Organisers of The Fort William Mountain Festival are delighted to announce that Hannah Smith, a highly determined and resilient 22-year-old climber, youth climbing coach and student teacher from Glasgow, is the 11th recipient of The Scottish Youth Award for Excellence in Mountain Culture, sponsored by UHI North, West and Hebrides.

Hannah Smith grew up climbing in Glasgow.  In her early years as a member of the Glasgow Climbing Centre Youth Squad, she climbed for fun and not always to win competitions.  She first demonstrated her resounding determination and resilience in her commitment to selection to the Junior GB Climbing team in just one year, and through the challenges of being an international competitive climber.  Hannah was a member of the Junior and Senior GB Climbing Teams for eight years, where Junior British Bouldering and Lead Climbing Champion were among her top achievements.

Aged just 19, when struggling with sport climbing during Covid, Hannah was invited to join GB Climbing as a coach for the junior team, the youngest ever to coach at international level, something she will always be proud of.  A few years later Hannah wanted to continue coaching at the same time as pursuing her passion for literature, moving back to Scotland to study and taking up a coaching role with the ClimbScotland Talent Squad.

After achieving an undergraduate Master of Arts in English literature at Edinburgh University in July 2024, Hannah is now completing a Professional Graduate Diploma in Education to become a secondary school English teacher. She understands roles as both coach and teacher are fundamentally about building relationships with the young people she works with, supporting them and motivating them to reach their full potential.

The Scottish Youth Award for Excellence in Mountain Culture winner Hannah Smith said: “I’m deeply honoured to receive this award. This recognition is incredibly meaningful at this point in my life as it celebrates my journey as an athlete and coach.  I’m especially proud to be a part of the Scottish competition climbing community, who often have unique challenges but are such a supportive and connected group of people. I hope my experiences show them that, with determination and perseverance, they can achieve their goals. It’s a privilege to contribute to a community that has given me so much over the years.”

Hannah Smith’s award will be celebrated at the Fort William Mountain Festival Climbing Night on Saturday 15 February 2025 with a presentation and short film highlighting the significant contribution she has made to sport climbing and coaching. Hannah will appear alongside other climbers breaking barriers and going beyond to achieve. The event will include inspiring content from three members of the GB Para Climbing Team; blind climber Jesse Dufton, with James Rudge and Joanna Newton who both climb internationally despite the loss of a limb. 

In 2020 Hannah not only appeared on BBC Scotland’s Adventure Show, but she was also chosen to be on the SportScotland Young People’s Sport Panel which provides a national platform to represent the voice of young people across Scotland, both to help influence and shape the future of sport and to raise the profile of sport.

The Fort William Mountain Festival co-ordinator Anna Danby said: “Congratulations to Hannah Smith on the Youth Award.  It is obvious to see from Hannah’s relatively short career to date that her own goals have always fired her up, whether that be as a competitive climber, a highly motivating youth climbing coach or an English teacher, always working hard for the benefit of others to meet those goals and never allowing anything to knock her drive to succeed. It is obvious that Hannah has put considerable energy into sharing her passion and skills for climbing while contributing a huge amount to the climbing community at a very young age.”

Lydia Rohmer, Principal and Chief Executive, UHI North, West and Hebrides said: “UHI North, West and Hebrides continue to be privileged to sponsor The Scottish Youth Award for Excellence in Mountain Culture. This year’s worthy recipient, Hannah, is an exceptional young woman whose determination and resilience to pursue her passion have led her down new and exciting paths. 

“We were most impressed by her commitment to coach and mentor other young athletes and to be an advocate seeking to influence the future of her sport.  At the School of Adventure Studies here in Fort William we aim to instil in our students exactly this sort of vision; to pursue their unique career paths whilst maintaining the highest professional standards in their chosen specialism and at the same time a willingness to share their passion with others.  We offer our heartiest congratulations to Hannah and wish her every success in the future.”

Ends

Images:

Hi-res mages of Hannah Smith (22) at a recent coaching session at EICA Ratho – coaching Ember Mulhearn (16) can be downloaded from Dropbox. Please credit Dave Macleod. https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/5bqvrrip9h9bxohoxxu5z/AEuye5FXTC0TyzACzi5tOIc?rlkey=djtvkgoydblvm6ntt3dg89afp&st=r7sodxe0&dl=0

Notes to Editors:

The Fort William Mountain Festival 2025 runs from Thursday 13 to Sunday 16 February 2025. 

