This 3 day mountaineering course is aimed at those looking to become self sufficient in the mountains. It is an excellent starting point for those who have clear objectives in mind but are unsure of the best way to start.
The skills needed to become a self sufficient mountaineer are many. Not only are they technical skills needed but also judgement and decision making skills.
While it would be impossible to learn all the skills needed in 3 days, this course will give you an excellent grounding in the basic skills and a clear pathway for progression and gaining further experience independently.
What will you learn on the Mountaineering 3 Day Course?
Each of the 3 days will be structured to progress your ability and understanding of mountaineering to the next level.
An overview of the course content is listed below, but does not include everything that will be taught on the course or potential opportunities that might arise for further teaching.
Days 1&2: Learning The Basics
These days will be held in The Burren, where we can take advantage of the easy access to rocky terrain and short walk ins to learn the skills needed for mountaineering.
On these days we will mainly cover:
- Selecting the right equipment for mountaineering
- efficient movement skills – climbing graded terrain in big boots
- moving together, short roping or pitching – when to use which technique?
- belaying and safeguarding the climber
- ropework, knots and gear placements
- Rope management
- basic navigation
- Abseiling
Day 3: Putting theory into practice
The theory and training is done and its time to put it into practice for real. The course changes location to Kerry and we pick an objective such as Howling Ridge, where a range of skills will be needed throughout a long and tiring day.
The navigation, route finding and decision making will be left to you to decide, while being guided and corrected by myself when needed.
Over the course of the day we will navigate to the base of, then climb, Howling Ridge. During the climb we will need to make a host of appropriate decisions on how best to safeguard us as we climb. The goal will be to do this efficiently and safely.
Once at the top we will have a number of options to return home, wherein we can practice our navigation, route finding and scrambling skills in descent.
Duration: 3 days. These days normally run consecutively, but can be split to allow flexibility, please get in touch to discuss.
Location: This 3 day course normally takes place in The Burren and Kerry but can also run at various locations around Ireland.
Equipment: I provide all equipment required.
Pre-requisites: There is no need to have any technical knowledge prior to the course, but to get the most out of this course, you should have a strong level of fitness and be prepared for 3 long and challenging days.
Ratio: the course usually runs on a 2:1 basis, but get in touch if you would like to make a private 1:1 booking
Cost:
€375 per person
€750 Euro for 1:1
