Mountaineering and climbing advice or thoughts not related to Mountain Training courses.
Hill and Mountain Flapjack There are certain well established cliches in the outdoor world: a camper will have a mug (or frying pan!) hanging off their rucksack. A walker shall have a flask. Another is that outdoor people ie walkers, mountaineers, climbers and campers shall eat flapjack. Yes it’s definitely a clique but that’s not…
Yes, another ‘warming up for climbing’ article. No, we’re not going to give you a prescriptive list of all the things you must absolutely do to warm up for the best climbing session ever, but hopefully you will finish reading this with a few ideas on what a climbing warm up might look like for…
It’s the start of our Scottish winter season! Chris, Oli and James have settled down in our Cairngorms base to begin providing instruction, guiding and coaching on our various winter courses. To celebrate here are some photos from our previous Scottish winter adventures. We offer long weekend three-day and five-day winter hillwalking skills courses and…
Would you like to become a walk leader? We are pleased to share an exciting opportunity to join the third training cohort of the Walk Together Pathway. The Walk Together Pathway is a funded programme for People of the Global Majority* to access Mountain Training’s Lowland Leader, Hill & Moorland Leader, and Mountain Leader training…
The OMM (previously the KIMM) is a long-established event on the fell running calendar. It’s a ‘mountain marathon – essentially a combination of orienteering and fell running over rough and high terrain (I think of it as fell hurrying). There are a range of courses: the linear course sees competitors make their way round a…
Back in the summer Alex ran a course on techniques and rigging for climbing photography, and participants were kind enough to share their photos with us to pop in a blog. The course teaches skills and techniques to safely get into the best position for taking climbing photos, as well as the photographic technicalities of…
Best Leatherman for ‘Alone’ We’ve enjoyed watching ‘Alone’ on Channel 4, the UK version of the longstanding American survival show. 11 contestants were left alone on land around the Mackenzie River, in the Dehcho region of Northwest Territories, Canada. They arrive with no food and have to see how long they can last by hunting, fishing and…
We are excited to announce our first Poetry in the Peak weekend. Led by award winning tutors Helen Mort and Sophie Sparham, this two day event will provide writing workshops and walks around Grindleford allowing you to immerse yourself in the spring countryside for poetic inspiration. …
It comes for all of us… Whether you lead groups in lowlands, hills, moorland, crags or mountains, every three years we all come to the panicked realisation that our Outdoor First Aid certificates have reached their expiration date. Frantic, we hastily book a course with whichever provider can offer us the soonest and most convenient…
It was great to see the Beyond the Edge Navigation Courses featured in the Guardian newspaper yesterday. A recent Ordnance Survey poll suggests that 77% of respondents couldn’t recognise basic OS maps symbols. The suggested solution is get some training and attend a course. https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2022/jul/13/three-quarters-of-uk-adults-cant-read-a-map-heres-how-to-get-better-ordnance-survey-study We offer a range of courses including a one day…
Figure of Eight Knot with Follow Through In the late 80’s there was a fashion for poking and threading the tail of a Figure of Eight knot back through the body of the knot. It looked neat and myself and few other young climbers and instructors starting using this variation. Then word got around that…
The clocks have gone back and suddenly the hills feel a little bit more intimidating. It’s colder, the winds bite more fiercely and of course it gets dark earlier and earlier as we approach the winter solstice. But careful planning and packing can enable us to safely enjoy the hills right through the winter months….