The Office Team

Steve Bell - Founder & Chairman

Founder and Chairman of Jagged Globe and an IFMGA mountain guide, Steve has an impressive mountaineering and guiding background. He led Britain's first guided ascent of an 8,000m peak and was the first Briton to lead clients to the summit of Everest. Steve has climbed all of the 'Seven Summits', is editor of a book by the same name and continues to lead expeditions each year as well as guide on our Alpine courses. Steve is a past President of the High Altitude Sub-Commission of the IFMGA and of IGO8000. He now lives just outside Melbourne in Australia.

Simon Lowe - Managing Director

Managing Director, Simon Lowe, came to Jagged Globe in 1995, following a successful career in the British Army, during which he led and took part in many high-altitude climbing expeditions, ranging across the Americas, Africa and the Greater Himalaya. He has been to Everest three times, including leadership of our successful 1996 expedition, which climbed the North Ridge and has so far organised a total of thirteen expeditions to the mountain. Simon has also led numerous other Jagged Globe expeditions to peaks worldwide and continues to do so each year. He is a member of the Association of Mountaineering Instructors (AMI).

Tom Briggs - Marketing Director

As our Marketing Director, Tom is responsible for continually developing and improving our services to you. He co-ordinates our website development and writes our regular Jagged Globe News, email newsletter. He also organises the staffing for our summer Alpine Courses. Tom is a very experienced, bold climber and 'new router', with first ascents in the UK and further afield. He is obsessive about all aspects of climbing and manages to get out on the rock, snow and ice as much as possible, whether it be european icefalls, bouldering, or mountaineering in the Greater Ranges. So far in 2008, Tom has climbed Scottish VIII in Glencoe, WI5 in La Grave, E9 and Font 7c/7c+ in the Peak District, F8a+ in Gorges du Tarn and has summited Denali (6,194m) in Alaska.

Stephanie Hopkinson - Reservations Manager

Stephanie is in charge of Reservations, managing all of the reservations for expeditions and courses as well as dealing with airlines and making flight allocations. She is your first port of call if you have an enquiry about your booking. Stephanie has enjoyed climbing in the Alps on courses in 2000 and 2004. In 2002, she reached the summit of Kilimanjaro, in 2005 she summited Stok Kangri (6,121m) in India and in 2008 she is off on our High Passes to Everest trek.

Natalie Hawthorn - Reservations Assistant

Natalie spent a year out from her Tourism Management Degree course at Sheffield Hallam University to work at Jagged Globe. In July 2006 she climbed Kilimanjaro as a member of one of our teams. She has since completed her degree and chosen to work for us full-time. Natalie is a key member of our administration team, who supports Stephanie with flights and hotel bookings and has a meticulous attention to detail.

Lisa Newton - Reservations Assistant

Lisa also joined the Jagged Globe team for a year to gain experience as part of a Tourism Management Degree course at Sheffield Hallam University, before choosing to work for us full-time. Lisa's hobbies include running, skiing as well as recently taking up sailing. She has skied in many areas of Europe, sailed across the English channel. In August 2008, she summited Stok Kangri (6,121m) as part of a Jagged Globe expedition.

Matt Parkes - Head of Operations

Matt's mountaineering experience has been gained mainly in the Alps, on numerous classic routes such as the Goûter Route on Mont Blanc and on long rock routes in the Ecrin. He visited the Indian Himalaya with friends whilst still a student, where he climbed a couple of peaks, including Stok Kangri. In Spring 2006, Matt was fundamental to the success of the Caudwell Xtreme Everest expedition, for which Jagged Globe organised the logistics. In 2007, Matt led a successful Kilimanjaro expedition, where all ten team members reached the summit and in 2008, he extended his knowledge of the Alps with a week in the Oberland.

Kerry Cooper - Operations Assistant

Kerry works together with Matt and Claire to ensure that you have everything you need for your expedition, trek or course. Having been with Jagged Globe since 2000, Kerry has an incredible depth of knowledge about almost everything that we do, from clients' previous climbs with us, to the detail of our insurance policy. Whilst at Jagged Globe, she has taken part in Alpine courses and Via Ferratas in the Alps, travel fairs in Alaska and Mauritania and has been on Jagged Globe expeditions to Mera Peak and Ecuador's volcanoes. She is a very keen rock climber and fell runner.

Claire Prosser - Operations Assistant

Claire has been able to combine her passions for skiing, mountaineering, orienteering and mountain biking with extensive travel throughout Europe, Asia and Australasia. She has experience of leading youth expeditions and has combined this in the past with teaching work in language schools. In 2007, she took part in a Jagged Globe Alpine Introduction course and she now works together with Matt and Kerry in our Operations department.

Adele Pennington - Full-time Expedition Leader

As a full-time member of staff, Adele instructs in Scotland, leads expeditions and also advises our climbers and trekkers, when she is in the office. She has a vast amount of personal mountaineering experience, including ascents of Manaslu (first British woman), Everest, Cho Oyu, Ama Dablam, Denali and Mount Cook and first ascents in Bolivia. She is a qualified teacher and holds the Mountaineering Instructor Certificate (MIC). Adele's enthusiasm for the mountains and climbing is infectious and she regularly spends her spare time climbing on the gritstone edges of the Peak District. To see her leadership profile click here

Pauline Lowe - Accounts

Pauline assists with our accounts on a day-to-day basis. She has trekked in Bolivia and India and has even been known to tie into a rope every now and then for a spot of rock climbing! She is a keen runner, placing 4th in her category in the 2008 Sheffield Half Marathon.