Gwilym's Adventure Blog

 A much wetter and windier experience on day 2 of the Mountain Leader Assessment although we managed to get some shelter on Tryfan. Today was all about the steep ground and manging people in that environment.

 Today I was out with 4 candidates on a Mountain Leader Assessment in The Ogwyn Valley. a little windy in places but mainly dry and nice to see some jest going through. I am directing this course for Wet and High Adventures .

I stayed up in Snowdonia to work on a Gold Duke of Edinburgh Expedition for Churchill Academy. 5 groups out walking through the national park (3 practice and 2 assessed) whilst I was doing some remote supervision, checkpointing and sitting in the rain.

This week I have been in Snowdonia directing a Mountain Leader Training Course for Wet and High Adventures Ltd. There was also an assessment running so I worked one day of that as well. 6 candidates and lots of smiles carried us through a week of mixed weather. Now they all get to go off to fill up their logbooks with more days.

 This week I have been in Snowdonia running some Mountain Leader  courses for Wet and High Adventures . I was directing an assessment but swapped with Stu for a day to work on his training course. A hot start to the week meant we could spend lot of time out getting stuff done. Always hard to do night nav when it doesn't really go that dark overnight. The last picture is of some amazing Lenticular clouds that formed over Carnedd Daffyd

  Back on the hill with the Mountain Leader Training course looking at putting everything together that we have covered so far.  A mountain journey staying below the summits to avoid the worst of the weather, encountering steep ground, navigational challenges, flora, fauna (infamous Tryfan goats) and glaciation.

  Leaving the assessment team in the capable hands of Dewi, I was out with the Mountain Leader Training course today looking at all things steep ground but as always, the natural environment was discussed with loads of butterwort seen today. Anchors, spotting, belaying, abseiling and route finding were all part of what we covered today

  Day 1 of a Mountain Leader Assessment I am working on for Wet and High Adventures Ltd . Today was a wet day on Tryfan's North Ridge looking at managing a group on steep ground.  It was very wet and slippery which added to the challenge.

With the Mountain Leader Assessment candidates out on expedition with Si and Stu, I was back out on Tryfan for a second day with 2 other candidates who needed a one day steep ground assessment provided by Wet and High Adventures Ltd to finish off their qualification. I am please to say both performed at the required standard and passed. Well Done!

On Day 2 of the Mountain Leader Assessment I am directing for Wet and High Adventures Ltd , we headed to Tryfan's North Ridge for all things steep and ropey! I had the group of 3 today and the other 4 who I had yesterday were out with Stu. Lots of decision making, route finding, spotting, coaching and of course the occasional use of rope throughout the day. A damp humid and muggy start that cleared up nicely and turned into a pretty good hill day.

https://www.mountain-training.org/qualifications/walking/mountain-leader A pretty windy day for the first day of a Mountain Leader Assesment in Snowdonia for Wet and High Adventures Ltd . 7 candidates in total and 4 with me today. We sheltered from the wind in the Ogwen valley looking at all things navigational, environmental and leadership

After another long drive back to Bristol on Monday afternoon, on Tuesday morning I drove the same minibus back up to Snowdonia with the second wave of groups from Bristol Cathedral Choir School for their Gold DofE practice. Similar routes and yet again we had amazing weather during the day but it was certainly cold at night with temps dipping below zero and ice on the tents. I really enjoy working with the staff and students from this school and look forward to their summer expeditions to The Lake District this summer.