Rock Climbing Skills Training Courses in The Lake District.9th April 2014.

Yesterday we ran our first Rock Climbing Skills Training Course in The Lake District of the 2014 season.

Anna Thornton and her boyfriend Nick are visiting the Lake District this week. Both live & work in London as Trainee Paramedics, so getting away from the rat race and having a chance to relax and take life at their own pace in the tranquility of the Lake District is just what the pair wanted.

Anna & Nick both enjoy spending time at their local climbing wall together and felt that whilst in The Lake District, it would be an ideal opportunity to get venture on to real rock and learn rock climbing skills from a qualified Mountaineering Instructor.

The pair did a bit of online research and found our website. Liking what they read about our Lake District Rock Climbing Skills Training Courses, they contacted Iain to book a day out with him.

Photo one sees the pair at Lower Scout Crag in Langdale. Yesterday morning was rather damp, but the forecast was set to improve as the day progressed. To get quickly on to rock in these conditions would not have been a good plan so we spent several hours looking at anchor placements of all types and in this photo, the pair are practicing anchor selection and placements. They caught on quickly too!

Amongst other "trad" rock climbing techniques, we also looked at linking anchors together using slings to make a central attachment point (useful if one person is to be leading all of the pitches on a multi-pitch rock climb) and the pair can be seen practicing this in photo two.

Two anchors are placed into appropriate tapered cracks in the rock and connected to slings with screw-gate karabiners. The slings can then be shortened if necessary and joined with other karabiners to assemble an anchor system (belay) where both anchors bear equal weight (equal loading). The idea is that if for whatever reason, one anchor fails, then the other one will prevent the leader climber from being plucked from their stance. We practiced tying directly into the anchors using the climbing rope too - the technique used by most climbers if leading pitches alternately.

Photo three sees a very pleased Anna leading her first ever trad climb. The pair already knew how to tie on to the rope and belay each other and had, by now, learnt the skills for anchor selection, the setting up of stances and running belays, so now that the rock had started to dry off we were able to get stuck in.

Iain set up a rope so that he could self line along the line of the climbing route he had chosen for the pairs first outdoor rock climb. Self lining is a technique used by Mountaineering Instructors to allow them to be independent of a climbing pair whilst being able to coach them and ensure their safety. The safety involves attaching ones-self to a novice lead climber to ensure that they cannot fall - whilst allowing them the opportunity to place running belays and to experience what it feels kike to climb real rock as a leader. The route we used was still damp & slippery when we started, so Iain ensured Anna's safety by linking to her with a long sling - in this case the black & white sling seen at the bottom of this photo.

The final photo from this post about a Rock Climbing Skills Training Course in The Lake District sees Anna, who led the first & third pitches of the route securely anchored to an equalized system and busy safeguarding (belaying) Nick who is climbing up to join her.

Once Nick was safely at the stance, we unroped, stripped down the anchors, packed everything up and made our way down the descent route back to the foot of the crag.

Surprisingly, time was already heading in the direction of 4pm, but Iain made sure that the pair had a chance to practice an abseil retreat and learn how to properly coil the climbing rope before we finished for the day.

Both Anna & Nick were very pleased with their Rock Climbing Skills Training Course in The Lake District. The pair paid £75 each for this day which included the provision of helmets, harnesses, ropes & climbing rack as well as qualified tuition from an experienced Mountaineering Instructor.

As the weather warms up it also gets better for climbing out of doors and The Lake District is one of the best areas in the UK to enjoy this sport. Contact us and just like Anna & Nick, you can learn the skills and gain the knowledge to go out and do it for yourself. You can view other photos taken from this day here.

Scrambling Skills Training Courses in The Lake District. Tuesday 1st April 2014

The end of March has certainly been a busy time for us here at Kendal Mountaineering Services with our running two Scrambling Skills Training days, a two day weekend Navigation Skills Training Course and a half day Ghyll Scrambling Session - all done here in the beautiful Lake District.

Also, the weather has been largely dry & sunny allowing everyone to make the most of their Activity Sessions and skills Training Courses with us. It has been a really great weekend for all!

