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About us
The Crossbill Syndicate was born in the Highlands.
Built by two people who grew up among the mountains and never really found a reason to leave. We created The Crossbill Syndicate because we believe there is a better way to experience wild places. The Highlands are beautiful, but they are not gentle. Weather can turn without warning. Terrain demands respect. The best places are rarely the easiest to reach. That is the point.
The Crossbill is a bird of the Highlands. Perfectly adapted to a landscape that asks something of everything that lives in it. Resilient, distinctive and entirely at home in wild country. It felt like an appropriate name.
Our experiences are built around contrast. A hard day followed by a great meal. Remote country and exceptional comfort. Exposure and sanctuary. Challenge and reward. We believe luxury means more when it has been earned. And we believe the best experiences should leave something behind.
The mountains have a way of doing that. They strip things back. They test judgement, expose vulnerability and leave little room for pretence. What remains is usually the part that matters. The mountains change people. We simply create the conditions for that to happen.
Bringing teams together
The right challenge, in the right place, shows a team who they are in a way nothing else can. We take leadership teams into real terrain and give them an experience that changes how they see each other, and themselves.
Opening up the wild
Scotland has some of the finest mountain terrain in the world, and most people never truly see it. We take individuals and small groups into it safely, privately and properly, and bring them back with something they will keep.
Building resilience
Time in the mountains teaches things a classroom cannot: composure under pressure, clear decisions, and trust in yourself and the people around you. We help people and organisations build that, in the field and in themselves.
Nathan White
Co-Founder & Team Leader
Nathan has spent more than twenty years working and living in the outdoors, leading, coaching and exploring some of the world's most demanding mountain environments.
His experience spans expeditions in Alaska, Nepal and Kyrgyzstan, alongside extensive climbing and mountaineering across the UK, Norway and the Alps. He has made first ascents in remote and demanding environments, often moving through unfamiliar terrain where a deep awareness of both team and environment, alongside sound judgement, matters as much as technical ability.
Much of his life has been spent in the Scottish Highlands, developing an intimate understanding of its mountains, weather and wild places.
But for Nathan, the mountains have never simply been about achievement.
He believes deeply in resilience, self-improvement and the ability of challenging environments to change how we see ourselves. The places he seeks out, both professionally and personally, are often the ones that demand the most from us.
That belief sits at the heart of everything he brings to The Crossbill Syndicate.
Hazel Moran
Co-Founder & Head of Comms
Born in the Scottish Highlands and brought up in the mountains, Hazel's relationship with wild places began early. Her childhood was spent running wild across Munros, around the fjords of Norway and among the mountains of the Swiss Alps.
That early connection with the outdoors has stayed with her, but her understanding of challenge was shaped just as much by another world. As a former classically trained singer, Hazel knows the discipline, commitment and resilience required to pursue something to an exceptional standard.
Her background in events and travel brings a different perspective to The Crossbill Syndicate. She is the person who turns an idea into an experience, taking care of everything from the first conversation through to the smallest detail on the ground.
She believes deeply in the power of wild places to shift perspective, build confidence and expand what people believe they are capable of.
For Hazel, the experience begins long before you reach the mountains.
Andy Ritchie
Performance breath-works and resilience trainer
Andrew brings a different perspective to The Crossbill Syndicate. His work explores what happens when we are under pressure, and how we can learn to respond rather than simply react.
An advanced breathwork and movement coach specialising in heart rate variability, Andrew uses breath, movement and recovery practices to give people practical tools to perform, adapt and recover when it matters.
At Crossbill, these principles are taken out of the studio and into the wild. Breathwork, movement and hot and cold therapy become part of the wider experience, helping people reset after challenge, build awareness and explore how they respond under pressure, whether in the boardroom or on the mountain.
For Andrew, performance isn't about pushing harder. It's about knowing when to push, when to recover and finding the balance between the two.
Alex Moran
Mountain Coach & Mentor
Alex grew up in the mountains of the North-West Highlands, spending much of his childhood exploring them with his father, British Mountain Guide. Mountains have remained a constant throughout his life, from climbing and skiing across Europe and North America to expeditions in the Himalaya.
For more than a decade, Alex has worked in the mountains as an instructor, coach and mentor, leading expeditions, climbing trips and winter adventures across Scotland, Norway and further afield.
But Alex's real strength is people. An exceptional coach, he has a rare ability to encourage people beyond what they believe they are capable of, while creating the confidence to take on challenges they might otherwise avoid..
For Alex, the mountains are a place to learn, grow and discover what you are capable of.
Mark Read
Polar Expedition Leader
Mark moves between the mountains of Scotland and some of the most remote environments on Earth. A polar expedition leader and mountain instructor, his work has taken him deep into the landscapes of Antarctica, where exploration, history and expedition craft come together.
His experience in remote field operations has given him a deep understanding of what it takes to lead people through demanding environments. Calm, thoughtful and deeply people-focused, Mark is known for his kind nature and his ability to lift group morale, helping people stay positive, connected and resilient when conditions become difficult.
For Mark, great leadership is about keeping people moving forward, particularly when the way ahead isn't obvious.
Rory Brown
Paramedic and Mountain Instructor
Rory is an accomplished rock climber, instructor and paramedic, with a wealth of experience operating in demanding mountain environments.
An exceptional climber and highly capable instructor, Rory combines technical expertise with a calm, focused approach. He has a talent for getting the best from people, pushing them when it matters while creating the confidence to take on challenges that initially seem beyond them.
His work as a paramedic brings another level of experience to the team. He is comfortable making good decisions when the pressure is on and understands what it takes to keep a group functioning when things become difficult.
Despite all of this, Rory is perhaps best known for his modesty, kindness and an almost relentless smile.
Quietly capable, technically excellent and always smiling.
