Mountain Leader Training

This week we are delivering a Summer Mountain Leader Training Course. This is a Mountain Training course of six days that covers a whole range of stuff to do with leading walking groups in the UK and Ireland in summer conditions. Yesterday we looked at the scope of the award and introduced lots of navigation skills. Today was all about leadership, from simple paths to steep, broken ground and everything in between.

We started up the Pony Track on Ben Nevis and left this just before the new wooden bridge to climb up the SW Rib of Meall an t'Suidhe. This is a grade 1 scramble if you take the hardest line and we took a more moderate line through heather and rocky filled grooves and steps. It's a brilliant way up Meall an t'Suidhe which is itself a grand view point. We got the view today as well once the over night rain cleared away this morning. It was windy though!

The snow melt has been getting faster as the temperature continues to rise slowly and with the rain. The Ben Nevis Mountain Track (AKA Pony Track) has patches of snow up to corner 4 above the Red Burn and more continuous snow cover from there to the top. It is still just under 2m deep on the summit though!