Out in the wild spaces of Scotland, far from the noise of the city, Morag Skelton feels free. As a deaf mountaineering and climbing instructor, the outdoors is where she finds calm, confidence, and connection.
Since 2024, she’s been making sure other deaf people can explore the mountains with the same sense of freedom she treasures.
Growing up outdoors
I come from a really outdoorsy family. We’d go camping and cycling all over Scotland. I was in the baby seat on the back of mum’s bike when I was six months old! It was a really special childhood.
I wasn’t really a climber until I went to work at Glenmore Lodge, Scotland’s National Outdoor Training Centre, ten years ago when a friend took me out and I instantly thought – wow! I applied for an Outdoor Training Scheme and that’s how I first got into it.
It’s quite a different world when you start climbing, because your mind shuts off and you’re only focused on your next movement, it’s a really cool feeling. I like to have my cochlear implant on when I climb, I like to hear the sound of water in the river, or the birds singing.
When I’ve been in the centre of Inverness, in the city, some people can be impatient and a bit rude as they don’t always realise straight away that I am deaf – I have to tell people I’m hard of hearing and it’s not very fun. But there are no barriers and no stress to being outdoors so, I’m much calmer and can create more special memories.
Creating a BSL outdoors skills course
I’ve always wanted to teach outdoor skills to deaf people, and last year I finally got the opportunity to do that. Shaun Roberts, Principal of Glenmore Lodge, got in touch with me when a deaf person was trying to attend a Winter Skills course and needed an interpreter. We both realised that even if we could get an interpreter, it would be tricky.
Scottish winter can be harsh and then having to use the equipment – most interpreters might not know how to use it and will be faffing around and spending more time looking after themselves than actually focused on signing and translating what the instructor is saying.
Why BSL instruction matters
Shaun and I decided that this was a perfect opportunity to create a new course specifically for deaf students, to be taught by a qualified instructor, and delivered in British Sign Language (BSL) – by me! The standard of the course needed to be really high, so I said the ratio needs to be maximum of one instructor to four students to maximise the learning, and we decided to do it over two days.
When I was born profoundly deaf over 30 years ago, there wasn’t much information around, and it was a stressful time for my parents. They decided to get me a cochlear implant when I was two and we learned BSL as a family. Looking back, I am so glad because being able to use my instructor training and BSL together to teach outdoor skills to other deaf people is so special.
A success from the start
We held the first course at the beginning of June 2024, and it was a really good weekend, really successful. There were three students all profoundly deaf, we all signed, and it was really special because they got to learn how to navigate and were able to communicate directly to an instructor, myself, with absolutely no barriers.
Since that successful weekend, we’ve introduced new courses for BSL users, such as British Sign Language Navigation.
Starting your outdoor journey
To anyone with hearing loss who is interested in exploring more of the outdoors, I would say start small and always go out with someone you know well as that helps you to feel safe. Just get out and go for a local walk in an area that you know and don’t be afraid to explore further and take a friend you can easily communicate with or, if you can, use a BSL interpreter. Don’t push yourself too much, just take it easy. The more you get out the more confident you will get.
Browse accessible courses by visiting Glenmore Lodge’s website.
