Stag & Hen events in The Lake District. April 14th 2012.

The ghyll scrambling & canyoning season has finally started here in The Lake District for Kendal Mountaineering services.

Iain ran a half day ghyll scrambling & canyoning session on Saturday as part of a stag event for a group of seven chaps who had come over to the Lake District from Keighley & Leeds for the weekend.

The weather was pleasant but not warm - however, as can be seen in photo one, the guys were kitted out in wetsuits, cagoules, bouyancy aids helmets & walking boots to keep them comfortable and protected for what lay ahead. This is our standard equipment issue for all ghyll scrambling & canyoning sessions.

Iain arranged to meet the guys at Church Beck near Coniston for their half day ghyll scrambling & canyoning session.

The first part of our session started with an upward ascent of Church Beck and this is known as ghyll scrambling or gorge walking and involves walking up the stream bed, climbing up small waterfalls and swimming in pools as can be seen in photo two.

Ghyll scrambling or gorge walking is an exhilarating, refreshing sport and great as part of a family day out, a holiday or an organised event such as a stag or hen weekend or a corporate event. Prices with Kendal Mountaineering Services start at £45 per person for a half day session, but the more mates you bring along, the less it costs!





After around 750m of easy ghyll scrambling, Church Beck becomes more serious in so much that the gradient steepens and the gorge becomes narrower.

Eventually, one encounters the first big waterfall which, if climbed, requires the use of a rope. What we do here is to leave the bed of the ghyll altogether and make our way to the top of the ghyll to start our canyoning descent of Church Beck.

In photo three, Graham, the session organiser, gives us a wave as Iain lowers him down the second waterfall (the Miners Bridge fall) encountered on the Canyoning descent. Clearly he had every confidence in what he was doing and in the fact he was safe!



Beyond the previous photograph, having lowered everyone down the Miners Bridge fall, our party arrived at a section known as "the jumps". This is the narrowest & steepest section of the gorge with some high waterfalls and deep pools.

The first jump is to the right of the view in photo four and is around 4m from a jammed boulder in to a narrow slot below - a risky proposition!

At Kendal Mountaineering services we choose to reduce the risk of injury by using a rope to bypass the narrow slot and lower clients down to a point where they can jump into the pool below without a risk of bashing themselves. We also find that more people are willing to attempt the challenge by doing it this way than if you are asked to launch yourself unprotected off the jammed boulder. If you can't do the first jump, you'll miss out on doing the next two as well!

We were not the only group doing the jumps by this time as can be seen by the large group waiting at the outflow of the pool below the first jump. Our team can be distinguised by the blue helmets. Having lowered everyone down the first jump, Iain was about to follow himself!

The final photo from this ghyll scrambling & canyoning session in Church Beck shows everyone safely at the foot of the final drop with another team behind us about to take the plunge down the final waterfall.

We were down a man as one young lad had decided he had had enough of getting cold & wet so had dipped out of doing the canyoning descent part of the ghyll.

The other four thoroughly enjoyed the canyoning descent and all agreed what a great session it had been. Next stop - the Black Bull Inn in Coniston for a beer before a night on the town in Kendal for.........more beers and a curry!

Iain hopes that the lads enjoyed Kendal as much as they did their ghyll scrambling & canyoning session with us. To see more photographs taken today click here.

To book your ghyll scrambling & canyoning session with Iain from Kendal Mountaineering Services or enquire about a package for your stag or hen event then please contact us here.

We look forward to working with you.

Canadian Canoeing Skills Training Courses in The Lake District & North Lancashire. April 2nd - 6th 2012.

During the first week of April, Iain has been busy - working on behalf of the Cadet Centre for Adventurous Training at their Halton Training Centre near Lancaster.

Five cadets from the Sheffield ACF were joined by a cadet instructor from Workington to attend this course known as the Open Canoe Foundation Course (O2F).

As the term foundation course suggests - this is intended to provide cadets with the basic knowledge required to start paddling open canoes (Canadian Canoes) on their own or as a pair. Photo one shows the group on day two of their Open Canoe foundation course on Coniston Water - paddling in tandem (as pairs).

Shortly after photo one was taken, we had lunch on Peel Island (Wildcat Island if you have ever read Arthur Ransomes book "Swallows & Amazons"). We had, by this point, been joined by Infantry Training recruits also staying at Halton TC.

