Welcome to your course notes for your Mountain Leader Training.
These course notes set out the program for the week, the kit that you need to bring with you and a few other points about safety insurance and transport. I hope you find them useful and see you soon.
Rob
PRE-REQUIREMENTS
In order to attend a training course you must be registered with the Mountain Leader Scheme and have experienced at least twenty quality mountain days.
How do I register?
If you’re completely new to Mountain Training, welcome! Here’s how to get started:
Create an account on their candidate management system (CMS) – this involves verifying your email address so make sure you can access your emails before you start
Fill in your personal details
Go to the registration page
Select the right scheme (Mountain Leader)
Pay the fee
Then you can start recording your experience in DLOG
*The definition of a quality mountain day and mountainous areas can be found here.
You cannot complete the ML Training without having first registered for the award.
DLOG
Once you have created your account on CMS please enter your 20 Quality Mountain Days. We need to see this record to be able to ratify your training course at the end of the week.
the syllabus
Mountain Leaders should be competent in the following key areas, all of which will be covered, to a greater or lesser extent, during your six day training course.
Group management
Navigation
Access and the environment
Hazards (including steep ground and rivers) and emergency procedures
Equipment
Expedition skills
Weather
Background knowledge
Detailed information on each of the above topics can be found in the Mountain Leader Handbook
The Program
You will have 6 days out in the mountains and will finish on the final day in the early afternoon after debriefs. One night of the course is spent wild camping, this is usually the fifth night but we occasionally tweak this to suit the weather. (Please book accommodation for the whole duration so that we have the flexibility to adjust the wild camp option if we need to. Occasionally on really wild weeks (!) we end up walking overnight or abandoning camp in the early hours and if this happens you will need somewhere to retreat to.)
WHO RUNS THE COURSE?
The Mountain Leader Training Course is directed by me, Rob Johnson and by my fellow instructor Huw Gilbert. We both hold the WMCI and I also hold the IML qualification and we have many years of practical experience of working with a wide range of clients. During the week we can also offer advice and assitance in making a living as a self employed Mountain Leader and we are also assisted by other local Mountaineering Instructors throughout the week so that you get a balanced view and some different opinions. My practical experience on the Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team also adds an additional element to the course. I am an approved provider through Mountain Training Cymru, provider number 1554. You can join our course in Wales whether you are registered with Mountain Training in England, Wales or Scotland. You can view my MT profile here.
Fitness
The six consecutive days in the mountains make for a physical week, especially with the expedition element where you will be carrying a heavy pack and be out over night doing night navigation. You should be hill fit and able to operate within a comfort zone where your own fitness is not a limiting factor, the course concentrates on looking after others and your fitness should reflect this. Part of the syllabus examines leadership skills on steep ground (upto grade 1) and you should be happy operating in this type of ground.
WHERE AND WHEN IS THE COURSE HELD?
We run the Mountain Leader Training Course in Snowdonia and use a variety of mountain locations throughout the week.
WHAT ABOUT ACCOMMODATION?
You will need to arrange your own transport and accommodation, visit this link for a variety of options.
Transport
I don’t provide transport as part of the course price. We can sort out car sharing each day but you will need to get yourself to the meeting time and place. We also occasionally use public transport so a small amount of cash might be useful.
Reading List
We recommend the following books for your course:
Hillwalking – The Official handbook of the Mountain Leader Award – published by MTUK
Mountain Navigation by Peter Cliff
Rock Trails, Snowdonia – a hillwalkers guide to the geology of Snowdonia – Paul Gannon
Nature of Snowdonia by Mike Raine
Hostile Habitats – Scotlands Mountain Environment – published by the SMT
Mountain Weather – A Cicerone guide by David Pedgley
Insurance: We do not include insurance within our course fees. For all overseas trips you will require an E111 and specialist mountaineering insurance and we will require a copy of the policy. We also recommend insurance for our UK courses. Our approved insurance contractors are:
BMC: 0870 0104878 or The Foundry: 0114 2755806
Kit List
As a Mountain Leader you should ensure that you are appropriately equipped to a reasonable standard. You will be a role model in the mountains and your equipment should reflect this. At this level we would expect this kit list to be self explanatory and used as a guide ie if you have additional items that you are used to using then bring them along:
Normal Hill Kit:
Rucksack – 30 to 40 litres
Waterproof jacket
Waterproof trousers
Head Torch & spare batteries and bulb Walking Boots and Socks
Drink
Lunch
Hat and Gloves
1 x spare gloves
1 x spare warm layer
Spare food
Personal First Aid & sanitary supplies Sunglasses and Sun Block
Compass – we recommend a Silva Type 4 Map – 1:25 000 map of Snowdon – Ordnance Survey Explorer Map sheet OL17. I cut mine up and laminate them but you may wish to buy the laminated version.
