Mountain Leader Assessment Course Snowdonia

Mountain Leader Assessment Course Snowdonia.

An official Mountain Training Assessment course run by friendly and experienced assessors.

Location: Snowdonia
Price: £440 per person
Previous experience: You need to have registered for the ML, attended an ML training course, hold a valid First Aid qualification and have met the pre-requirements of Mountain Training.
Length: 5 days

Mountain Leader Assessment

This is the week that you have been preparing for! All that practice, all those days and nights wandering the hills with map and compass in hand – it all comes down to this. A week of being out in the hills – showing us what you are good at. An assessment week should be enjoyable and your learning should continue and that is our aim for this course. We want to create an environment where you can showcase your skills, enjoy the opportunity, learn a bit along the way and come out the end with your Mountain Leader qualification.

Before you book onto a Mountain Leader assessment, make sure you have done the following:

You must have attended a Mountain Leader training course (or have been granted exemption)
You must be familiar with the syllabus
You must have logged a minimum of 40 Quality Mountain Days in three different regions of the UK and Ireland
You must have logged at least 8 nights camping, including at least 4 nights wild camping
You must have physically attended and completed (i.e. not online) a first aid course which involved at least two full days or sixteen hours of instruction and included an element of assessment

The Mountain Leader assessment is 5 days long and includes a two night expedition.

Course structure

We try to create a relaxed and comfortable assessment environment and although it it’s a formal assessment we try to encourage continual development and learning throughout the course. The week is based on the following schedule, this is subject to change to allow for the weather on the week.

Monday & Tuesday: Mountain days focusing on the key skills of navigation, security on steep ground and leadership skills including emergency use of the rope. Evening session review of the home paper.
Wednesday to Friday: A three day expedition camping overnight in the mountains where candidates are assessed on further navigation skills including two nights of night navigation, camp craft, emergency procedures, group leadership and further movement on steep ground if required.

The Friday afternoon will be spent on results and de-brief.

Where is the course held?

We run the course in Snowdonia and use a variety of mountain locations throughout the week.

Who runs the course?

The 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. 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.

“I was assessed by Trail Magazine regular Rob Johnson, assisted by his fellow WMCI (top gong in the world of Mountain Training) Huw Gilbert. Rob comes highly recommended by both this title and his growing army of repeat customers. They were both objective assessors who knew their stuff.”
Dan Aspel writing in Trail Magazine.

What about accommodation?

You will need to arrange your own transport and accommodation. You can visit this link for ideas and suggestions.

DATES FOR ML ASSESSMENT:

2026

19-23 Oct: Fully booked
16-20 Nov: 2 spaces

Equal Opportunities

Mountain Training is committed to ensuring that everyone has equal opportunity to attend its courses. Despite the accessibility of Mountain Training qualifications, if a candidate with a particular requirement requires extra assistance, this will be done. In such cases, Mountain Training Cymru will make, or allow its providers to make, reasonable adjustments for candidates with particular requirements to ensure that they can access courses and demonstrate attainment. Read More