Caroline Elliott

Caroline has followed a unique professional path. The only British woman to have qualified across all the disciplines required in the French ski patrol rescue world: controlled bombing, weather forecasting and avalanche dog handling, graduating in 2011 from the iconic ‘Ecole National de Ski and Alpinisme’ in Chamonix. Equally the first British woman to enter the French Fire and Rescue specialist mountain rescue unit as a multi-discipline dog handler with the CGSR 64, trained to deal with Search and Rescue missions following avalanches, building collapse, gas explosions or missing persons. Providing a wealth of experience this has enabled Caroline to become a specialist in her field from Snow Safety Education to Risk Management Consultancy for Wintersports Accidents.

A motivational keynote speaker, Caroline’s professional path that has been challenged with overcoming language, cultural, and gender barriers in a very physically and mentally demanding profession can also be applied to corporate settings. She has learnt valuable lessons on how to communicate effectively, handle stressful situations, and successfully manage risk whilst keeping a sense of humour. Looking closely at early morning blasting operations, multiple victim collisions on the winter slopes to real life avalanche rescue events, you will learn how the right blend of risk management, effective team work, combined with communication strategies to deal with stress are key to achieving a safe and positive outcome and attaining the desired goal set for the mission.

Despite the serious nature of her line of work Caroline has many a funny anecdote where her moments of ‘lost in translation’ really do diffuse pain and stress on both sides! Caroline will invite you to learn about a real-life avalanche rescue in France that was successful in saving a whole family, the youngest of 4 years old remaining under two metres of snow for over 2 hours. We’ll look at what was crucial in achieving such a positive outcome, whilst working under extreme pressure, with multiple service agencies of whom some had never worked together.

Author of a unique internationally published children’s snow safety book, ‘Fjord’s Mountain Mission’, the book is endorsed by the International Ski Federation in Switzerland. The French edition has recently been signed for publishing by ‘les Editions de Mont Blanc’ run by the world renown climber Catherine Destivelle. Based on the adventures of her former avi dog called ‘Fjord’, children and parents alike can’t help but fall in love with his mischievous and heroic moments.

The very image of female empowerment, Caroline stands as an inspiration to everyone, especially women who wish to follow careers that are male led. Above all, it is Caroline’s belief that passion and an unwavering sense of humour are key to achieving great heights in one’s career. If you are looking for a keynote speaker who has led an illustrious career against all odds, hire Caroline Elliott for your next event.