7 participants completed this award to a high standard and were a pleasure to work with.

​Day 1 commenced with a morning theory session at the National Park Visitor Centre with a practical skills session after lunch on Mynydd Illtyd Common to the Twny y Gaer (367m Hill Fort).

Day 2 was a full day on the hills above Talybont-on-Usk using a variety of public rights of way with some not visible on the map. Various sites of environmental interest were passed and practical use of group shelters demonstrated along with equipment discussions. Clothing was put to the test during the afternoon with heavy rain encountered.

​A final session was held in the Canal Cafe back in Talybont-on-Usk.

The greatest strengths of this couse are:

1. Alan - loved the delivery and skills, observations of map and local features and anecdotes.
2. Good mix of theory and practical work.
3. The practical sessions and the Leaders' patience.
4. Being able to ask questions without fear of feeling silly.
5. On-course training out in the field.
6. Right number of people on the course.
7. Choice of venue.
8. Practical elements - knowledge of instructors.
9. Proximity of the Brecon Beacons (close to home).
10. Given me confidence in use of compass and navigating without electronic assistance.
​11. Outdoor navigation and learning about map features.

Alan wrote: This trek for Himalayan Kingdoms involved flying to Kolkata (previously known as Calcutta) for a couple of nights before an overnight sleeper train up to Siliguri as our access point into Sikkim. Disappointedly, Himalayan Kingdoms hadn't  booked us into a comfortable class of sleeping berths and there was no food available on the train. 2nd Class AC was quite basic but bedding was provided in our 4-berh open cabins and the "Darjeeling Mail" pulled out of the station just before midnight for the 16hr journey northwards across the dry plains of North Bengal to New Jalpaiguri after 650km.

Whilst in Kolkata we had toured the main sites: Victoria Memorial Hall, Howrah Bridge and the area where Fort William and the old General Post Office were located. This was the "Black Hole of Calcutta"  where British prisoners of war were held in the Indian Mutiny in 1756 and of 146 prisoners of war, 123 died.

Our main gateway towards Kanchenjunga (8586m) Base Camp (5160m) was Gangtok and our final exit from Sikkim was the old hill town of Darjeeling.

The overall routing was: Kolkata - Siliguri - Kalimpong (1250m) - Gangtok (1547m) -  Rumtek - Yuksom (1775m) - Bakhim (2700m) - Zamligaon - Dzongri (4050m) - Thangsing (4010m) - Samati Lake (4355m) - Goecha La - Thangsing - Tsoka - Pemayangtse (2085m) - Darjeeling (2134m).

Kalimpong was a remote hill station in times gone by and was a meeting point of the once "Three Closed Lands" on the trade routes to Tibet, Bhutan and Nepal and local cultural and social influences reflect those of the three countries. Our Himalayan Hotel was very comfortable with good food for our two night stay.

In Kalimpong we visited the colourful Raja Dorjee Market, Thongsa Gompa which was founded in 1692, Zong-dog Palri Fobrang Monastry and several other sites of interest.

In Gangtok, Sikkim's second largest city, we visited the International Flower Fair where over 500 indigenous species of orchids were on display and this was a colourful photographic experience. The Research Insitute of Tibetology was also very interesting and displayed many fine examples of silk embroidered thangkas.

Rumtek Monastry was visited as a key site for the Kagyupa (Red Hat) sect of Tibetan Lamaistic Buddhism and we had plenty of time to look around this large complex before driving, the next day, to Yuksum where we'd camp for the night before our trek commenced.

For some bizarre reason I developed a sore ankle with an inflamed bursa which caused me to limp for much of the trek but it eventually disappeared and hasn't occured since. Effective strapping and pain killers helped along with a night cap on most nights of Chivas Regal.

The 90km (round trip) trek to the Goeche La (4600m) went well with only a couple of minor issues. The challenging trek passes through stunning scenery and at the Goeche La, our group were rewarded with magnificent views of Kanchenjunga, the world's third highest mountain (8586m).

 One participant had been advised at the time of her booking that we'd not cross any suspension bridges as she had a fear of heights. We crossed one most days!

​In Darjeeling we were supposed to stay at quite a famous hotel (the Windamere Hotel) but this wasn't to be the case as the staff were on strike but several of the group thought this was my fault! Nevertheless, the New Elgin Hotel where we stayed was excellent.

A highlight of Darjeeling for me was taking the narrow gauge  "Toy Train" as far as Sendora and driving back up to Darjeeling. The first 32km of this railway opened back in 1880 and was a rewarding trip on the world's highest narrow gauge railway connecting Darjeeling with the main line station down on the plains of North Bengal. a second highlight was taking an ancient cable car gondola down to the Happy Valley Tea Estate where tea was still being produced by old orthodox methods and the tea sold in Kolkata for a global market.

A final night back in Delhi after our domestic flight was at the fabulous Imperial Hotel before our long-haul flights back to the UK with Gulf Air.

​The Times of India wrote: The Pin Parvati Trek, which connects the Parvati Valley with the Pin Valley in Himachal Pradesh, is known for its extreme weather conditions and technical challenges. The trek involves crossing the Pin Parvati Pass at 5,319 meters (17,450 feet) and navigating through rugged terrain and snowfields. The trek’s remote location and unpredictable weather make it a demanding adventure. The risk of altitude sickness and the challenging terrain add to its fearsome reputation.

 Alan wrote: Little did I realise when I accepted leadership of this trek that we'd be heading into a valley which was under investigation by the British High Commission in New Delhi. The reason being was due to the number of missing western trekkers and other embassies were also involved.

The Parbati Valley was a hotbed of solo western trekkers seeking drugs in an area that was cheap to stay in. The Parbati Valley is nicknamed "The Valley of Death" as dozens of travellers have gone missing since the 1990's. 

We reached the hot springs high in the valley but my local Sirdar was concerned about the route ahead so he and I went on to do a recce. It was obvious that crossing a wide and rocky slab could have led to potential loss of life as a fall would not have been recoverable.

​I spoke with the Himalayan Kingdoms office back home and it was agreed we'd retreat down the road and drive around into the Pin Valley in Spiti where we would have emerged after crossing the Pin Parbati Pass at 5319m.

Our week long exploration of the Spiti Valley was truly exceptional and we enjoyed day walks from our static campsite close to the spectacular Ki Gompa.

Alan wrote: I was grateful to Steve Bell, founder of Jagged-Globe for accepting me as an Expedition Leader and I was very excited about the opportunity to lead a group into Ladakh to summit Stok Kangri.

Flying into Leh (3500m) always requires 2 to 3 nights in order to acclimatise to the altitude before commencing treks and expeditions in this wonderful area. Leh itself is the historical capital of Ladakh and Leh Palace was built at about the same time as the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet.

​After acclimatising in Leh, our acclimatisation trek was from Lamayuru to Chilling across several high passes before returning to Leh for 2 nights to rest and prepare for Stok Kangri. The highest pass crossed was the Konke La (4950m) but there were several other passes which were unnamed.

The trek into Stok Kangri Base Camp went well and our local company had arranged a high camp at 5650m once we'd crossed the glacier. This resulted in an almost easy summit day with everyone reaching the summit at 0930 having left the high camp at 0300.

The opportunity of using the high camp was later withdrawn by the local government which made for much longer summit days.

​On two subsequent trips, I failed to summit so was pleased at my first attempt and the success of topping out on such a summit.