We finish off this busy spell with a report about David & Victoria's day out with Iain on Tuesday. The pair love the mountains and all things outdoors and were visiting The Lake District for a week. They wanted to learn the basic skills & rope work for scrambling so did some research online. Our website popped up and they liked the look of what we offer, so the pair went ahead and booked a day with Iain.

Photo one shows the two starting off with the basics - learning "spotting" techniques at the foot of Tarn Crag in Langdale.

The pair were pretty quick on the uptake and were confident on scrambling ground, so we didn't spend too long covering "spotting" before moving on to short roping techniques.

As usual, Iain short roped the pair up and then down a section of rocky ground showing them, where possible, the techniques of attaching to the rope, moving together and safeguarding each other through the various types of basic belays available.

The next task was to get the pair on the sharp end - ie roped up and practicing all of these techniques for themselves. In photo two Victoria tests the effectiveness of Davids locked off chest coils before the pair proceeded scrambling whilst being coached by Iain.

Photo three shows David adopting appropriate techniques to safeguard Victoria as she scrambles up an easy angled section of rock.

Provided the terrain angle is easy, then a braced stance and taking the rope in by hand may well be appropriate. In this photo David is braced for a pull towards Victoria should she slip, he is standing crouched with his uphill leg bent and his downhill leg straight - leaning away from the direction of pull. David is also taking in the rope whilst reforming hand coils keeping the rope nicely tensioned throughout the action - very good.

Also important when doing this is to make sure that the downhill hand is holding the rope in such a fashion that the little finger is nearest the second when holding the rope. This allows the leader to put a kink in the rope which makes for a very positive grip on the rope - important when short roping in this manner.

After Iain was satisfied that the pair had absorbed the knowledge given; and were able to demonstrate safe best practice whilst scrambling, it was time to get on to a proper Lake District scrambling route.

The pair had already obtained a copy of the Cicerone Lake District Scrambles South Guidebook so it was a case of identifying where our intended scrambling route was, getting to it and getting started.

The pair made pretty short work of The Spur (Grade 2) demonstrating good scrambling skills whilst being coached by Iain throughout. Photo four sees Victoria approaching David at the top of the final rock band whilst he safeguards her through the use of a direct belay.

Today was one of those perfect Skills Training Days, two keen & competent people, warm spring sunshine and most important of all - dry rock although the day had started out very wet indeed. Victoria & David paid just £75 each for their Scrambling Skills Training Day in The Lake District with Iain which included the provision of helmets, harnesses, rope and rack as well as tuition from a qualified Mountaineering Instructor.

You can view more photos from this Skills Training Day here and if you would like to learn the skills to undertake this great sport yourself then contact us here to book your course. We look forward to working with you.

Lake District Ghyll Scrambling Courses. Stickle Ghyll, Langdale. Monday 31st March 2014.

After finishing our first Navigation Skills Training Course of 2014, Iain was back out the next day to meet father & son Pete & Joseph Burbage along with Josephs support person John for a Ghyll Scrambling Session the The Lake District.

Pete was a returning client - having visited the area the previous year to attend one of our great half day Ghyll Scrambling & Canyoning Sessions at Church Beck with his Daughter Kiera. You can read about that session by going to this post - it was fun!

Today was all about making sure that Joseph got a special session as part of a weekend away from the residential home where he lives in East Yorkshire.

Joseph suffers from a fairly severe form of Autism, but really enjoys swimming. Pete was keen to see if he would take to ghyll scrambling.

Pete had asked Iain to provide an easy session for Joseph that would not included the use of harnesses or any form of ropework. Iain therefore chose to meet the trio at the Stickebarn Tavern next to the New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel in Langdale and use Stickle Ghyll as the venue for Josephs session.

Stickle Ghyll is one of the most popular venues for Ghyll Scrambling sessions in The Lake District with easy access and lots of small waterfalls and shallow pools where people & children can get wet without getting out of their depth. There are, of course, a few pools where you can enjoy swimming  if you are a child - and almost if you are an adult! The pool in photo two is the deepest in the ghyll and a popular jumping in point with most people who visit.

Initially. Joseph, who is partially sighted, showed a reluctance to enter the water although he seemed very adept at scrambling up the sides. He was certainly not keen to get too close to any waterfalls or steep sections within the water or enter any deep pools.

