Friday, March 21, 2014

NEW MTUK Mountain Skills Courses

Next month sees the National launch of the new MTUK Hill & Mountain Skills courses and, never ones to miss out, we will be course providers here in Snowdonia. My interests lie in all things mountains so we will be leaving the hill skills courses for those people situated in the flatter parts of the UK and will be concentrating on the mountain skills.



The course is a 2 day syllabus that aims to give those people who have done some countryside walking the skills they need to aim higher into the mountains for the first time. The course looks at:

-Planning a route using maps and guidebooks
- Clothing and equipment overview and selection
- Introduction to different map scales
- How to set the map
- How to interpret contours
- How to interpret key symbols ie how to find a footpath, fence, stream etc
- How to plan and follow a route using paths and other key features
- How to plan and follow a route off the path
- How to estimate distance using pacing and timing
- How to navigate in poor or limited visibility
- How to use the compass
- How to re-orientate yourself if you do get lost
- Movement over steep gound (this is not a scrambling course but will give a gentle introduction)
- Mountain weather - how the weather affects our route planning and choice during the day
- Emergency procedures in case of an incident
- Choice and use of equipment including an element of use of GPS (I will demonstrate the role that GPS plays for me in my own navigation and we will look at the advantages and limitations of GPS units. You don't need a GPS unit but I will happily answer questions about yours if you bring it along.)
- Environmental knowledge and considerations

I have modified our existing and ever popular two day navigation course to ensure clients can benefit from this new format. If you wish to receive a certificate of attendance on this course you need to register in advance with MTUK.

Registration Cost:
Cost: £20 per person

Registration cost includes:
Access to the Mountain Training Digital Logbook
A copy of the 'Safety on Mountains' handbook
Certificate of attendance this course
Access to technical advice from Mountain Training




I have also incorporated the same two day program into our 5 day navigation and scrambling course and our 6 day mountain craft course so that people have a variety of different options to choose from.

If you are already booked onto one of our courses from the 26th April onwards you can register with MTUK now to benefit from a certificate of attendance, get your copy of the BMC book "Safety on Mountains"and gain access to the DLOG and technical advice from MTUK, just click this link: http://www.mountain-training.org/walking/awards/hill-and-mountain-skills


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