World Challenge

Back in January this year I went up to Buxton for a Potential Leaders Course for the company World Challenge Expeditions. It is an organisation that gives students between 16-18 years the opportunity to travel to far flung countries around the world and organise their own expeditions.

I, myself, had the most amazing experience with WCE back in 2004 when I travelled to Costa Rica and Panama, as a 16 year old student. It was probably the key experience in my life that has given me the passion for travelling I have now and the confidence to do everything I do such as being an Outdoor Instructor around the UK.

I was always really interested in going back to WCE, hoping to be a Leader and back in November last year, when I went to the Kendal Mountain Festival, I was made aware about the opportunity to get interviewed by the company. My friend's cousin just so happened to work for WCE and we were staying at her parents house so I talked to her and she mentioned about a new Apprenticeship Scheme. It sounded really interested so I went along to the course in January.

It turned out that just turning up to the course had put me on the scheme along with 5 men. The scheme allows the 6 of us to be trained and developed into the model of expedition leader that the company wants. We are given the opportunity to be put through developmental courses at the centre based in Buxton, training and/or assessments for key qualifications that outdoor intructors need in the industry such as Mountain Leadership (ML) and Single Pitch Award (Climbing SPA), the chance to shadow the Training Expeditions, opportunities through WCE with their Adventure Quest and Prep School Partnership work and then the most exciting part, the chance to be an Assistant Expedition Leader.

I was lucky enough to be placed straight away on an expedition back in January to the Indian Himalayas as the need for female instructors is very high. I was literally speechless (a rare occasion) when my supervisors told me the news. I thought the weekend was just going to be a mini-expedition around the Buxton Moors and then I might get a phone call some time in the year but I found myself heading to India for the 2nd time in a year to help lead an expedition to climb the mountain Kang Yatse (6200 metres). It was amazing! I had always wanted to go to the Himalayas but never thought it would happen so soon.

Lots of organisation, meetings with the school, meeting my leader plus ending up on the groups training expedition occurred over the past 2 months and then the worst news possible came whilst away in Barcelona....