As can be seen in photo two, the difference between what cadets & ITC recruits get up to can be fairly radical. Unlike the ITC Recruits in this photo Iain had no intention of asking his charges to jump into the freezing water today and it was cold - this was the start of that cold spell last week when winter returned to the North & East of the UK with a vengeance for 48 hours and the forecast northerly wind hit us fairly shortly after this photograph was taken.

After two days of skills training in which Iain taught his cadets everything he could think of to do with Canadian Canoes, it was time to go on our expedition.

As part of every Open Canoe Foundation Course it is expected that candidates will undertake at two day jounrney involving an overnight camp. Our expedition involved paddling 20 kilometres along the Lancaster Canal starting in Lancaster & finishing south of Garstang.

Owing to the inclement wintry weather in The Lake District, it was deemed that this would be a more appropriate challenge for the group; and a challenge it certainly was!

Canadian Canoes are large craft. A small on is typically 13 feet long and the largest are up to 17 feet long. These days they are made out of plastic laminates such as Royalex or cross-linked Polyethylene to give then a low weight. However owing to the fact that they sit high in the water they are easily affected by wind. During our journey down the Lancaster Canal, we were constantly being blown sideways by the strong N Easterly wind that blew all day.

The cadets were expected to paddle their boats solo ie on their own, so by the end of 12km Iain had a tired group on his hands; and it wasn't until 8pm that we erected camp at a convenient campsite on the side of the canal.

Apart from the wind, we didn't encounter many other hazards on the canal apart from Canal barges such as the one seen in photo four. These are slow moving longboats with luxuriously decorated interiors as they are very often floating homes for people undertaking canal cruises. What a mellow way to get around!

Photo Five shows Rachel in the front of Iains boat with Jerome still paddling solo towards the end of day one of the exped.

As can be seen, Canadian Canoes are fantastic craft to use when undertaking a water based expedition
as they have loads of room on board for stowing equipment such as dry tubs (the blue drum) and dry bags - essential to keep clothing, food & camping equipment dry. The Canadian Indians used to travel for days in them and they are ideal for a multi-day journey such as a river trip.

Kendal Mountaineering Services offer introductory half day Canadian Canoeing and Kayaking half & full day sessions in the Lake District. Prices start at just £45 per person for a half day session of £70 for a full 8 hour day with Lunch for an additional £6 per person. Canadian Canoeing is great as part of a fun family day out or part of a Stag or Hen Event. Prices quoted are for a minimum of two people. Contact us to book your session on one of the areas lakes or rivers - you won't be disappointed!

Mountain Navigation Skills Training courses in The Lake District. March 31st/April 1st 2012.

During the weekend of March 31st/April 1st, Iain from Kendal Mountaineering Services ran a Mountain Navigation Skills Training course for four members of the general public.

From L - R Fiona, Andrew, Shelley & Rachel had all booked on to our course with a view to improving their map reading & navigational skill ability.

Photo one is taken atop a fairly insignificant ring contour in the Green Quarter Fell Area of Kentmere. By this time it was early afternoon on day one.

Prior to photo one, we had spent some considerable time looking at orienteering the map, measuring distances both on the map & by pacing and had followed a linear feature (linear features can be walls, fences, footpaths, streams etc) to get us from our start point to the location in photo one.

The group had also progressed to being able to find and to be able to give a grid reference for a specific location on the map.

By mid-day we had moved on to more advanced navigational techniques such as using the compass to take and walk on a bearing between two grid references.

In photo two everyone is working together to find the next grid reference, work out the distance and the bearing needed to get there.

Photo three is taken on Day two and here two candidates are discussing the best way to get to the next grid reference using one of our laminated maps. These are provided for you as part of our Mountain Navigation Skills Training Courses in both 1:25,00 and 1:50,000 scales covering that we use - they are cheaper than the Ordnancy Survey sheets - plus they stand up well to wet weather!

On day two we had moved slightly further north on to part of the Kentmere Horseshoe - going higher than the previous day and consolidating all of the skills learnt during day one - and adding new skills along the way.

Photo four on a gloriously sunny afternoon high on Kentmere Pike with the summits of froswick & Ill Bell across the valley above Kentmere Reservoir.

By this point it was getting to the end of the course but everyone was very satisfied with what they had learned during the weekend.

