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Client Testimonials
What clients thought about Bigfoot
First Aid Courses:
- A very informative and interesting two day course. Thoroughly
enjoyable weekend. Thank you very much, Sue.
- I feel more competent after this course to fulfil my duties
as a First Aider. The course was well presented. It proved
very interesting for improving the standard equipment of
our first aid kits.
- Very good, everything explained very clearly and good
revision sessions. Practical scenarios very good; they really
made you think under pressure.
- Alan controlled the group very well, always clearly answering
any questions raised. A good mix of practical and theory.
Obviously practical sessions were extremely useful. This
is the first course I’ve been on with so much practical
work. It was excellent. I’ve learned so much more & feel
more confident – thank you, Liz.
- This course is very comprehensive and the suggestions
made by the course leader were most useful in improving
out club first aid equipment.
- An excellent programme which was relevant to my training
needs.
Mawr Walking Club First Aid Course (September 18th/19th, 2010)
"The most enjoyable first aid course I've been on. The
course was informative and engaging, with plenty of opportunities
to practice vital skills such as CPR. During breaks, Alan showed
some inspiring slides from treks he is has led in Patagonia
and Nepal. I would highly recommend the course to anyone interested
in outdoor first aid."
Jon Roberts, Senior Instructor, Proactive Adventure, South Powys
"I have attended two REC Level Two First Aid courses with
Bigfoot in the past four years. Bigfoot came highly recommended
to me as a provider that understands what outdoor professionals
first aid requirements are and delivers just that. I was not
disappointed. Returning for a second course three years later
is testament to this. Bigfoot has a relaxed and flexible approach,
whist still adhering to the syllabus requirements. It is suitable
equipped with up to date resources (manikins etc.) and technology
(digital projector & power point presentations), as well
as fake cuts and broken bones to add a bit of reality to the
first aid incidents. I would certain recommend Bigfoot to anyone
wanting to remain up-to-date with first aid, particularly outdoor
professionals, and will certainly be booking onto my next first
aid course with them."
Paul Donovan, International Mountain
Leader – Escape Routes
"This course has a great balance of classwork and practical
work. Indoors, there were clear interesting slides packed with
essential information, Q&A sessions to make sure it was
going in and we were encouraged to share our experiences with
the group. We had access to advanced equipment for practicing
CPR and other lifesaving techniques. Outdoors, the hands-on
scenarios put our freshly-learned skills to immediate use, and
these really did feel urgent, stressful and scary – totally
realistic, and an ideal way to prepare for a real incident as
well as practically."
Jenny Lyon, Mountain Bike Leader,
Swansea
"Thank you for providing such a good first aid course.
I hadn’t been looking forward to the weekend as all my
previous courses had been so dull. I thoroughly enjoyed the
course and it was a great opportunity to meet other like-minded
people. I will recommend Bigfoot to all my colleagues and peers."
Gemma Wadey, Outdoor Education Tutor,
Pendarren House O.E.C.
What clients thought about our expeditions:
"I arrived at Heathrow with some trepidation having never met Alan (or anyone else joining our ‘trek’ to Stok Kangri). I had been impressed with the contacts I’d had with Roland since booking with TMC and then the e-mail contacts from Alan – very thorough, very professional – and I was right to be impressed - Alan, and the ‘trek’ lived up to expectations. This was my 7th trip to the Himalayas – the leadership and organisation was one of the most memorable. Whenever we had problems, for instance with officious airport staff, Alan didn’t hesitate to act on behalf of the group, and soon resolved matters. Throughout the trip it was reassuring to know that Alan had the character, experience and knowledge to offer guidance , advice and support – and those little extra special moments of thoughtfulness (like the celebratory drink on our return to base camp from the summit) were especially appreciated!"
Paul Harvey
"I wanted to send you a quick note about our Mera Peak adventure.
It was awesome ! Alan Ward was a tremendous leader and he really
did a great job taking care of all of us. His medical skills
were certainly put to the test and he did a great job. Five
medi-vacs were proof of this. I also thought he did a really
good job dealing with the diverse group of folks we had on the
trek. He kept our spirits high with good humor but was also
very professional when he had to make some difficult decisions.
