlie came into Mountain Leadership and instruction on the wrong side of forty years old.

Whilst joining a couple of courses, only intending to refresh existing knowledge and skills for his personal hill walking, the passion for the outdoor environment took hold leading to a change in direction to both his career path and life! Charlie gained the Mountain Leader Award in 2012 and has since continued on to gain a number pf the Mountain Training qualifications. He is currently working towards the Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor and BASI1 Ski Instructor Awards.