Summer Mountain Leader Training

This week I am working on a Summer Mountain Leader Training Course. This is a Mountain Training qualification that covers leading groups in UK and Irish mountains in summer walking. Yesterday we discussed the scope of the award and equipment to carry as a leader before spending most of the day out walking and practising navigation techniques and strategy. 

Today's focus was on leadership. We discussed everything from planning and preparing your group in advance of the day, checking gear and assessing abilities at the start of the day, different leadership styles and their use in different situations as well as specific techniques to keep a group together and to keep everyone comfortable and inspired. We were in Glen Coe on the East Face of Aonach Dubh which gave me the opportunity to reach the summit for the first time in twenty years of living here! Another one off the list.