'I wasn't coming up for air': Barbara O'Donnell left IT management to lead walkers into the Comeraghs

At the end of a training climb, the assessor held out a fist. Barbara O’Donnell bumped it, and understood that she had passed. She was a mountain leader.

O’Donnell, 50, lives in Castlemartyr, County Cork, in the south of Ireland. She had been an engineering manager in IT. The Echo, a Cork newspaper, reported in May 2025 that the job became very stressful during the pandemic, on top of a long commute, a household and two sons. In 2023 she took the summer off. Asked by the paper whether it was burnout, she agreed.

“Something had to change. I needed a different space. I wasn’t coming up for air.” — Barbara O’Donnell, to The Echo

She was born in the mountains of Austria and had walked much of Ireland with her family. Between jobs that year, and with applications out for other IT roles, she went on a hiking trip to clear her head. Then she signed up for a mountain skills course she had wanted to take for years and had never had time for.

Forty hikes, every one different

The qualification took more than a course. O’Donnell told The Echo she had to log 40 hikes in all weathers, often at night, and no route could be used twice. Her two assessments fell between November and March. She had promised herself she would qualify before she was 50, and turned 50 that February.

She now plans walks for different ages and levels of fitness, for clubs and for individuals. With a yoga studio in Aghada she runs days that combine outdoor yoga, a hike and meditation. When the paper’s reporter joined her, she was taking five walkers into the Nire Valley, below the Comeragh Mountains, telling them to watch their feet and use their poles.

She does not pretend the money is settled.

“It is a leap leaving a well-paid job. I’ll give it time. It will work out.” — Barbara O’Donnell, to The Echo

Her technical mind, she told the paper, helped with map and compass work.

Why this matters

“Work outdoors” is a daydream. A leader qualification is a list, and lists can be finished.

In the UK the list belongs to Mountain Training. Its Mountain Leader page asks for about a year of mountain walking and membership of a mountaineering council. Registration costs £69. Twenty logged “quality mountain days” get you onto a six-day training course. Assessment, over five days with a three-day expedition, needs 40 days in at least three regions, eight nights camping and a two-day first aid certificate.

Mountaineering Ireland describes the Irish route in similar terms: pass a Mountain Skills assessment first, register (€76), train for 60 hours, then a four-day assessment with a two-night expedition.

In the US many walk leaders are club volunteers. The Appalachian Mountain Club’s New York–North Jersey chapter, for one, asks would-be leaders to be members, attend two outings, take a leadership workshop and co-lead with a mentor.

The only age any of these pages mentions is a minimum, 18. And the days themselves count: the NHS (the UK health service) lists hiking as moderate activity, of which it recommends at least 150 minutes a week.

If the hills are where you would like to be

• Start by being led. O’Donnell recommends a walking club: clubs cater for all levels, she said, and they are sociable.
• Keep the kit simple. Her list is two items long.

“All you need is a good pair of walking boots and a good weather-proof jacket.” — Barbara O’Donnell, to The Echo

• Log from day one. Date, route, hours, weather, who navigated. Days walked before you register can count towards Mountain Training’s total.
• Price the leap. Course prices vary by provider. Ask before you resign from anything.
• Check first if you need to. The NHS advises speaking to your GP (family doctor) if you have not exercised for some time or have a medical condition.

For the business side, our guide to starting a business covers the first decisions. And for a longer road to a new profession, read how Carl Allamby went from car mechanic to emergency doctor.