However, with support & encouragement from Pete, John & Iain. his confidence increased and provided he was given a helping hand where he required it, he became more enthusiastic about getting stuck into the challenge of being in moving water where he could not necessarily see the bed of the stream.

Photo three sees Joseph making more of his own unsupported progress in the upper part of Stickle Ghyll as we progressed through his Ghyll Scrambling session.

Our final photo of this blog post sees John, Joseph & Pete as we headed towards the final section of waterfalls in Stickle Ghyll.

Usually, we offer the option to most groups to climb the final waterfall behind this trio; although this was going to be beyond Josephs ability today.

Despite that, he had done extremely well and Iain was told it was clear that Joseph had thoroughly enjoyed the session. As Pete put it "I think we can say that today was a success!"

For Iain, it was great news to hear this. At Kendal Mountaineering Services we are not just about running a session and taking the money - if we can surpass your expectations, give you a great experience and see your confidence improve along the way, then we have achieved a satisfactory session! We are here to help in any way we can during any of our activity sessions or Skills Training Courses.

If you would like to experience one of our fantastic Ghyll Scrambling Sessions in The Lake District then contact us here. Our sessions are fun and we do our best to make sure you remain comfortable & safe throughout through the provision of wetsuits, walking boots, cagoules, buoyancy Aids, helmets & harnesses and the use of experienced & qualified instructors who will do their best to make sure you'll have a superb session you'll never forget. For all this our prices start at a mere £45 per person.We look forward to working with you!

Navigation Skills Training Courses in The Lake District. March 29th & 30th 2014.

Last weekend saw us running the first of our Navigation Skills Training Courses in The Lake District. For those of you who are interested in learning the techniques of how to use a map & compass to get around in the mountains then these courses are for you. They are a very competitively priced £80 per person for the weekend and the use of our maps is included in the fee!

One of these courses will be running each month from now until June and they then start again in September. You can check out the course dates and make your booking here.

We had a great turnout of nine persons booked on to this Navigation Skills Training Course. We meet at Staveley in the southern part of The Lake District and spent day one learning map reading and compass skills very close to there on  Green Quarter Fell where there are all manner of features to be found. We started the course progressing through from orientating the map, to measuring distance & pacing, following a linear route (a bridleway) looking at "tickoff" features before learning about Grid References over Lunch. By the time photo two was taken, we were already using a our compasses to walk on a bearing. We would spend the rest of day one using these techniques before discussing the art of timing and Naismiths Rule and then heading back to the vehicles at around 5pm. The day had been dry and sunny with some haze, but a still fairly chilly, easterly breeze.

The next day - Sunday saw us driving further up the valley and parking near to the foot of the east side of the Kentmere Horseshoe.

As you can see in photo three, the weather was much better for the second day of our Navigation Skills Training Course in The Lake District. Not only was it warmer & sunnier, but there was virtually no breeze whatsoever making it quite hot a times.

We started off by using the compass to identify some unknown features from our known location before heading off up another linear route - the bridleway between Kentmere and Longsleddale. After travelling along this for 2km, we turned & headed up the ridge leading to Shipman Knotts continuing to locate tick off features along the way.

Our Navigation Skills Training Courses in The Lake District make use of the Ordnance Survey 1:25 and 1:50'000 scales. Whilst on Shipman Knotts, we were able to practice identifying features that were off the 1:25k maps we were using but were visible on the 1:50k scale map instead! Everyone did remarkably well in adapting to the smaller & less detailed scale to be found on a 1:50k map and everyone was successful in identifying the points we were looking for - good effort!

Photo four shows everyone discussing our location at a spring just to the south of Kentmere Pike Summit. We had used a combination of walking on a bearing, pacing and timing using Naismiths Rule to accurately pinpoint this place without any problems.

After continuing on to Kentmere Pike, we made our way down into the upper Kentmere Valley before returning via another bridleway back to where the vehicles were parked.

Everyone learned lots of useful new skills during this weekend Navigation Skills Training Course in The Lake District and all agreed that it was superb value for money. If you would like to book your place then contact us here - we have lots of places available on these great upcoming courses during the next few months.

