Outdoor Partners and Friends
Below is a group of outdoor partners and friends that I have come to know over many years.
I have personally either used the service, purchased the product or being a member of the club.
I hope you find each one a useful resource for playing in the outdoors, on the hills or on rock.
Nature Tales & Trails was founded by Dr Anthea Lacchia, a writer, geologist and science communicator, to help connect people to nature and the environment. Anthea grew up in Biella, a town at the foot of the Alps, in northern Italy.
She has a PhD in geology, which was focused on Ireland’s fossils, and has decades of experience in writing and science communication.
Anthea is also an ML, LLA award holder and has the following qualifications.
BA in Geology, 2011
PhD in fossils, 2015
Irish Wildflower Identification certification, ATU, 2024
BSBI Identiplant course 2024
Science Communication MSc, Imperial, 2019
Paul Nolan runs 1StepMore and is a native of the Wicklow Mountains, playing in the hills for over 40 years, trail running, mountaineering and orienteering.
Paul is a Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician (WEMT), and a long serving member of the Glen of Imaal Mountain Rescue Team.
Personal Experience include:
- International Mountain Leader
- Mountain Leader
- Rock Climbing Instructor
- Rope Rescue Technician
1StepMore offers the Remote Emergency Care Courses levels 2,3 and 4.
Please see the scheduled courses page for upcoming Remote Emergency Care courses.
If courses dates do not suit you, please reach out to Paul via info@1StepMore.ie or click on the below link.
EastWest Mapping provide 1:25,000 scale maps of outstanding quality and details for Wicklow, Connemara, Reeks Killarney, Comeragh, Galtee, Clare Island, Blackstairs and Achill.
The level of details is nothing short of exceptional and due to the colouring, the feature symbols, the unique local landmark names and the feel of quality, especially of the laminated maps, it has become the map of choice for hikers in Ireland.
The EastWest maps have also become an integral part in all of the HikeandClimb navigation courses due to the enhanced level of detail and accuracy, core concepts of mountain navigation are more easily explained-understood when using the EastWest maps.
The Dublin Cliffhangers Youth Climbing Club is a Dublin based climbing club run by parents for youth climbers, providing a space where the members of the club can meet likeminded people and develop their climbing skills.
The Dublin Cliffhangers Club climbs indoors at Awesome Walls Dublin and Dublin Climbing Centre climbing walls. They also climb outdoors on rock involved in traditional climbing, sports climbing and bouldering.
The Dublin Cliffhangers Club has a broad range of members with some competing at the highest levels in indoor lead climbing and bouldering.
As mentioned the club is run by parents that are climbers themselves with a focus on safety and best practice.
The atmosphere within the club is one of friendship and inclusion, where parents are actively involved.
Rescue Emergency Care provides a list of Remote Emergency Care courses in Ireland provided by certified providers. The REC courses provide training in how to deal with real world emergency scenarios in the outdoors. The courses are run for outdoor professional, businesses and adventure enthusiasts.
For those attend the Mountain Skills Assessment it is a minimum requirement to have completed the REC 2 course, while those aspiring toward the Mountain Leader are required to have completed the REC 3 (or higher) course.
MYtherapy – physio and performance, is run by Veronica and Rob Hunter. Their services include Physiotherapy, Sports Massage, and Performance Coaching and training. Delivering high standards of care that is tailored for each individual. They strive to provide up to date evidence based treatments in a caring and relaxed environment. The Mytherapy team also specialize in climbing performance coaching and are an integral part of the Mountaineering Ireland team. They also run regular clinics and individual session in Gravity Climbing Centre, Dublin.
The Irish Mountaineering Club is a non-profit organization that is over 70 years old. The club has a rich history of mountaineering and climbing that dates back to the first rock climbing routes established in Ireland. Club members can be found climbing at all the major crags in Ireland, playing indoors at the climbing centres, mountaineering abroad, sports climbing on the continent, big wall climbing in America or strolling through the hills of Wicklow. The club holds social events throughout the year and is a great place to meet partners and create adventures.
