Woodlore Instructors

Specialist Instructor Biographies

Brian Desmond

Brian, who leads the 'Heroes of Telemark' expedition, served with the British military for 25 years, specialising in winter warfare. He has represented Great Britain in X-country skiing, ski orienteering, (5 World Championships) and is a former British biathlon champion.

Brian's last 6 years in the Army were as a full-time adventure training instructor at the British Outward Bound Centre, Norway. As a BASI 1 ski teacher, Brian was responsible for running BASI courses in Norway and assessing summer/winter expedition leaders for the 3 services. Brian has also completed a two year Norwegian Ski degree course at the University of Volda in Northern Norway. In addition to skiing, Brian has qualifications in many outdoor activities.

On leaving the services in 1988 Brian remained in Norway with his Norwegian wife and their children. Brian now runs the Joint Services Training Centre, Evjemoen, an adventure training establishment in Southern Norway. The JSTC is an all-year round outdoor activity centre for both service personnel and civilians.

Over the years Brian has led over 70 summer and winter expeditions in Norway, some as long as 450kms through some of Norway`s most well-known mountain areas. Brian is well recognised for his expertise, an example being asked to work as a special consultant for the Norwegian army to organise and teach Dutch special forces in artic warfare and X-country skiing.

Brian's other main interest is Norwegian war history, particularly the dramatic and daring raid on the heavy water plant at Rjukan during the winter of 1943. Brian's intimate knowledge of this action, of the Hardanger Vidda, and his close relationship with some of the surviving saboteurs led Brian to be heavily involved in Ray’s documentary, "The Real Heroes of Telemark", in 2002/3. Since then Brian has also been sought out to work on several other film projects associated with this particular action.

Brian is very excited to be involved with Woodlore – "It was a huge pleasure to work with Ray on the Telemark series and, now being involved in working with Britain's leading Bushcraft company as well as leading the most exciting and demanding battlefield tour in the world – the 'Heroes of Telemark' winter expedition".

Lars Fält

A true master of his environment, Lars has lived and worked all his life in the frozen splendour of the Arctic North and has already squeezed into one life time what many of us couldn’t hope to achieve in several. For 35 years he instructed at the Swedish Army’s Ranger School in Kiruna, Lapland and the Parachute Training School, Karlsborg. He has also trained with UK and US Special Forces, and in 1980 he established the Swedish Army’s Survival School.

As well as his military instructing, Lars has worked with indigenous peoples from such far flung places as Siberia to Canada, all the way down to Australia, and is also the author of 8 books on Survival and outdoor skills.

As if that wasn’t enough, Lars has also completed many arduous journeys across the frozen North, one dog sled trip covering 2000km over 5 weeks, and every year he takes a month out to canoe the vast arctic wilderness that he calls home.

Ray Goodwin

Ray Goodwin has more than 30 years' experience of introducing people to, and developing people's skills in, mountaineering and canoeing. Having first qualified as a teacher, he went into outdoor education, becoming Chief Instructor of an outdoor centre. He holds the Mountaineering Instructor Certificate (MIC) and is a Coach, Level 5, (Level 5 is the highest level of Coach) of the British Canoe Union (BCU). Ray is unique in holding the Level 5 Coach in the three key disciplines of sea kayaking, inland (white water) kayaking and open (Canadian) canoeing.

He was the first coach to be assessed at the highest level (BCU Coach 5) in three disciplines and has written two canoe chapters for the BCU handbook as well as sections in the standard UK textbook on White Water Safety and Rescue. Ray has canoed and kayaked on four continents and has climbed on three.

Many regard Ray as the pioneer of the open canoe in the UK and he practices what he teaches. He has blazed the trail in the UK with the open canoe and has completed the first complete circumnavigation of Wales and the first unsupported crossing of the Irish Sea as well as the first North-South Crossing of the Scottish highlands by open canoe.

Ray is a 'technical expert' under the "Adventure Activities Licensing Regulations 1996" and as such he advises several centres on safety and good practice in the outdoors. He has also been selected by numerous outdoor centres to train their staff. He is an active writer in his field, being published regularly in many specialist magazines. In 1998 Ray was elected as a Director of the Welsh Canoe Association, the sports governing body in Wales being re-elected in 2000 and serving out that second term.

Ray Goodwin and Ray Mears are old friends and they both jumped at the opportunity to work together on Ray's latest television series for the BBC. They embarked on an adventurous journey down the Missinaibi River in Canada and those of you who have seen the programme will remember Ray Goodwin's determination to make an ember with his bow-drill and his exhilaration when he succeeded. As you may remember, he also carves a mean spatula!!