City Mountaineering
2002 graduate Stuart is providing a rural escape from busy London life!
About City Mountaineering
City Mountaineering provides guided group mountain trips, ranging from easy trekking and relaxing breaks, to full-on expedition-level physical work outs (and everything in between). All trips include return travel from London, accommodation and food while in the mountains, and guided hikes by highly experienced and fully qualified Mountain Leaders.
Following graduation, Stuart took the traditional route of professional training and employment with Accenture. This gave him a solid grounding in business administration and management before leaving to pursue a career as a freelance Finance Consultant. He then joined not-for-profit organisations and held senior finance roles prior to giving up this “traditional life” and pursuing his passion in sharing mountaineering adventures with others.
Having spent all of his spare time in various mountain ranges across the UK and the rest of the world, Stuart had already completed rock climbing and mountaineering leadership training over many years. It was that, combined with his business administration knowledge, that made him confident in setting up City Mountaineering in November 2015. The business has now grown from just Stuart, to having a small admin support team and a range of guides, enabling City Mountaineering to offer at least two mountain trips every weekend in the UK. Stuart continues to build relationships with large brands and fitness outlets in London and is personally a brand ambassador for Arc’teryx Piccadilly.
Headquarters location: London
Number of employees: One plus two freelance admin support and five mountain leaders
Website: www.citymountaineering.com
Five-year vision: To offer at least five mountain adventures every single weekend. To be the brand of choice for anyone thinking of heading to the UK mountains. To offer subsidised mountain adventures to lower income individuals on a regular basis.
Name: Stuart Shipp
Course: BA Accounting and Financial Analysis
Year of graduation: 2002
Nationality: British
LinkedIn: Stuart Shipp
Biggest learning point: Remember to step back and breathe every once in a while. The all-encompassing nature of establishing a start-up business is exhausting and it’s easy to get tied up with the detail. Rest is as good as work every now and then (this includes remembering to eat on a daily basis).