Winter 2017-18 Round Up
It's easy to forget now the sun's come out in most places, that after last winter we were wishing for a colder, snowier and more stable winter season this year. Two out of three ain’t bad! This winter has been one of the coldest on record across the UK and Ireland, with a great deal more snow and ice than the last (thankfully!). As a result our candidates have been working hard to log their quality days and climbing routes while providers have been delivering courses as late as April. Huge thanks to everyone for being part of a successful season. Mountain Training’s winter courses in Scotland and the Alps started and finished without major incident and for that we are very grateful.
Winter Mountain Leader
After last year’s challenging season, this winter did not involve any cancelled courses as a result of the conditions and social media was awash with some impressive snow hole images.
Registrations for 2017 were down slightly (135) compared to 2016 (145), probably as a result of last year’s relatively short season, however registrations for the year to date are unsurprisingly up compared to last year.
Huge thanks to all six providers who ran 18 training courses and 17 assessments (not including reassessments) this season. As a result 128 people (31 women and 97 men) completed training and a whopping 60 people (7 women and 53 men) passed assessment. Congratulations to all of them!
Anyone interested in becoming a Winter Mountain Leader can find more information on the scheme page and in the frequently asked questions and candidates keen to gain the qualification can join the
Mountain Training Association for support and development. You can also buy a copy of
Winter Skills from our shop.
International Mountain Leader
Great snow conditions across Europe made for successful training and assessment courses in both Bavaria, run by Glenmore Lodge, and the French Alps run by Plas y Brenin. Training places were slightly lower than last year with 50 people (13 female, 36 male and 1 not specified) completing the winter training element and assessment passes were slightly up with 42 people (14 female and 28 male) passing the winter assessment and gaining the International Mountain Leader qualification. Congratulations to all who passed and best of luck to everyone preparing for next winter.
Feeling inspired? More information about the International Mountain Leader scheme can be found here, you can buy a copy of
International Mountain Trekking from our shop or visit the
British Association of International Mountain Leaders (BAIML) website.
Mountaineering Instructor Certificate
Training and assessment courses ran from late January until mid March. Half were based in the Cairngorms at Glenmore Lodge, the other half were run by Plas y Brenin from their winter base in North Ballachulish. Wintry conditions prevailed, but some courses coincided with spells of very high winds and heavy snowfall, which created significant challenges in selecting, and getting to safe venues. The downside of a 'proper' winter! This season 16 people (15 male, 1 female) completed a training course and 13 people (4 female, 9 male) passed assessment. Congratulations to all of you!
These figures are particularly noteworthy as there are relatively few female Mountaineering Instructor Certificate holders (6% overall) and to have four new ones in the same season is worthy of celebration. More information about the scheme and support opportunities can be found on the
Association of Mountaineering Instructors website.
We would like to thank our two Mountaineering Instructor Certificate & International Mountain Leader providers Glenmore Lodge and Plas y Brenin and all the candidates who were involved with the schemes this season.