A busy few days inbetween our visit to Spain and Iain's departure to The Alps. July 2nd - 5th 2015.

We arrived back from a warm & relaxing week in Northern Spain (Galicia) on July 1st. Iain was back at work the following afternoon at Hause Gill in Borrowdale with Nucleargraduates - one of our regular corporate clients, for another Lake District Ghyll Scrambling Session.

Nucleargraduates have been using our services to provide these sessions since 2011 and have been very satisfied with the results in so much that with this client group, these sessions are more than just about having fun! As well as that, these sessions are used to impell  these successful recruits to the organisation into working with each other and getting to know each other - something that is imperative to the success of their two year apprentice-ships within the organisation.

As usual, this group enjoyed a great and productive session in the ghyll with Iain and were well equipped to remain warm and protected during their session - something that we take very seriously!

Two days later, Iain was out running another Ghyll Scrambling Session in The Lake District for Ian, Jake, Charmaine, Charlene and Stacey who were visiting the area for the weekend to celebrate one of the groups birthday.

Iain took them to our nearest Ghyll Scrambling haunt reserved only for small groups as it involves a short journey by Land Rover and our vintage vehicle only has six seats! We were short on time as this group had to be elsewhere within a few hours, but as can be seen in this photo, they absolutely loved Ghyll Scrambling and it is quite likely that they will return again to finish off the rest of this ghyll - we do hope so anyway!

At the same time as Iain was out with a group of five, one of our associates was working with a group of three also Ghyll Scrambling in The Lake District at one of the areas best Ghyll Scrambling venues - Stickle Ghyll. Ioan, Mark & Dyl - all old university chums enjoyed a great session here with Chris who guided them all the way up the ghyll where they were able to scramble upstream - climbing up waterfalls and swimming through pools. For both groups today, the weather was warm, so it was ideal for thoroughly fun sessions enjoying a soaking in a mountain stream.

Ghyll Scrambling is great exhilarating fun best done in the summer months when it is warmest. We provide wetsuits, cagoules, buoyancy aids helmets, harnesses and walking boots as part of your fee of £45 per person to keep you warm and protected. A session will last up to four hours and the bigger your group size the less it costs you! For people looking for something a bit more challenging, our Church Beck Canyoning Sessions are ideal and if you want a full day of wet Adrenalin packed fun then our Esk Gorge Sessions at only £75 per person are unbeatable value and fun!

The next day, we were once again double booked by groups. Kate Bowman and here husband Dave spent the day in the Stickle Ghyll area of Langdale working with Mountaineering Instructor Simon Brocklebank - working on our behalf.

Simon's brief was to teach Kate & Dave the basics of scrambling ropework so that the pair could learn the skills to go off scrambling for themselves. Firstly the pair were "guided" by Simon up part of Stickle Ghyll so that they could see what the skills involved and then they went on to Tarn Crag to look at scrambling belays.

Finally, the pair were coached by Chris as they made their way up a grade II scrambling route on Tarn Crag. All good coaching and it certainly looked as though the pair enjoyed themselves judging by the photo!

At the same time Iain was also working in the same area running a Guided Scrambling Day in The Lake District for Ioan, Mark & Dyl who had been Ghyll Scrambling in Stickle Ghyll the previous day with Chris.

All three of these lads were big strapping rugby players and they wanted a good day out, Iain thought he was going to have his work cut out!

We started off by ascending the grade II route  - Piked How, from the the Langdale valley floor and eventually reached the top of this at around midday. As on the previous occasion that Iain guided on this route, he linked it with another scramble leading on to the top of Harrison Stickle and we arrived there about 2pm.

There was still time to do another route, so we descended Jack's Rake which is one of The Lake Districts classic scrambling routes. The photo shows the lads at the bottom of Jack's Rake after a very energetic & exhilarating day out on some of the areas best scrambling routes. Ioan, Mark & Dyl thoroughly enjoyed their Guided Scrambling Day in The Lake District with Iain. Next time, we are talking about taking them to the Esk Gorge!

Finally, whilst Iain has been in The Alps, other instructors have been working on our behalf with other groups. We have had a Hen Party on a half day Lake District Ghyll Scrambling Session in Stickle Ghyll on July 11th and more recently, we had another Mountaineering Instructor running a Rock Climbing Skills Training Course in The Lake District for us. Unfortunately, neither instructors managed to capture the shots of these groups working which we know you all love. So our last photo from this post sees a photo of a previous Hen Party having great fun with us at Stoneycroft Gill.

We are now up to date with our Blog posts; and if you like the look of any of the Activities or Skills Training Courses on offer here - then contact us to make your enquiry or to book a session. We have plenty of availability throughout August for those of you here with children over the Summer Holidays - most of it now being weekdays. But do get in touch and we will be happy to provide a great Outdoor Activity Session or skills training Course for you!

Kendal Mountaineering Services - where have we been & what have we been up to in June and July 2015??

