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Carla Khouri says she is the first recorded Black person to achieve the Winter Mountain Leader qualification. The freelance outdoor instructor traces her route from Air Cadets and Duke of Edinburgh’s Award expeditions to winter leadership in Scotland—and names the Nantlle Ridge in Eryri as her favourite walk. Her approach to the outdoors is grounded in practical skills, peer support and a preference for map and compass, with a smartphone GPS as backup.
How Khouri found her way outdoors
Khouri grew up in Tottenham, inner-city London, in a family she says was not especially oriented toward the outdoors. A friend invited her to join the Air Cadets, where she had the opportunity to take part in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and go on expeditions. Learning to navigate with a map and compass helped her become more independent outdoors. She told Stuff: “I learnt to use a map and compass and become more independent in the outdoors.”
She says she has spent around 30 years outdoors. Today she works as a freelance outdoor instructor, with a particular focus on women and young people. Her work also includes teaching and supporting young people on the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. In the Stuff interview, she described serving as Community Lead for Merrell Hiking Club, building awareness and helping more people get outdoors. An earlier 2023 podcast described her at that time as a Black Girls Hike course director and Duke of Edinburgh’s Award assessor; those are historical role descriptions, not a statement of her current position.
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Khouri qualified as a Mountain Leader in April 2019. Winter Mountain Leader was not initially part of her plan. In her account on Mountain Training’s website, she describes gaining winter quality mountain days, then taking a winter skills course in Scotland that she found frightening: it was cold, visibility was low, and the experience felt daunting. A women-only course the following winter gave her a more positive experience and helped her see the qualification as attainable.
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She says the qualification journey took about five winters in Scotland, a substantial commitment while living in London. She credits financial help from the Tom Furey Memorial Trust and a Mountain Training Scotland bursary with helping cover costs. The path, as she describes it, combined time building experience with practical and financial support—not just a single course.
What being the first known Black Winter Mountain Leader means to her
The wording matters: Khouri has described herself as the first “recorded” Black person to achieve the Winter Mountain Leader qualification, while Mountain Training calls her the first “known” Black Winter Mountain Leader. These are carefully qualified descriptions, not a claim based on an independently audited national register. Khouri told Stuff: “I am the first recorded black person to achieve the Winter Mountain Leader qualification, in the forty years history of the awards, sadly.”
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When Mountain Training asked how it felt to be the first known Black Winter Mountain Leader, she answered: “I feel both proud and sad. I’m proud that I have achieved my personal goal of becoming a Winter Mountain Leader but there is so much work to do to increase representation in outdoor leaders. I may be the first but I certainly won’t be the last.” She also told Stuff: “I didn’t set out to be the first and I don’t want to be the only one. I know I won’t be.”
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- Your training readiness score is based on sleep quality, recovery, training load and HRV status to determine if you’re primed to go hard and reap the rewards (data presented is intended to be a close estimation of metrics tracked)
- For your active lifestyle, a built-in speaker and mic let you make and take phone calls from your wrist when your watch is paired to your smartphone — and you can even use your smartphone’s voice assistant to respond to text messages and more
Why peer support matters in the qualification journey
Khouri advises aspiring winter leaders to find a support network and consider the Mountain Training Association mentor scheme. She describes a WhatsApp peer group for women working toward Winter Mountain Leader as an important source of advice and encouragement. According to her Mountain Training profile, the group grew from a handful of people to more than 80. That is her account of one peer network, not a sector-wide statistic.
Her experience also shows why access is more than a matter of individual motivation: training in Scotland required repeated trips from London, and she credits bursary support with helping meet the costs. For someone considering the qualification, her practical advice is to seek mentors and peers alongside building the required experience.
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- Power up your body’s performance, endurance and resistance to injury targeted strength training plans, real-time stamina tracking, sport-specific workouts and a full range of built-in sports apps
- Your training readiness score is based on sleep quality, recovery, training load and HRV status to determine if you’re primed to go hard and reap the rewards (data presented is intended to be a close estimation of metrics tracked)
- For your active lifestyle, a built-in speaker and mic let you make and take phone calls from your wrist when your watch is paired to your smartphone — and you can even use your smartphone’s voice assistant to respond to text messages and more
How Khouri navigates—and what she says about her Garmin fēnix
Khouri describes herself as “old school” about navigation: “I’m old school in terms of using a map and compass – navigating without relying on GPS is one of my areas of expertise.” She uses smartphone GPS as a backup, especially when she is alone, and says modern smartphone satellite capabilities mean she does not feel she needs a separate GPS device.
She recognizes the trade-off: a dedicated GPS unit may be more robust and offer longer battery life. Her own way of managing that is to use a phone case and power banks. That is her personal approach, not a universal gear recommendation; the right setup depends on the outing and the user’s needs.
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Khouri also says she wears a Garmin fēnix outdoors. The interview does not identify its generation, size or variant, so it would be misleading to assign particular functions to her watch. Garmin’s fēnix E manual describes navigation functions for that specific model, but that does not establish which fēnix Khouri uses.
Why the Nantlle Ridge is her favourite walk
Asked where she would hike in the UK, Khouri chose the Nantlle Ridge in Eryri—also known as Snowdonia National Park—and called it her favourite walk there. She describes it as a beautiful ridge away from especially popular trails and Snowdon itself. In the interview, she put it this way: “If I was able to be picked up and go on a hike anywhere in the UK tomorrow, I would head to Snowdonia Nation Park and do the Nantlle Ridge which is my favourite walk there.” The quotation retains the source’s wording “Nation Park.”
The interview offers no route length, start point, duration, grade, transport advice or current conditions. Her affection for the ridge is a personal recommendation, not evidence that it is suitable for every walker. Anyone planning to go should consult current local route and conditions guidance and choose a route appropriate to their experience.
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Finding outdoor space close to home
Khouri’s story is not only about mountain journeys. She says she also finds nature in London’s green spaces. She has run about fifteen marathons, by her estimate, and enjoys linking London green spaces on solo runs as well as running socially with clubs and friends. She also enjoys Hyrox, cycling and swimming, and says she thinks about staying strong enough to continue outdoor work as she gets older.
Her wider adventures include the Salkantay Trek in Peru and a personal trip to Everest Base Camp earlier in 2026. But her account leaves room for local ways into the outdoors too: a first expedition, a peer group, or time in a nearby green space can all be part of a longer relationship with being outside.
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