Typically, on one of our Mountain navigation Skills Training weekends you will cover the following aspects of navigation:-

Orientation of map.
Map to compass (Grid to mag)
Compass to map (Mag to grid)
Resections
Measuring distance - on the map & on the ground.
Walking on a bearing/back bearings
Naismiths rule (timing/pacings)
Tick off features
Linear/guideline features
Aiming off
Attack points

The cost per person is £80 each for a two day 16 hour course (minimum of four persons) or if you would like your own bespoke navigation skills training course or Mountainwalking Leader refresher day then contact us at Kendal Mountaineering Services. Night navigation sessions can be bolted on to the weekend course for an extra fee and Iain ran just such a session for Andrew during the Saturday evening.

To see other photographs from this weekend course click here.

The dates for the next Lake District based Mountain Navigation Skills Training course are June 30th/July 1st 2012.

Half day ghyll Scrambling sessions in The Lake District. March 10th 2012.

Well, it looks like Spring is finally on the way here in The Lake District with the onset of warmer weather and high pressure over the country for the next week. So - warm enough to get out in the outdoors and enjoy your very own ghyll scrambling or Canyoning session with Kendal Mountaineering Services.

Iain ran two half day ghyll scrambling (also known as gorge walking) sessions on behalf of American undergraduates from Harlaxton College near Grantham in Lincolnshire

We used Stickle Ghyll in the popular Langdale valley in southern Lake District for our two ghyll scrambling sessions. The first two photos from this session were taken with the morning group. Here, Katie is clearly having a great time despite having just had a thorough dunking in the pool at the foot of this cascade

Stickle Ghyll is a great venue for gorge walking. You start off very close to the car park and amble upstream to the first roped climb - only 15 feet high but enough to give clients a taste of what is to come at the end of the session.

The first part of the ghyll has a few interesting waterfalls to overcome and a few deep pools before one arrives at the footbridge crossing the ghyll en route for Tarn Crag (one of Iain's favourite scrambling training course venues) and Stickle Tarn.

Here we tend to exit the ghyll and walk up the path rejoining the stream just below the next interesting bit which entails climbing more cascades and crossing a few deep pools before we arrive at the final cascade which is another roped climb about 25 feet high (photo two).

Overall the Stickle Ghyll gorge walking trip is around 2km long although with a few people it is possible to climb the final waterslides (depending on water levels) making it possible to ghyll scramble for about 2.5km.

Photo three shows the afternoon group in the lower part of Stickle Ghyll just beyond the get in

and here Kristi experiences the power of only a foot depth of fast flowing water.

The power of a mountain stream really comes as a surprise to many people who have never gorge walked before and many people are amazed when Iain shows them rocks that may be several tons in wieght which might have been moved since his last visit.

At Kendal Mountaineering Services we do a dynamic risk assessment during each ghyll scrambling or canyoning session that we run because mountain streams are a constantly changing environment. To ensure our clients protection, we make sure that they are provided with full body wetsuits to protect legs and keep you warm as well as cagoules for added upper body insulation, walking boots for good grip, foot protection and ankle support, bouyancy aids if the water is deep and of course a harness & helmet for protection during those climbs. We don't believe anyone else offers such a comprehensive package of equipment - and of course it is all included in the price that you pay!

The final photograph from todays ghyll scrambling session shows the afternoon group at the foot of that second climb and final cascade.

The climb follows the rock rib just to the right of the group and is a great place to get a shower whilst enjoying a climb.

All of the students Iain worked with today thoroughly enjoyed their ghyll scrambling sessions with us. Other photographs taken during this session can be viewed here. It is a great activity to try as part of a day out, a weekend away or a holiday here in The Lake District and is relatively inexpensive and great fun for the family, friends and ideal as part of a stag or hen event.

A half day (four hour session) starts at £45 per person (less if you bring a group along) and includes all of the equipment already mentioned. We can combine both ghyll scrambling & canyoning together in the same session and you can read about two such combination trips here.

To book your ghyll scrambling & canyoning session here in The Lake District contact Iain at Kendal Mountaineering Services here. You are guaranteed to have a fantastic time.

Rock climbing & Abseiling sessions in The Lake District. March 8th, 2012

Yesterday, Iain from Kendal Mountaineering Services organised a half day rock climbing & abseiling session in The Lake District for staff from Nucleargraduates in Workington, The intention was that this was to be a teambuilding exercise where the the Nucleargraduates programme management team could have fun whilst working together with customers and the newly appointed programme Manager who took up her position recently.

In order to facilitate this, we ran a top rope/bottom belay session at Woden's Face in Borrowdale. Woden's Face is a popular beginners rock climbing venue near to the Bowder Stone.

