Refresher and CPD Workshops

For those working towards a Mountain Training qualification there is an interim period between the training course and the final assessment.

During this consolidation period it is essential to gain as much further experience as possible to make sure you are up to speed on every aspect of the syllabus. 

We offer a range of workshops for those in their consolidation period, as well as a few CPD opportunities for those who are already qualified.

These workshops are open to members of the Mountain Training Association at a discounted rate.

Navigation Skills - The Basics. £60pp

This workshop is suitable for people entering any of the Mountain Training walking qualification schemes who don't have basic map and compass skills. During the day we'll look at map scales and types, map symbols, grid references, orientating the map, following linear features, and distance measuring (on the map and on the ground). We'll also look at the basics of contour interpretation (is it uphill, downhill, or flat?), and can of course answer any of your questions to help you on your journey.

9th March

Navigation for a successful assessment - a Masterclass for HML and ML trainees. £70pp (£60pp for MTA members).

This workshop is for anyone working towards the Hill and Moorland Leader or Mountain Leader assessment. We'll the spend the day looking at bringing everything together using micro navigation. We usually start the day with a little bit of linear navigation to get us onto the open hill, then move into strategies, and off-path navigation to contour features. The day will be held in the Haweswater area, and candidates will need to bring their own Explorer OL5, plus walking gear.

8th April. 6th June. 9th October. 19th November

Navigating using different map scales - 1:50,000 and 1:40,000 scale maps. £70pp (£60pp for MTA members).

The syllabus for both Hill and Moorland and Mountain Leader states that candidates should be comfortable navigating with a range of commonly used map scales. In reality this could mean that you'll spend a portion of your training and/or assessment using not only 1:25,000 scale (on either OS or Harvey Maps), but also 1:50,000 scale (OS Landranger), or 1:40,000 scale (Harvey Ultra Map or British Mountain Map). The Candidate Notes also suggest that using orienteering maps may be useful as a training aid, and these maps come in a wide range of scales, including 1:5,000, 1:7,500, :1;10,000 and 1:12,5000. For many candidates this can be baffling. As Providers and Course Directors we often find that candidates are only really comfortable with one scale (often the OS 1:25,000). So, we've put together a specialist workshop, run on a handful of dates each year, were we look at how your navigation skills should and can be transferable to any scale of map. We'll help you develop the skills to be confident as a navigator no matter which scale of map you're using.

10th March. 10th September. 18th December

Understanding Contours for HML and ML trainees. £70pp (£60pp for MTA members).

Contour interpretation is a common cause of confusion for candidates on Hill and Moorland and Mountain Leader assessments. Working out just what a knoll, a spur or re-entrant actually looks like on the map, and also on the ground can be frustrating for many people, and contour interpretation is one of the recurring reasons for deferral we keep hearing about from candidates. We have developed a number of ways to help you with this, and have put together a workshop that focuses on exactly how to overcome your fear of 'innies and outies', and how to gain a better understanding of how contours relate to the landscape through which you're walking. We'll provide 'contour-only' and 'natural-features-only' maps for you to use during this workshop.

11th March. September 9th. December 19th

Understanding and Using Navigation Strategies for HML and ML Trainees. £70pp (£60 for MTA members).

Navigation strategies mean different things to different people. A recent article in the Professional Mountaineer magazine showed just that. To some a navigation strategy is all about the '5 Ds', and the article argued about just what the '5 Ds' actually are. It's clear that we all think of them as something similar but different, and many of us only use and teach either '4 Ds' or '3 Ds'. Some people don't even call them the 'Ds'. I know of one course director in Wales who likes to use the term 'DDT', and amongst the Graham Uney Mountaineering staff team we often call it 'WOW', thanks to a new way of looking at strategies developed by our very own Sharon Kennedy. Confused by all of this? Well, so are most people! So, we've put together a special day during which we'll unravel the whole concept of navigation strategies. We'll help you understand that it actually makes no difference what you personally call it, and we'll enable you to make your own useful strategies for navigation. Be confused no more! We'll start the day indoors with a session on planning your own route using strategies, then we'll head outside for a practical session.

31st March. 23rd September

Night Navigation Workshop for HML and ML Trainees. £50 (£40 for MTA members).

An opportunity to join the Graham Uney Mountaineering team in the Bampton Fell area for a refresher of your night navigation skills to get you ready for an assessment. We'll provide maps for this workshop, but you'll need your own personal walking kit, and a compass. Starting times will vary according to the time of the year.

10th March. 9th October. 19th November

ML Ropework Masterclass - Nothing More - Nothing Less. £75pp (£65pp for MTA members).

For many people going for their Mountain Leader assessment, this is one of the most daunting aspects of the syllabus. On this workshop we'll aim to simplify ropework for the Mountain Leader, and will delve into decision-making scenarios for those working on steep mountain-walking terrain. Many people find this workshop the ideal preparation for their assessment, and we also often get qualified Mountain Leaders coming along too so that they can refresh these skills.

2nd April. 3rd July. September 8th

Leadership and Decision Making on Steep Ground for ML Candidates. £70pp (£60pp for MTA members).

This is an opportunity for ML Candidates to refresh their leadership and decision-making skills on steep ground (please note, it is NOT a ropework refresher!). During the day we'll head out into steep ground where decisions have to be made about route choice (taking into consideration factors such as the group, the leader, and the conditions). We'll discuss just what is the difference between 'route-finding' and 'navigation', and we'll pick apart skills such as spotting, understanding the position of maximum effectiveness, and going ahead to make micro-reccies. We'll look at what is a dynamic risk assessment, and discuss how we might go about this, how to evaluate a hazard once it has been identified, and what to do about it to keep ourselves and our group members safer. We'll do all of this on the hill in the Lake District, and the venue for each workshop will change according to the conditions. You'll be notified about where and when to meet two days before the workshop.

3rd April. 1st July. 8th October

The Shaping of the Lake District Landscape - A Haweswater Case Study. £70pp (£60pp for MTA members).

This workshop is offered by our staff member, Sharon Kennedy. Sharon now works on a lot of our HML and ML course, but before that she worked for the Environment Agency. During the workshop you will delve into the carving of the Lake District landscape as we see it today, looking how glaciation has created our favourite National Park since the great mountain building process. You'll learn about more modern earth-changing processes too, including the formation of the Haweswater Reservoir and how land owners and environmental charities are now managing this landscape.

2nd April. 23rd September

Mountain Leader 2-day Refresher. £210pp (£190pp for MTA members).

This is a two-day refresher which includes a wild camp and night navigation. During the two days we will cover as much of the ML syllabus as we can, and as candidates require, depending on areas of the syllabus they feel they would most benefit from revisiting. This often includes day navigation, contour only navigation, night navigation, ropework, leadership, group management, environmental awareness, campcraft, weather, and emergency procedures. We'll cover as much of this as time allows!

13th-14th March - Hartsop area in the Lake District

4th-5th June - Hartsop area in the Lake District

16th-17th September - Hartsop area in the Lake District