1:50 000 map of Snowdon
Group Shelter – 6-8 person you can buy this whilst on the course if unsure, I can then show you what I use
Blizzard Pack emergency shelter – you can buy this whilst on the course if unsure, I can then show you what I use
Additional expedition kit:
Expediton Rucksack – 50 to 60 litres (you will need to fit your overnight equipment including your tent and sleeping bag etc in this rucksack Mountain Tent – capable of withstanding high winds and heavy rain!
Sleeping Bag – warm enough for the time of year
Stove & fuel & lighter
Sleeping Mat
Bowl
Knife & Spoon
Please also bring some spare older clothing and footwear for the river crossing session.
BMC Article on Risk & Safety in climbing & mountaineering.
The British Mountaineering Council (BMC) is the representative body in the UK for hill walkers, climbers and mountaineers. It has produced a Participation Statement for anyone involved in walking, climbing or mountaineering to say that:
The BMC recognises that climbing and mountaineering are activities with a danger of personal injury or death. Participants in these activities should be aware of and accept these risks and be responsible for their own actions.
If you join one of our courses you acknowledge and accept these risks and so we thought a few facts and figures might be useful in explaining what you are accepting.
Injuries
Injuries are possible in climbing, hill walking and mountaineering, as in all sporting activities, as a result of over-training, inappropriate training regimes, or poor technique as well as those that might be sustained during a slip or fall, or if something or someone falls on a person.
Risk
Risks need to be put in context. There are currently about 5 million climbing wall user visits annually and it has bee estimated that between the 1960s and 2005 there were approximately 50 million climbing wall user visits in the UK alone. During that period there was only one fatality at a wall in England and Wales. There are 13 million young people in this country. Of the approximately 700 fatal accidents that occur every year, there is approximately one child death per year in organised adventurous activities in comparison with 457 land transportation accidents (National Statistics).
Risk is an integral part of the activity and can play a vital role in helping young people to acquire these extremely important life skills. Minimising the risk boils down to having the right level of skill and experience relative to the difficulty of the activity. Our courses will help you to understand and assess these risks for yourself. Accidents can happen due to circumstances over which the climber has no control, such as a rockfall, and in these events first aid training can make all the difference.
Accident rates
Because experienced climbers strive very hard to know their own limitations, the sport enjoys remarkably low accident rates. Incidents that make news headlines often involve individuals operating in environments for which they were ill-prepared, and this can give a somewhat skewed impression of the dangers involved in the sport. Many of the ‘climbers’ reported in the media as having been involved in accidents, died or got lost in mountainous areas are not dedicated climbers. Often they are tourists who have gone out walking or people who don’t have much experience in the mountains. Therefore some of the tragedies that hit the headlines may reflect poorly on dedicated mountaineers who are more likely to be better prepared and not as likely to require mountain rescue.
Even on a course there is a need for personal responsibility and self reliance in all mountaineering activities. We will have contingency plans in the event of an emergency and are first aid trained but you should also carry basic first aid equipment as detailed in your course notes. All of our courses aim to teach you to assess the risks for yourself, to make you an independent climber/mountaineer or hillwalker but there are some risks that we cannot completely remove.
If you feel uncomfortable at any time you should say so and don’t be afraid to ask why we are doing what we are doing. There is no pressure whatsoever for you to take part in any activity that you do not want to take part in.
The BMC has produced an introductory booklet for parents of young people who participate in climbing-related activities.