Mountaineering - The Essential Skills

What does mountaineering mean to you?

John Ruskin, Author, once said ‘Mountains are the beginning and the end of all natural scenery’

William Blake, English Poet, said ‘Great things happen when Man and Mountains meet.’

But this quote is one that I am sure all of us can relate to, may be in life and most certainly out in the mountains!

“Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain.”

UK Mountains are diverse and stunning with a unique climate, wildlife and environment. For climbers these mountains offer us some amazing challenges with a wide variety of climbing styles and grades.

But Mountains provide us with more challenges than just climbing, first we have to get to the location, deal with weather conditions, scramble over easier ground safely and that’s just for starters!

Learning more Mountaineering skills is an essential way of maximising your enjoyment as well as ensuring your safety in these sometimes treacherous environments.

Newly launched is a course which takes you on a practical and remote journey over two days across the North Wales Mountains where you will undertake the challenges and prepare your readiness for mountaineering in the UK.

The weekend will include skills such as preparation and planning, navigation both for day and night and in thick weather, bivouac systems, steep ground techniques, short roping & rope work for scrambling, equipment selection, journey planning, safety points and emergency procedures and much much more.

This course is unique where you will learn the skills ‘real time’ with ‘real time’ scenarios to test you. You will be coached through these fundamental skills of mountain craft with qualified, experienced but above all enthusiastic and committed Mountaineering Instructors giving you a real adventure, lots of fun and importantly giving you skills to keep you safer and happier on your future mountain days.

This course is suitable for everyone who wants to learn more, climber, walker or adventurer!

And let us leave you with one of our favourite quotes

“In the mountains, the shortest way is from peak to peak: but for that you must have long legs!’
Friedrich Nietzsche, German philosopher.

• Demystifying sport grades and jargon
• Top tips for transferring from indoor to outdoor climbing
• Checking your fundamentals - use of PPE, tying in, warming up and movement skills for outdoor climbing
• Equipment - Ropes - types and application;  draws, biners and belay devices.
• Boltonomy -bolt dissection
• Confirm correct belaying with standard belay plates, auto locking (Gri Gris) and auto blocking devices (Reverso)
• Clipping the first bolt
• Clipping draws correctly
• At the lower off - threading the lower off and descending
• Stripping the route
• Hazards, accident block spots, injuries - how to avoid all of these plus dealing with incidents (not just yourself but if you witness a n incident)
• Preparation, training, hydration and nutrition.