In photo One, Allan is lowered after attempting a climb whilst belayed by Roy; and Christine - the new Programme Manager for Nucleargraduates.



Conditions changed during the day from being mild & calm at the outset of the session to being rather damp cold & windy by the end.

Photo two was taken just as we stopped climbing and headed down to the nearby National Trust Abseil site. Iain & his assistant had rigged four top rope bottom belay climbs for the group and despite the weather, they all worked well together and had a great time.

With top rope/bottom belaying technique, the person climbing is kept safe on a tight rope by a belayer and tailer at the bottom of the route.

This encourages confidence to climb - particularly for people who have not tried the sport before. Once at the top of the climb the person has to be lowered back down by the belayer calling for trust on the climbers part and care on the part of the belayer & tailer. This type of introductory climbing session is ideal for encouraging support, trust and improving communication skills within a team.


Finally, photo three shows Dave, an employee of Rolls Royce and a customer of Nucleargraduates as he abseils from the National Trust abseil station.

Abseiling is a real challenge as one has to lower ones self backwards over a cliff and walk backwards down whilst controlling the rate of descent which Dave can be seen doing here with his right hand.

Dave certainly found abseiling a challenge, but he was safe at all times due to the fact that Iain had him belayed on a safety (the red) rope whilst he lowered himself down. It is essential to have a back up when abseiling - either a prussik attached to your harness & the dead rope side of the abseil device or, as in this case - a friendly instructor to pay out the rope and offer support & encouragement as you descend.

Abseiling is an ideal activity for a stag or hen event - just the business if you are looking for a real adrenalin rush.

It was good to see the team from Nucleargraduates again. Last year they used our services for ghyll scrambling on a number of their induction workshops and then in October we organised a fantastic corporate team building event for them involving a number of different team tasks and a large group of apprentices. Read all about it here!

To find out more details about our corporate team building packages or our ghyll scrambling, canyoning, introductory climbing and abseiling sessions. Contact us at Kendal Mountaineering Services to see what we can arrange for you.

We look forward to working with you.

Cuillin Ridge Traverse, Isle of Skye, including accommodation. May 19th - 26th 2012.

Kendal Mountaineering Services is again running its bi-annual residential Cuillin Ridge Traverse trips to the Isle of Skye.

These will be taking place between May 19th - 26th and September 8th - 15th 2012.

This is an excellent opportunity to experience the Cuillin Ridge of Skye. Participants often have differing objectives for attending. Some may wish to "bag" the 11 munros on the Cuillin Ridge, others may want to complete a traverse of the Cuillin Ridge. Here, both can be done together.

Our package allows for considerable flexibility. We will have six full days of which four will involve being guided by Iain Gallagher, Mountaineering Instructor, with the ultimate aim of a complete traverse. There are also two rest days allowing us to be flexible and make the best of the weather when choosing our four Cuillin Ridge traverse days.

The price is £425 per person and is excellent value for what is on offer. This package includes 7 nights self catering accommodation in a comfortable cottage c/w a guided traverse of the Cuillin Ridge of Skye from end to end done, if possible, over a maximum of 4 days. Please note that we cannot guarantee a complete ridge traverse as it is often weather dependant, but we will do our best!

As the accommodation is not too distant from the Cuillins, we make daily forays in to the ridge allowing us to complete the traverse section by section but spending each night in a comfortable bed and getting a good meal at the end of each day - this itinery has been proven to work well. There are a maximum of six places available on each of the two annual Cuillin Ridge traverse trips so - only 12 places per year. All of these places are allocated on the basis of deposits received. First come, first served!

To achieve success on this trip, you need to be a fit and active hillgoer, able to carry all of your own personal equipment for each day out on the mountains and you will be expected to carry additional climbing equipment such as ropes as well.

Everyone must be equipped with a helmet & harness which can be provided as part of the course fee. You will need plenty of liquid each day and high energy food is advisable.

Interested people also need to be aware this is a committing and sustained 13km alpine style ridge traverse often on scrambling ground of grade one standard but also frequently with sections of grade two & three ground where roping up is essential. There are also sections of rock climbing such as the Thearlaich Dubh Gap (severe) and the Inaccessible Pinnacle (an optional but polished Diff) and a number of abseils to be made. Therefore previous experience of scrambling is a must and some previous experience of ropework, preferential. Ideally, you should have a good head for hieghts and be comfortable with a degree of exposure.

If this sounds daunting - don't be put off! If you have the pre-requisits listed here, then you should be fine.

