Jess Mather at the Annapurna base camp in the Himalayas

James Michael Forrest, aka ‘Mountain Man’

Jess Mather: From the Himalayas to the Lake District

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Jess Mather, known as @jessicamather91 on Instagram, is a physical and well being coach in a psychiatric hospital but she spends nearly every spare moment outside of work in the outdoors.

She’s a hiker and trail runner, has bagged over one hundred Wainwrights in the Lake District, and has summited several high altitude mountains around the world, including Kilimanjaro in Tanzania (5,895m) and Stok Kangri in the Indian Himalayas (6,153m).

Jess Mather: From the Himalayas to the Lake District

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Jess Mather, known as @jessicamather91 on Instagram, is a physical and well being coach in a psychiatric hospital but she spends nearly every spare moment outside of work in the outdoors.

She’s a hiker and trail runner, has bagged over one hundred Wainwrights in the Lake District, and has summited several high altitude mountains around the world, including Kilimanjaro in Tanzania (5,895m) and Stok Kangri in the Indian Himalayas (6,153m).

(Photo: Jess Mather on Great Dodd in the Lake District)

In the podcast, Jess takes us through stories from her adventures, and gives tips for others who would like to get outdoors more or do high altitude treks.

She also speaks about a devastating event that has shaped her relationship with the outdoors.

(Photo: Jess Mather watching the sunset on Raise in the Lake District)

Jess’ hiking partner Vicky died while walking on Haystacks in the Lake District in 2015.

Jess speaks incredibly movingly about how Vicky’s death initially made her withdraw from hiking. But she slowly embraced it again and it’s helped her hugely in the difficult few years since.

The outdoors has become a big part of Jess’ life again, something she thinks Vicky would approve of.

(Photo: Jess Mather and Vicky, who sadly died in 2015)

I went to visit Jess in her home village near Wigan to record the podcast and we sat in a beautiful field accompanied by lots of birdsong.

(Photo: Jess Mather on the summit of Stok Kangri (6,153m) in the Indian Himalayas)

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