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About Us Your chalet hosts and mountain leaders Rob and Emma

Mountainbug is a small company run by Robert Mason and Emma Todd, who live permanently in the high mountain village of Bareges. All of our holidays are based from our own beautiful house in the centre of the village. We specialise in walking, cycling, multi activity and adventure sports holidays in the Summer, and downhill skiing, ski-touring and snowshoeing in the Winter.

We are both qualified International Mountain Leaders "Accompagnateurs en Montagne" and experienced skiers, chefs and chalet hosts. At the moment we run everything ourselves - accommodation, catering, guiding and transport, which means that our groups are small and everyone benefits from the personal attention missing from a holiday with large tour operators. Because we live here year-round, we have extensive local knowledge of the history, gastronomy, wildlife and a real passion for the Pyrenees - something which we aim to pass on to all of our guests too.

We met at Bristol University, studying Geology - a big contributor to our love of mountains and the outdoors. We may be the most academically over-qualified chalet bums in Europe, but we both enjoy the challenge of running our own company in a foreign country, and put every effort into our work.

	Rob's profile Age: 29 years 2000 Graduated from Bristol University with a Masters degree in Geology and Geotechnical Engineering 2001 Worked in Japan for a year teaching English 2002 Began Summer Mountain Leader training 2003 Qualified as Summer Mountain Leader and began Winter and European Mountain Leader training 2005 Became a fully-qualified International Mountain Leader
	Emma's profile Age: 29 years 1999 Graduated from Bristol Uni with a BSc Honours in Geology 2002 Graduated from Bristol with a PhD in mineral surface geochemistry 2003 Began Summer Mountain Leader training 2004 Qualified as Summer Mountain Leader and began Winter and European Mountain Leader training 2005 Became a fully-qualified International Mountain Leader

Read-on to find out about the history and development of Mountainbug.....

The story of Mountainbug
The idea for Mountainbug was first formed in 2002, and our research took the form of a 500 mile walk across the Pyrenees on a quest for a place to live. We settled on the Haute Pyrenees; with the most varied and beautiful landscapes, the highest peaks and something to offer in both Winter and Summer. Our next task was to learn to ski, and we spent our first ski season running a luxury chalet in the French Alps. The following Summer we worked in the Pyrenees, searching for a house in our spare time and eventually discovering Bareges in Autumn 2003. We moved permanently to France in April 2004, to begin an eighteen month renovation project on the house - an old family hotel which had been abandoned for 25 years. At the same time, we were working towards our Mountain Leader qualifications - with regular trips back to the UK for training courses and assessments.
	We first opened for B&B using the ground floor bedrooms at the end of Winter 2004/2005, completed works on the middle floor of our house in Summer 2005, and opened fully for Winter 2005/2006. We have had several successful seasons since, and lots of happy customers!

"Before and after" shots of the house

Union of International Mountain Leader Associations

The only legal qualification for guided mountain walking in Europe

Although we completed all of our Mountain Leader training through the British system, we are now members of the French Accompagnateurs association rather than BAIML, the British Association of International Mountain Leaders. In an unusual act of European cooperation a few years ago, virtually all of the EU countries became affiliated and members of UIMLA (Union of International Mountain Leader Associations), with each country modifying its Mountain Leader programme to achieve equivalence. More countries are joining the association each year, and the International Mountain Leader qualification is recognised all over the world (except in the US!). As with all things bureaucratic in France, we found that the idea of "equivalence" had never really got past the theoretical stages when we applied for our Accompagnateur carnets. A bit of persuasion and perseverance paid off though, and Rob was, as far as we know, the first pioneering British IML to join the French association.

It is a constant irritation to us, and our fellow IMLs, to find so many companies using un-qualified guides and instructors for their walking and activity holidays. UIMLA and UIAGM (International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations) leaders are the only people who are insured and qualified to take you out walking in the mountains. IMLs like ourselves are qualified to lead guided walking holidays on mountainous (not glaciated) terrain, where the use of a rope is not foreseen. An IML has been trained in navigation, security on steep ground, use of ropes, snow hazards, wild camping/snow hole construction and rescue techniques. They also hold a valid first-aid certificate. For Alpine-style mountaineering (crampons, axes, ropes), via ferrata, climbing and off-piste ski guiding you need to look for the UIAGM "Guide de Haute Montagne" qualification.

If you are shopping elsewhere for a holiday in the mountains, PLEASE check the qualifications of the leaders - for your own safety!

Rob and Emma at work/play

Please visit our holiday pages to discover more about our Summer and Winter holidays, or our chalet page for more information and pictures of our accommodation.

If you have any questions about Bareges, or any of our holidays, please feel free to contact us by email or telephone.

Tel France: 0033 562921639 (land) or 0033 0670815291 or 0033 0670817284 (Mobile)