The Cuillin Ridge Traverse is the best of its type in the UK and Iain has a great deal of experience guiding on this ridge. Iain cannot guarantee your success in completing the full traverse, only the weather & your ability will allow us to achieve this, but with his help and your commitment to working together as part of a team, success is a real possibility.

With regards personal equipment equipment for the ridge traverse. People must have good quality foul weather kit and bring plenty of warm clothing plus hats & gloves. On Skye, even in May it can still be wet or cold (or both on occasion). On a number of previous occasions - we have even had snow to deal with!

And on this note. Please do not come expecting to traverse the ridge in approach shoes! They are totally inappropriate for this traverse. Stout leather or fabric boots with good ankle support, a solid and preferably a cleated Vibram sole are the order of the day for this mountaineering journey .

People have ignored this advice in the past and then experienced difficulties on the ridge - slowing down progress for all concerned.

If you would like advice about equipment, additional information about the Cuillin Ridge or would like to book a place on one of these fantastic opportunities, then please contact us at Kendal Mountaineering Services.

Photographs on this post (from top to bottom) are

Looking South along the Cuillin Ridge From Bruach Na Frithe.

The Southernmost part of the Cuillin Ridge from the top of the Great Stone Chute.

Reaching the top of the Inaccessible Pinnacle.

Loch Coruisk From Sgurr A Ghreadaidh.

Sunset over Loch Bracadale and McLeods Tables from our accommodation.

Read about a previous Cuillin Ridge Traverse trip on our blog here. There are many more pictures on the report and reports of other trips between 2009 & 2011 on our blog.

See you on Skye.

Lake District based Mountain Navigation Skills Training Weekend Course. March 31st/April 1st 2012.

Kendal Mountaineering Services is offering a Mountain Navigation Skills Training Course to members of the general public during the weekend of March 31st April 1st 2012.

This Navigation skills training course is ideal for anyone wishing to improve their map reading & navigation skills to allow them to venture into mountainous regions of the UK with confidence.

The cost for the two day Mountain Navigation Skills training course is only £80 per person for the weekend. The price includes the provision of laminated maps for the areas to be covered in both 1:25 and 1:50,000 scales. You will need to provide your own compass for the course and we would recommend the Silva Type 4 Expedition compass for this Navigation Skills training Course.

Some previous experience of map reading & navigation techniques is useful but not essential- so if you lack experience do not worry!

Kendal Mountaineering Services run their Mountain Navigation Skills Training Courses in The Lake District National Park usually in the Kentmere Area to the south.

The itinery requires us to meet on both days at 09:00 at Wilf's Cafe at Staveley Mill Yard in Staveley (LA8 9LR for those of you with Satnav). On day one we will travel to the nearby area of Green Quarter Fell to introduce basic map reading & navigation techniques providing a progression throughout the day for everyone - no matter what level of expertise you have.

Day two will see us travel further up the Kentmere Valley to walk part of the Kentmere Horseshoe. The emphasis will not be to cover miles of ground but build upon & consolidate navigation skills learned on day one - albeit on a slightly different and higher location.

The emphasis throughout the course will be to give you as many opportunities as possible to progress to a high standard of mountain navigational capability. We run all of our Navigation Skills Training courses to Mountain Leader Training (MLTE) Standard.

The following aspects of navigation skills will be covered during the course:-
Orientation of the map,
Grid references,
Measuring distance on the map & on the ground by pacing.
Tick off features,
Naismiths rule (timings c/w distance & contours),
Taking & walking on a bearing using a map, ie grid to mag,
Identifying from ground to map (Mag to grid),
Walking on a bearing/back bearings,
"Handrailing" using Linear features (eg streams/footpaths),
Aiming off,
Attack points,
Resections,
"Boxing" around an obstacle.

The syllabus of this course is ideal -not just for someone wishing to improve their navigational ability for their own use but also for aspiring Summer Mountain Walking Leaders wishing to attend an ML Navigation Refresher course as part of their preparation for Mountainwalking Leader Assessment or for ML Navigation re-Assessment.

Candidates are welcome to book on to this Mountain Navigation Skills Training Course - or you can book your own personal Mountainwalking Leader Navigation Refresher day with Iain from Kendal Mountaineering Services at any time.

If you would like more information about this Lake District Based Mountain Navigation Skills training Course or would like to book please contact us here. You can view details of a few of our past courses on the Kendal Mountaineering Services Blog here and here.

We look forward to working with you.