Its ages since we've posted anything up on our blog. Not because things haven't been happening, no - in actual fact, mid June was so busy Iain didn't have time to post; and then he went away to Spain for a week - unthinkable at this busy time of year - but true. Anyway, here is a quick rundown of what we did work-wise before we went away!

Photo one sees a team from Kellogg's UK paddling a Canadian Canoe Raft on Grasmere on Wednesday 17th June. This was part of a Team Building afternoon on the lake and the group played all sorts of games. You can read a further report about the session here. Canadian Canoeing is a great way to explore any of the Lake Districts Lakes and our prices start at just £45 per person for a four hours session with all equipment included. An ideal sport for families visiting The Lake District during the Summer Holidays.

The following Saturday, Iain was out with returning client Adam Mitcheson who was after some Alpine Ropework Skills Training.

Iain took Adam to The Bell - a fine little scrambling route in the Coniston area. Here, we looked at the skills required for alpine scrambling and also for arranging an abseil descent. Both techniques are necessary on undulating Alpine ridges as Iain would rediscover some three weeks later.

We also looked at the techniques required for ascending a fixed rope such as the ones likely to be found on Adam's planned ascent route of Mont Blanc via the Aiguille Du Gouter and we finished off by looking at arranging a hoist to rescue someone who has fallen into a crevasse (photo two). Iain intends to contact Adam to find out how his Mont Blanc trip went as we understand that the Gouter Route was shut by the Gendarmerie due to continuous rockfall down the Grand Couloir recently. Anyway, we hope our day of skills training was beneficial for his trip to The Alps. Read more about this day here.

The very next day, Iain was running an Introductory Kayaking Session for Stella Tucker, her daughter Jen; and Jen's bloke Dave. This session had been arranged as a birthday present for Stella during one of the family's many visits to the area.

We met at Waterhead and after some skills training, paddled across the head of Windermere to where the combined flow of the Rivers Brathay & Rothay enter the lake. We travelled up here (photo three) and visited both rivers paddling as far upstream as the depth of water would allow before returning to the lake and paddling across to to Pull Wyke Bay and then heading back to Waterhead. The three thoroughly enjoyed their Introductory Kayaking Session in The Lake District - and you can too for only £45 per person for a four hour session. Kayaking is a great way to explore the Lake District's lakes during the Summer Holidays.

Two days later, Iain was briefly out Scrambling on Piked How in Langdale with Paul Deakin and his partner. Unfortunately, we didn't get very far before Paul's partner stated she didn't feel well and felt unable to continue. Hopefully the pair will return at another time so that we can give them the benefit of this fantastic scrambling route all the way from the floor of the Langdale Valley all the way to the summit of Harrison Stickle. You can read about about a previous trip to this route here if you are interested in trying a Guided Scrambling Day in The Lake District with us.

At the same time as Iain was out with Paul Deakin & partner, one of our associate instructors ran a one day bespoke Navigation Skills Training Course in The Lake district for Janet Holleron in the Kentmere Area of The Lake District. We are not sure what happened as Hayley only managed to get one photo and that was of Janet enjoying her Sushi somewhere during the day out; although we understand that Janet found the day thoroughly beneficial. We offer you two types of Navigation Skills Training Courses in The Lake District - our superb value weekend courses are listed here and cost only £80 per person for a two day course or, like Janet, you can book our Bespoke Navigation Skills Training Course at only £160 per day for up to four persons. Both of these courses are ideal for anyone wishing to improve their map reading a navigational abilities!

Finally, on the day that we left for Spain, we had four instructors working on our behalf with a group from Marston's PLC .

This event was arranged for Marstons who were raising money for charity and had asked us to quote for guiding a group of up to thirty five persons up Scafell Pike to the summit and back down again.

There are a number of ways to ascend England's highest mountain and the shortest way is to ascend via Lingmell Gill and Hollow Stones directly to the summit. This route is also the steepest way to ascend Scafell Pike. One of our instructors on the day took this photo of the group ascending Brown Tongue en route to Hollow Stones and the summit. As can be seen, it was a cloudy day although dry and the group made good time.

The final photo from this report about guided Hill Walking Session in The Lake District sees a satisfied group of Marston's employees arranged together at the summit of Scafell Pike.

In the end, only 25 out of the 25 employees originally booked on to this guided fell walk turned up meaning that with our team of four instructors holding a minimum of the Summer Mountain Walking Leader Certificate, the party was well catered for. All instructors that we use on any of our guided Hill Walking Days in The Lake District will hold the Summer Mountain Walking Leader's Award or higher, will be first aid qualified and will have emergency equipment with them. Ideally, they will also know the route that you wish to walk as well.

Prices for guided Hill Walking in The Lake District start at just £160 for a group of up to four persons or £40 each. If your group is larger then contact us for details of the price per person which will be less the larger your group size. For example, Marston's PLC paid just £20 per person to be guided up & down Scafell Pike by our team of instructors.

If you have enjoyed reading this post about the many activities and Skills Training Courses that Kendal Mountaineering Services have to offer you and would like to enquire; or make a booking - then contact us via the website here, call us on 01539 737332 or ring Iain on 07761 483364.

We look forward to working with you!