About Sandy Allan and Team Ascent

Thanks for logging onto Team Ascent Ltd . We provide a  private mountain guiding and instructional service.  We operate world wide, however many of our courses are based in Scotland and the European Alps. All levels of ability are catered for from the beginner to the experienced.  We provide services for walkers, beginner rock climbers, ice climbers, skiers, ski mountaineers and high altitude mountaineering expedition climbers and adventurers. 

Should you need a mountain guide or assistance with a project in the mountains or in industrial work at height,safety and rescue, we at Team Ascent have the expertise to assist you.

Our principal office base is in Newtonmore Inverness-shire and we are a Scottish registered comany.

Directed by Sandy Allan:  Sandy is a qualified IFMGA/ UIAGM  Mountain Guide and has been climbing for most of his life. He has an international reputation for being a safe and prudent mountaineer. Born in the Highlands of Scotland , Sandy has first ascents of peaks and technical climbs around the world. As well as guiding Mount Everest , and other 8000 meter peaks, Sandy has led many new technical climbs in Scotland and in the eighties and ninties was responsible for some of the hardest technical mixed winter climbs in Scotland . He has led and been a lead climber on many Himalayan expeditions, including Mustagh Tower, the unclimbed ridge of Everest, The Scottish Direct Route on the South face of Pumori, Monzino Ridge of Nanga Parbat, South Face Lhotse and many others. He remains truly passionate about mountaineering , guiding and instructional work in the mountains. He has been working as guide for many years and enjoys introducing people to the mountains and working at high standards on the highest mountains in the world.

Team Ascent runs courses, private guiding and climbing expeditions.

All the guides working with Sandy at Team Ascent are qualified and members of the International Federation of Mountain Guide Association (IFMGA). This body sets the standards for training of mountain guides world wide. The IFMGA badge worn by guides has become the assurance of the highest professional and technical standards. We use IFMGA guides in all our Technical Scottish Winter, Alpine and Himalayan Expeditions. These guides all speak English; most are from the UK , some from New Zealand , Canada , France , Switzerland and Austria . For UK based walking and less technical courses UK Mountain Instructors will all hold qualifications governed by the United Kingdom Mountain Training Board and many of these are members of the Association of Mountain Instructors( AMI). For walking holidays in  the Alps we also employ internatioanl mounatin leaders. In Nepal, Pakistan and Tibet we of course utilise the services of local people, and in almost all cases employ our very experienced team of  Nepalie Sherpas, many of whom have worked on Everest and other High Altitude expeditions for most of their lives and are truly the back bone of  all our commercial high altitude expeditions.

In America , including Canada and Alaska we work with recognised IFMGA guides who hold the necessary rights to guide there.

We provide a range of services which include walking, scrambling, rock climbing, winter mountaineering, ice and mixed winter climbing, survival skills, ski mountaineering, alpine and greater ranges climbing.

For the industrial sector we provide Industrial Work at Height consultancy, rescue and safety services, training and IRATA assessments.