The day/night at high camp was certainly high adventure....I
only wish we could have done the summit – but safety must and
did prevail. I thoroughly enjoyed my 3 weeks with Alan and I
look forward to doing additional climbs in the future.
Thanks for providing a first class adventure to a rookie trekker/climber - thanks to Alan and his staff, I’m not a rookie anymore!"
Edward J. Marinzel, Vice President, Security Services International / Domestic
"Having now returned to the UK I would like to take this opportunity of thanking you very much indeed for all your hard work in leading our Mera
Peak expedition through so many challenges.
I'm sure I was not alone if taking reassurance from the way in which missing luggage, medical issues and helicopter evacuations, as well as
the adverse weather at High Camp, were all taken in your stride. To achieve this without losing the lighter touch which you contributed to our esprit
de corps was to my mind very impressive.
While it is fresh in my mind, I have posted an account of our trip from my perspective on www.eightup.co.uk/eight-climbs/mera-peak
Though I acutely appreciate that others suffered discomfort and disappointment, speaking for myself I had a tremendous adventure."
Colin de la Rue, London solicitor
"During our Mera Peak expedition in 2010 I had the opportunity to see Alan Ward tested. From luggage dramas to porter safety to charging bulls and to a "make peace with your God" night on the mountain there was one constant factor - Alan Ward’s gentle yet firm grip on the situation. A mountain expedition leader makes decisions all day and all night long. Those decisions can impact on comfort, teambuilding and safety. Alan effortlessly guided our team, using humor and experience to create a bond within the group. Alan provided the key ingredient for the trip: a sense that we were as safe as we could be given where we were."
Dr. Alan J. Russell,
University Professor
of Surgery &
Director, McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine,
University of Pittsburgh & UPMC
“My sincere thanks for your kind and calm support throughout
our trek in Iceland”
Mrs
Margaret Pemberton, London
“I have known Alan for many years and he has developed
from being just one of many wear testers to our principal wear
tester and outdoors expert. His knowledge and skills in the
outdoors are exemplary and of enormous benefit to Rohan. I have
had the pleasure of being personally led by Alan on a number
of significant trips, the most memorable of which was the first
circuit of the year of the Torres del Paine, Patagonia in Spring
2002. Due to our complete trust in Alan we have developed a
series of outdoor activities for Rohan both in the UK and abroad.
Highlights include a reconnaissance trek in Jordan for the Design
department, across the desert and mountains and into Petra by
the "back door". As a natural progression to these activities
Alan and I cooked up the idea of a Rohan Trek for fee-paying
customers, with Alan naturally as the trek leader. We had the
most fantastic trip in August 2009. One of the critical factors
in making this such a success was Alan's excellent skills in
coordination, route finding, group management, care and first
aid. Customer comments include: "Fantastic leadership", "Alan
was great, supporting everyone on the walk without fussing"
and "Caring and very supportive leadership and very well organised".”
Tim Jasper, Rohan Brand Director
“Two years ago, in November 2007, I was fortunate to trek to Everest Base Camp in Nepal as the expedition doctor with Alan Ward who was the Expedition Leader. We had 24 clients, mostly young people aged 25-35, who had each raised significant sums for charity. We were supported by a good team of Nepalese and Indian guides and porters. Alan Ward is an extremely experienced International Mountain Leader and he organised and led this expedition extremely well. He is very easy to get on with and a natural leader and our clients were immediately confident that they were in safe hands. This made for a happy team and helped the group to "gel" and pull together on what was a shared challenge. He gave me great support as the doctor with his very good knowledge of altitude medicine and I would have no hesitation on joining future expeditions led by him.”
Dr David Johnson, Brecon
"This was the final day of the first ever Audley Travel sponsored
trek to Mt Toubkhal (4,167m). Our group comprised seven of us
from the office, 15 guests, quite a few Mohammeds, several mules
and Alan Ward, award winning mountain leader and a great friend
of Audley's (Alan is also a hardy porter, medic, pace-setter
and raconteur). We got to the top and as a group, we bonded
somewhere on that mountain. As a footnote, throughout the trip
Alan had sagely advised us to take our time and to respect the
altitude."
Nick Coates, Director of Audley Travel
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