Well it’s done and I’m now back in France where it is…raining. Again. A lot. In fact I think I’ve seen more water fall from the sky in the last 12 hours since we landed in Geneva than during the whole three weeks that I spent in the Highlands of Scotland. I can’t imagine that any of our local French crags will be dry enough to climb on for many a day. Incroyable as they say around these parts…..
We, of course say ‘incredible’, and that is a damn fine way to describe one of the three weeks back in my homeland which was spent doing my Mountain Leader Training at Glenmore Lodge near Aviemore.
Back in the Scottish Highlands
It was a full on week and while I expected nothing less, I guess I hadn’t accounted for how much I would actually learn, how much I would realise that I still have to learn, and how much I learned that daily consumption of cake can carry you through almost any challenging event in life.
Under the instruction of the fantastic Bill Strachan and Mark Chadwick, eight of us wannabe mountain goats spent seven days learning. And learning.
We learned about the role, qualities and technique of Mountain Leadership and we learned about emergency rope work and anchor selection. We learned how to manage groups on steep ground, procedures for crossing rivers and we learned about mountain rescue techniques. We practiced night navigation, route selection, wild camping, and listened to talks about legal liabilities and the environment.
Picking up new skills
While I am hugely frustrated that I haven’t been able to get out on the rock recently, I definitely take some solace from the fact that all of this learning is going to be hugely helpful in my goal to become a more complete mountaineer. I’ve realised that it’s all well and good focusing on a goal and working towards it but having the knowledge of what to do when things go wrong in the mountains is invaluable.
The week at Glenmore Lodge has given me the confidence to know that I can get myself and/or others out of tricky situations that may arise on the crag itself and also on the much less obvious yet equally potentially dangerous walk-ins and outs. It’s all good stuff.
