Mountain Leader Training
Mountain Leader Training – Who is it for?
The Mountain Leader Award is a training and assessment certified scheme for those that wish to lead groups in the mountains in Ireland and the UK.
Mountain Leader is a certified Mountaineering Ireland award and is recognised as the minimum requirement for those that are leading groups into our beautiful mountains. Holders of the MLA are not only certified to safely guide groups in Ireland but they can also avail of an insurance package through Mountaineering Ireland and Mountain Training.
The ML Training is split into two training modules, ML1 and ML2, running over five days in the mountains.
Those that attend the ML Training and the Assessment will learn much about group management, planning, risk assessment, fluid decision making, navigating in poor conditions and introducing others to the joys of being in the mountains.
Requirements for attending the Mountain Leader Training
Before signing up for the Mountain Leader Training there are certain prerequisites one needs to provide.
One needs to be a member of Mountaineering Ireland or the UK equivalent Mountaineering Council.
Needs to be 18 years or over.
Have passed the Mountain Skills Assessment.
Have a current Remote Emergency Care cert or equivalent.
Have a genuine interest in guiding and introducing people into the wild Irish Mountains.
Mountain Leader Training 1
The Mountain Leader Training 1 runs over two days, including one night, in a challenging mountain environment.
The training focuses on weather, leadership, planning, micro navigation, emergency rope work and communication skills.
Day one starts with the review of a proposed planned hike, a review of the weather and risk assessment.
We then kit up and head into the hills for an intensive examination of contours and micro navigation at night.
Day two starts with a reflection on day one and a nice cuppa. When then turn our focus to group management on steep ground, including emergency rope work, abseils and confidence roping.
Day one can be quite a long day followed by a shorter day on day two.
Post completion of the training a info pack will be sent out to assist a candidates continued learning/skills development.
Mountain Leader Training 2
Day one we meet up for a cuppa followed by a deeper dive into mountain weather. We then move to the hills and focus on group management, leadership in the hills and steep ground management.
Day two we meet up to plan our expedition, including weather preview, equipment and route choice. We then move to a car park and hike into our wild camping site. Candidates can expect to navigate into the camp site. We will set up camp and discuss camp craft, sleeping set-ups, cooking kit, food, water safety and camp etiquette.
This will be followed by dinner at camp before we leave camp to carry out an intensive night navigation exercise focused on the 4 principals.
Day three starts with breakfast followed by breaking camp. Before we reach the cars we discuss river crossings, carrying our a search and a recap on core skills.
During the 3 days we also cover geology, flora, fauna and access. We generally finish with a reflection over a cuppa and a what the consolidation period entails.
The Mountain Leader Training One costs €220
The Mountain Leader Training Two costs €270
This excludes the registration fee paid directly to Mountain Training Board Ireland
The Mountain Leader Training is run nation wide in a suitably complex mountain environment.
Happy Hiking.