BMC Expedition skills in action.
Last weekend six mountaineering club members from all around the country and different clubs gathered in Little Langadale for an expedition skills weekend. The British Mountaineering Council are putting on training weekends at cost price for club members, In February Adele ran a winter skills weekend and this weekend it was time for her to pass on her knoweledge of expeditions.
With an open agenda to enable the particpants to get the most out of the weekend an array of topics were covered from planning your own expedition, altitude illness, kit and equipment, crevasse rescue, rescuing a fellow climber , rigging an abseil and more.
Day 1 was spent in and around the Fylde Mountaineering Club hut with a series of workshops indoors and out.
Sharon and Tony practicing on dry land!
After some time crevasse rescue was mastered as well as well as rescuing a buddy climber. Adele filled the Fylde Hut with down equipment and boots to show off her wardrobe and gave finally gave an evening presentation on her exploits on 8000m peaks.
On day 2 the team departed Little Langdale and headed to Raven Crag big Langdale where the day was spent refreshing the knowledge they had learnt the previous day, practicing fixed rope work and finally making an ascent of Middlefell Butres where a few scenarios were thrown in.
Tony , Ralph and Sue on route.
Using only one rack and some good team work our expedition team members made their way up the route with Ralph excelling himself by getting stuck for Sue to rescue and then being rescued by Ian as he ran out of rope. All good practice Adele echoed!
Amanda and Ian on the thrid pitch.
Finally at the top of the route the team had to rig the abseil and oh! was the rope long enough. Yet more scenarios were thrown at the team who had no difficulty in sorting them out.
Amanda leading the way on the abseil.
Thank you to Amanda, Tony Ralph, Sue Ian and Sharon for making int happen and thanks to the BMC for hosting these events
Some comments
Just wanted to say thank you for a fantastic weekend, I learnt so much and more than anything hearing about what you have done and seeing your pictures has given me inspitation to get my own expeditions sorted. I have already started googling what mountains there are in the Arctic Circle.
Thanks for running a great course at the weekend - it was really excellent , relaxed and fun.
and
A big Thank you for the weekend with you Millie and Ted
Coming on a technical weekend for people with much more techinical experience than me could have made me uncomfortable, but your skill and care ensured that I got from the course as much as possible leaving my confidence in tact. A great result. Thank you
I would lso like to wish Amanda and Sue the best for their forthcoming expeditions to Nepal.
For information regarding these courses contact the BMC
Now back in her office Adele is preparing for a talk for Bramwell International on Wednesday
September may be the month for climbing and Adele still has some availability for Autum rock!!
Posted on 04 Sep 2012 by adele
Mountain Leader Summer Training 19th to 24th August
The Mountain Leader Team on the summit of Helvellyn
This last week Adele has been directing a Summer Mountain Leader training course in the Lake District. The six candidates where not quite sure what was in store for them as they gathered last Sunday at Helvellyn Youth Hostel.
After some introductions it was soon down to work with the Navigators Dozen theory and a day on Place Fell Navigating intensely to find ring contours, re entrants, tiny tarns and all sorts of humps and bumps. The mist came down exactly at the right time as the team counted their paces and fell into bogs as they concentrated on their bearings.
No time for rest the evening was spent planning their mountain day for Monday before settling down to a fine meal at the Hostel.
Navigating around Raise
Day two dawned with more rain and wind forecasted and off the team went to find more ring contours and the odd ski tow before demonstrating different leadership styles as they romped across the tops towards Helvellyn. Descending Striding Edge with a good breeze! behind them ensured that every aspect of party leadership was examined and tested.
Group descending Striding edge.
Once back at the Hostel it was time to listen to Adele talk about Leadership in the mountains and relate her experiences of party management in some extreme environments.
Now day three it was time to look at some emergency rope work and a few did manage to tie themselves in knots as they learnt a whole host of new techniques.
Classic Abseil
In the evening there was a visit to the local Mountain Rescue post for a very informative session and I do believe this was followed by a visit to the local watering hole for a pint or two.
On day four the rain hammered on the windows of the hostel and everyone was quite content to learn more about access and conservation, the weather and water hazards before getting wet practising their river crossings.
May not look deep but swimming was not an option!
Finally it was time to prepare for the mini break into the mountains and do some shopping and packing.
Apprehensive about what was to come the team set off up Deepdale on Thursday morning. The weather forecast was not brilliant for the next two days and within ten minutes everyone was fully dressed in waterproofs. Navigating from spot to spot we eventually emerged from Deepdale to see the location of our overnight camp.
Deep in Deepdale
Looking towards Grisedale Tarn
Soon we were brewing up and cooking our special chosen gourmet food in preparation for another few hours out in the dark. Night Navigation is always a great experience especially in thick mist!
Expecting the worse the weather did dry up and striking camp early on Friday morning allowed us to enjoy the fantastic panoramic views from the top of Fairfield before we negotiated our way back via Hart Crag.
Dry and very cheerful we returned for the final debrief after what can only be said as a full on week on a Mountain Leader Training course.
Well done to all the six candidates who can now take away their new skills and enjoy the hills with more confidence and prepare themselves ( if they wish) for their assessment.
Thank you also to:
Ron Rutland ( MIC) for advertising the course through Summitreks
and working on our rope work day
Patterdale Mountain Rescuer team and Matt for the very informative session.
Staff at Helvellyn YHA for their service and good food.
Some feedback from the candidates.
Fantastic course - Thank you
An Inspirational week all round.
All the course has been excellent and valuable
Adele has gone above and beyond!!
If you are interested in the Mountain Leader Award, the Walking Group Leader Award or Single Pitch Climbing Award then find out more from Mountain Leader Training UK
or contact Adele directly about her future courses.
Posted on 25 Aug 2012 by adele