• Website – https://mountainfestival.co.uk
• Instagram – @mountainfestival
• Facebook – @mountainfestival
• YouTube – @fortwilliammountainfestiva7043

The Scottish Awards for Excellence in Mountain Culture

The prestigious Scottish Awards for Excellence in Mountain Culture recognises the achievements and accomplishments of inspiring individuals and their outstanding contributions to Scotland’s outdoor culture, encompassing sport, theatre, art, photography, film and literature.

The Award for Excellence in Mountain Culture was set up in 2008 by the Highland Mountain Culture Association Ltd, organisers of the Fort William Mountain Festival.  The 2025 Award is sponsored by JAHAMA Highland Estates. The Youth Award, established in 2015, is sponsored by UHI North, West and Hebrides (School of Adventure Studies).

Previous Recipients of The Scottish Youth Award for Excellence in Mountain Culture:

• 2024 – Caitlin Connor
• 2023 – Stephanie McKenna
• 2022 – Kirsty Muir
• 2021 – Mikayla Parton
• 2020 – Tim Miller
• 2019 – Rob Cochrane
• 2018 – Shauna Coxsey
• 2017 – Robert Mackenzie
• 2016 – Natalie Berry
• 2015 – Zeki Basan

Previous Recipients of The Scottish Award for Excellence in Mountain Culture and Ambassadors:

• 2024 – Lee Craigie
• 2023 – David ‘Heavy’ Whalley MBE BEM
• 2022 – Karen Darke
• 2021 – Dave Morris
• 2020 – Colin Prior
• 2019 – Noel Williams
• 2018 – Cameron McNeish
• 2017 – Dr Hamish Brown MBE
• 2016 – Mick Tighe
• 2015 – Robin Campbell
• 2014 – Andy Nisbet
• 2013 – Myrtle Simpson DL
• 2012 – Dr Adam Watson
• 2011 – Ian ‘Spike’ Sykes MBE
• 2010 – Jimmy Marshall
• 2009 – Richard Else
• 2008 – Dr Hamish MacInnes OBE BEM

The Fort William Mountain Festival 2025

The main events will be staged at The Nevis Centre, with other events at satellite venues in and around the bustling Highland town of Fort William, at the heart of the ‘Outdoor Capital of the UK’. Satellite venues include The Highland Cinema and Three Wise Monkeys indoor climbing centre.  The Festival Launch Night will take place at the Highland Cinema. Venues for the Explore Events can be found on the website.

The Festival attracts up to 1500 people over four days and takes place each February in and around the town of Fort William.

The Fort William Mountain Festival 2025 tickets can be bought online.  Please go to https://mountainfestival.co.uk/tickets/events/ for the full programme. Festival tickets can sell out in advance, particularly for the popular nights.

The Fort William Mountain Festival 2025  is sponsored by Outdoor Capital of the UK, Ellis Brigham, Patagonia, Montane, Alvance & Jahama Highland Estates,  UHI North, West & Hebrides, and the Highland Bookshop, with many and varied local friends and supporters.

Festival organisers – The Highland Mountain Culture Association Limited, is a not-for-profit organisation, that promotes the understanding and appreciation of the world’s mountain places and people, by creating opportunities for people of all ages to share their mountain experiences, ideas and visions. To showcase these ideals, it stages annually a programme of events within the Lochaber area including the Fort William Mountain Festival and the Scottish Award for Excellence in Mountain Culture. The Festival is organised by a dynamic organising committee, who are all volunteers and made up of a team of hard-working local outdoor enthusiasts.

The Outdoor Capital of the UK is Lochaber Chamber of Commerce’s tourism brand, promoting adventure for all!  The Chamber publicises, sponsors and promotes Fort William and Lochaber as the best place in the UK for everyone to experience the outdoors; develop local jobs and wealth and encourage sustainable economic growth. This is done through a range of collaborative marketing initiatives and activities.  The organisation currently has a wide selection of member businesses ranging from accommodation, food and drink and activity providers to non-tourism-focused businesses that support the aims of the Lochaber Chamber of Commerce and acknowledge that tourism is crucial to the local economy. Many of these businesses are SMEs and by pulling resources and working as a team the Lochaber Chamber of Commerce achieves the positive results that individually the members couldn’t otherwise reach. The Chamber also produces the Outdoor Capital of the UK website, the go to site for local events, outdoor activities and visitor accommodation in the area.  www.outdoorcapital.co.uk / www.lochaberchamber.co.uk.