Scrambling Courses in The Lake District. Tarn Crag, Langdale. Friday 28th March 2014

Last Friday, Iain spent the day with Iain Watson & his son Max who were visiting the area for the weekend. Iain wanted to learn the basic skills required to go scrambling and had booked on to a one day Scrambling Skills Training Course in The Lake District with us.

We started right back at basics by learning how to safeguard each other on easy grade 1 scrambling ground such as that seen in photo one.

Here, Iain climbs whilst Max adopts the technique of "spotting". When spotting, you prevent the person above you slipping off a scramble or low climb by a combination of pressing their feet against footholds, holding their feet in position or pressing on to backs, bums etc in an effort to stop that person slipping off, sliding down, or worse  - falling off backwards!

Whilst at this point we hadn't started using the rope - if there is any chance that a person can slip and bang their head then helmets should be worn. As soon as a slip could turn into something more serious such as a fall, then the climbing rope must be used - particularly if the nature of the terrain has changed - meaning that spotting would no longer be safe or effective!

In photo two, Iain demonstrates the scrambling technique of short roping. This was after Iain ( the instructor) had short roped the pair up & back down part of the venue in order that they could see the techniques involved.

Short roping is used where there is the possibility of a slip turning into something more serious. Two or more persons are tied in to the rope and the leader shortens the length of rope between the and the other person/s by taking up chest coils. As soon as the rope is employed then it is imperative that it be kept tight between the leader and seconds as often as possible. In photo two Iain is practicing "short roping" Max up an easy section of our scrambling route - forming hand coils as he takes in the rope.

After a morning of learning Scrambling skills, Iain took the pair to attempt their first grade 2 scrambling route and The Spur on Tarn Crag is a great little route going at this grade.

The route starts off up a rocky crest from the southern side of the crag with one having to make a tricky move across an exposed slab before scrambling up to a good block belay. Iain led the whole route and once Max had safely arrived at; and been securely attached to that belay, Iain led off up the second pitch (section) of the scramble before arriving back at the crest of the ridge (photo three)

Here, the stance is fairly small and exposed with a drop into the gully running between our route and the main crag so, Instructor Iain showed Iain how to place two anchors, link them together with a sling and rig up a system with which he could secure himself and belay Max up to this stance. Max was secured here before Iain set off up the next pitch where he arranged a body belay in order to safeguard Max up that section.

From the top of that final scramble up the ridge, one joins the main bulk of Tarn Crag and the guidebook description states that two further rock bands can be surmounted on the way to the summit. Iain made short work of both of these using direct belays at the top of each with which to safeguard Max and used the technique of "moving together" between the rock bands - a quick & efficient scrambling technique.

The final photo from the day sees Iain belaying Max with a body belay up the final easy slope and that was it! 4:30pm, time to pack up & descend to our vehicles.

Iain learned a lot from attending one of our Scrambling Skills Training Courses in The Lake District and the plan was to put these skills to use the following day in the Wasdale Valley on the west coast of Cumbria - near to where the pair and the rest of their family were to be staying over the weekend.

More photos from the pairs day out with Iain can be viewed here - complete with descriptions so that you can see what our Scrambling Skills Training Courses in The Lake District are all about. If you are interested in learning the skills to partake in this exhilarating & satisfying sport then contact us here. Iain & Max paid only £75 each for their full day out with Iain and these courses not only include instruction & coaching from a fully qualified Mountaineering Instructor, but also helmets, harnesses, ropes and climbing hardware are all included in the fee. Give us a call to book your course, we look forward to working with you.

Introductory caving sessions in The Yorkshire Dales National Park. Long Churns. 15th March 2014.

Yesterday, Iain was underground with Poppy Curtis and Mark Price both from Leeds. Poppy & Mark had been referred to us from our friends at Live For Today Adventures based in Harrogate - a big thanks for them for recommending us for caving!

The caving session with us was organised by Poppy for Marks birthday. They had previously stayed in Giggleswick the night before meeting Iain At Inglesport in Ingleton yesterday morning.

Iain took the pair to Long Churns. In photo one, we are near to Alum Pot which is an 80 metre deep shaft in the plantation seen behind the pair.

Poppy had been caving quite a few times in the past having done an Outdoor Leaders Course at a Further Education College in Leeds some years previously and her course tutor had taken her to all sorts of caving venues. Poppy considered that Mark, who had never caved before, might quite enjoy the experience.

