We all come to a point when we want to know more. To push ourselves, expand our knowledge. Go that little bit further. So here I am in a self catering guest house (it's not a bunkhouse) in Snowdonia upgrading my skills on a six day Mountain Leader training course.
I passed my Walking Group Leader assessment (now the Hill and Moorland Leader) about 6 years ago and have used that qualification to lead groups in the Brecon Beacons. run navigation courses and supervise and assess Duke Of Edinburgh expeditions. Here I am, with a group of strangers (and my wife) testing those skills and pushing my knowledge to take me up the ladder to the next level.
Day one started with the obligatory introductions before talking about the scope of scheme before we headed out to find somewhere to walk. First challenge was finding somewhere to park. It's the weekend, the first one of half term, the sun is shining, the laybys are full. A spot is found and we split into two groups and head off into the hills. Most of us had a refresher on our skills, but there were new things to be learnt by all of us as we shared our knowledge. Pacing, timing, contour recognition and so much more. We were out all day but covered a remarkably short distance such was the depth of our debates. A huge amount to take in and there is still 5 days to go.
Back at the guest house and it didn't stop. Tea and cake followed by a crash course in weather forecasting. Now tea has been cooked and consumed and it's time to relax with a beer or two while we test the combustible properties of Doritos.
Check back tomorrow to see what we get up to on day two.
I passed my Walking Group Leader assessment (now the Hill and Moorland Leader) about 6 years ago and have used that qualification to lead groups in the Brecon Beacons. run navigation courses and supervise and assess Duke Of Edinburgh expeditions. Here I am, with a group of strangers (and my wife) testing those skills and pushing my knowledge to take me up the ladder to the next level.
Day one started with the obligatory introductions before talking about the scope of scheme before we headed out to find somewhere to walk. First challenge was finding somewhere to park. It's the weekend, the first one of half term, the sun is shining, the laybys are full. A spot is found and we split into two groups and head off into the hills. Most of us had a refresher on our skills, but there were new things to be learnt by all of us as we shared our knowledge. Pacing, timing, contour recognition and so much more. We were out all day but covered a remarkably short distance such was the depth of our debates. A huge amount to take in and there is still 5 days to go.
Back at the guest house and it didn't stop. Tea and cake followed by a crash course in weather forecasting. Now tea has been cooked and consumed and it's time to relax with a beer or two while we test the combustible properties of Doritos.
Check back tomorrow to see what we get up to on day two.