Mountain Leader Training

Overview

The Mountain Leader scheme is designed for people who want to lead groups in the mountains, hills and moorlands of the UK and Ireland. If you love being out in the mountains and want to share your enthusiasm with others, become a Mountain Leader and you’ll never look back (unless you’re checking your group’s still there!). Mountain Leaders operate the length and breadth of the country with all sorts of groups of people; from scouts and schoolchildren to outdoor instructors and OAPs. The qualification is what you make it and there are countless opportunities for passionate Mountain Leaders.

Mountain Leader training courses are our chance to help you become the best leader you can. For us, the essence of good instructing is the ability to tailor the delivery to the appropriate level for each individual and to make the best use of the mountain conditions that are available. As such we’ll use our wealth of experience and extensive local knowledge to select the best venues and opportunities to introduce the principles of each skill in the syllabus. We’ll give you lots of opportunities to practice, in a progressive manner, so that you’ll finish the course confident in your ability to apply these skills in a variety of different scenarios.

This award complements and supports the other walking awards administered by Mountain Training (Lowland Leader Award, Hill and Moorland Leader – formerly WGL). For further information on the awards that Mountain Training run, please see www.mountain-training.org and the infographic below:

Mountain-Training-Infographics_Walking-Awards_landscape_A4.jpg

Pre-requisites

Prior to attending the course you must have logged a minimum of 20 quality mountain days and have completed the registration process with www.mountain-training.org for the summer Mountain Leader award.

If you do not have the prerequisite 20 quality mountain days logged in your log book, the course director is obliged by mountain training to either ask you to leave the course or will not record your attendance on the course. The pre-experience is important as it allows the training to start at a leadership level rather than a novice level.

Course Location

2024 Courses: South Lake District, meeting on day one at Stickle Ghyll in Langdale.

Our split training courses are run in the Peak District (Hathersage) for the first 3 days then two weeks later in the Lake District (Langdale) for 3 days.

Course Price

£440 per person (non-residential)

Frequently Asked Questions

If you have any questions about the Mountain Leader Scheme, Quality Mountain days, Logbooks etc. then please take a look at the ML FAQ's page on the Mountain Training Website:

https://www.mountain-training.org/qualifications/walking/mountain-leader/mountain-leader-faqs

If you have any questions about our courses then please don't hesitate to contact us.

Course Itinerary

On this course, we will choose the content of each day to make the best use of the prevailing conditions, as well as the aspirations and ability of the team. As such it isn’t possible to provide a definitive programme, however, please view our sample itinerary below and use it as a rough guide:

Day 1, Intro’s, ML Scheme Pathway, & Fundamental Navigation Skills

At the start of the course, there will be a short classroom-based session where your Course Director will go through the ML scheme structure and the format for your course as well as answering any questions you may have. Afterward, you’ll head out onto the hill for the rest of the day where we’ll look at developing your navigation skills and environmental knowledge.

Day 2, Mountain Journey

Today is all about leading a quality day out in the mountains, we’ll look at macro nav, route selection, party management, and coaching walking skills. We’ll also look at managing steep ground: route choice, risk assessment, briefings, and mitigating falls.

Day 3, Security on Steep Ground

This day will be spent introducing you to the various skills required of a mountain leader when operating on steep ground, including various emergency rope-work techniques.

Day 4, Mountain Hazards & Expedition Prep

Today will be a combination of presentations and practicals. We will look at emergency procedures: prevention, mountain rescue, managing incidents, searches, river crossings, and moving casualties. We will also look at expedition equipment, packing, and planning.

Day 5- 6, Mountain Expedition

For the final two days of the course, you’ll take part in a two-day mountain expedition, with one night spent wild camping. During this, you’ll get plenty of opportunities to develop your leadership and navigation skills, including a night navigation session. In addition to this, we’ll also look to develop your general mountain knowledge on topics such as; geology, flora & fauna, local history and folklore, and mountaineering history. At the end of your course, you’ll sit down with the course director and be given feedback on how you got on and what to do next, including an action plan of how to prepare for your assessment.

Accommodation

Overnight accommodation for your course and your own food during the programme are not included in the course price. We have found with the courses and programmes that we run, that people prefer to choose their own accommodation (and food!) to suit their own preferences and arrangements. Please note that for the last two days (see course programme on previous page) of your course you will be wild camping, whilst on your mountain expedition, so you will not need any accommodation for this night.

If you are unsure of where to stay, then Ambleside is a convenient location and quite centrally placed for the main areas we’ll visit (Langdale Pikes, Coniston Fells, and the Kirkstone Pass). Below are some accommodation suggestions in and around Ambleside:

YHA Ambleside, Waterhead, Ambleside, LA22 0EU. (Clients have said that it can get noisy at weekends and on holidays, so it may be worth getting a private room or sharing with someone you know)

https://www.yha.org.uk/hostel/yha-ambleside

The Gables Guesthouse, Ambleside, Compston Rd, Ambleside, LA22 9DJ.

https://www.thegables-ambleside.co.uk/

Queens Hotel, Market Place, Ambleside, Lake District, Cumbria, LA22 9BU.

http://www.queenshotelambleside.com/

Bays Brown Campsite, Great Langdale, Ambleside LA22 9JZ.

https://baysbrownfarmcampsite.co.uk/

Elterwater Youth Hostel, Elterwater, Ambleside, Cumbria LA22 9HX.

https://www.elterwaterhostel.co.uk/

YHA Langdale, High Close Cottage, Loughrigg, Ambleside LA22 9HJ

https://www.yha.org.uk/hostel/yha-langdale

Windermere YHA, Bridge Lane, Troutbeck, Windermere, Cumbria, LA23 1LA.

https://www.yha.org.uk/hostel/yha-windermere

There is a large range of hotels, hostels and B&Bs to choose from in Ambleside if however, you are struggling to find somewhere then it may be worth searching for other options in Rydal and Windermere which are only a short drive away.

Testimonials

"I did both my Mountain Leader Training and Assessment with Andy & Jake at Adventure Expertise. Every part of the course ran smoothly from start to finish. Information was communicated clearly in good time and they had very high standards and attention to detail. You can tell they both care deeply about having well qualified MLs on the hill. They do all of this with really good humour which makes all the difference! And I passed first time – cherry on top of a fantastic experience with adventure expertise. I would highly recommend them as an ML course provider."