He certainly did as you can see in photo two as he emerges from the famous Cheese Press in Long Churns - one of the best known places underground in The Yorkshire Dales where many a novice caver and school kid have an experience they'll never forget!

Long Churns is a great cave not only for the novice, but also for the experienced caver too. As well as providing an exciting way in to Alum Pot and a place where more serious aspirants can practise their Single Rope Technique (SRT) Skills, there are quite a few tight & wet crawls such as the one in photo three in the "Roof series". People can also exit the system via November Hole which is quite unpleasant or have a very wet experience crawling along the 200m canal in Wilsons Cave.

As Poppy had been to some quite exciting venues before, Iain felt it appropriately to include the "Roof Series" crawl as a passage of interest for her.

After only two hours underground, we had done everything in Long Churns that could be reasonably achieved. It was only 11:30am, so we had time to visit to Borrins Moor Caves as well!

Photo four sees the pair in the main cave at Borrins Moor, we made our way in from the surface down to the point where the continuation becomes a wet bedding crawl before turning around and taking a left turn up another passage - returning from here to the surface via a tight corkscrew tube which looks a lot harder than it actually is!

After that, there was still time for one last short trip underground so, we finished the session by travelling 100m over the moor and entering Alum Pot Beck Passage by a small entrance and then ultimately returning to the surface via the aptly named Razor Entrance, all good, wet; and at times, tight fun!

The final photo from this post about Introductory Caving Sessions in The Yorkshire Dales National Park sees the pair on the Limestone Pavement.

Normally you would hope to see Penyghent in the distance but not today! The weather was cloudy with a cold breeze, no rain though and largely dry underground!

Mark thoroughly enjoyed his Introductory Caving Session with Poppy & Iain and looks forward to returning again - maybe to try something harder next time?

The pair paid only £90 for this half day caving session with us and the fee includes all of the equipment you see them wearing. Caving is a great way to have a real adventure and we can make it as wet and as challenging as you like (or the opposite if that's the case!) Contact us here to arrange your half or full day Caving Adventure in The Yorkshire Dales National Park. We look forward to working with you.

Map Reading & Navigation Skills Training Courses in The Lake District.

Bookings are getting off to a good start for our 2014 Map Reading & Navigation Skills Training Courses in The Lake District.

Our first weekend course is running on March  29th & 30th and we already have nine confirmed persons attending.

Probably one of the main reasons for this is the fantastic value that these courses represent. For only £80 per person you get two days of tuition and maps are also provided. All you need to do is to turn up with a compass (the Silva Type 4 expedition is what we recommend), everything you would need for two days walking out in the mountains - and plenty of enthusiasm to learn new skills!

Our Map Reading & Navigation Skills Training Courses are run in one of the Lake Districts most peaceful, pleasant and yet most accessible places.

Our meeting point is for these courses outside of Wilfs Cafe in Staveley which is very close to the A591 - one of the main roads into the southern part of The Lake District and very close to Kendal, Windermere and Ambleside. Accommodation options are considerable locally and range from reasonably priced hotels & guest houses through to nearby campsites.

Each day, we start at 9am and finish back at Staveley by 5pm giving you plenty of time to relax and enjoy the hospitality that the area has to offer.

So why not book on to one of our fantastic value Map Reading & Navigation Skills Training Courses? You'll have a great time in some of the areas most stunning surroundings, learn new skills which will give you the confidence to venture further into the areas mountains and have a great deal of fun.

These courses are suitable for anyone wishing to learn more about Map Reading & Navigation Skills - no matter what you ability might be and are great fun for couples who want to get more out of hill walking and individuals who may be aspiring to undertake Mountain Walking Leader Awards - in which case our courses are excellent as an ML Refresher prior to going for assessment or re-assessment.

We currently have only one place remaining on the March weekend and eight on the April course and the pair already booked o to that weekend will be very happy to have at least another two join them.

We do require a minimum of four persons per weekend course in order for them to run and have a number of these courses on offer throughout 2014. Details of course dates can be found by visiting the website here.

For anyone wishing to book on one of our Map Reading & Navigation Skills Training Courses please contact us here. We look forward to working with you.