Course Notes: Mountaincraft Course

Kit List

Please make sure that you bring everything that is on this list:

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 – 2-4 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:

Expedition 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

Transport


I don’t provide transport as part of the course price and I don’t charge a fee if I give you a lift. This is for insurance purposes. I am always happy to offer people a lift as a friend and if you have a car I may ask you to use it if we have more people than seats. We also occasionally use public transport so a small amount of cash might be useful.

Pre-Course Preparation

Six days of hillwalking requires a base level of fitness to enjoy it comfortably. You will need to do some physical training in advance of the course. The very best form of training is to get out walking beforehand. You can get great results on coastal paths or low level hills and build up the endurance and stamina that full days in the mountains require. A typical day on this course will include the following: 

Six Hours of Walking 
10-15 Km Distance
1000m of height gain
Carrying a rucksack with your own kit for 4 of the days and then with full overnight kit for 2 of the days. 

Cancellation

Your booking is subject to our terms and conditions. As a small business unfortunately we cannot offer postponements and do stick to our cancellation policy if you need to cancel your course space. The BMC offer a very good insurance policy that will cover you for trip cancellation and personal injury.

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

Insurance: We do not include insurance within our course fees.

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.