Overview
Mountain Leaders offer people opportunities to explore the UK and Ireland’s highest mountains, where spectacular views feed the soul, challenging terrain tests the body, and making the right decisions is essential. This is an assessment for summer mountain walkers that have either attended or have gained exemption from the Mountain Leader Award Training course.
This is your opportunity to demonstrate your skill and competence against a very well-established benchmark of mountain leading competence. Many people with appropriate experience also attend for personal development reasons.
DETAILED INFO
AIMS
This is a five-day course with a three day expedition and two overnight camps. This is a leadership assessment, therefore the themes of each day revolve around the technical skills and qualities of a Mountain Leader. This will be an opportunity to get feedback on your skills and share experiences with other candidates. Many candidates say they learn more from their assessment than from training, as we give you as much autonomy to perform as possible, and learn about yourself on the way.
PRE-REQUISITES
This is a Mountain Training qualification assessment, as such you must meet the following criteria before booking your Mountain Leader Assessment:
- Have completed a Mountain Leader Training course (or been granted exemption)
- Be familiar with the syllabus
- Have recorded a minimum of 40 Quality Mountain Days in at least three regions of the UK or Ireland
- Have logged at least 8 nights camping, including at least 4 nights wild camping
- Have physically attended and completed (i.e. not online) a first aid course which involved at least 2 full days or 16 hours of instruction and included an element of assessment
All the information you need about the Mountain Leader, including the definition of a Quality Mountain Day, candidate handbook. and skills checklist can be found on the Mountain Training website.
The course director will review your DLog for an appropriate level of experience before you attend the course. They will therefore be in touch with a deadline for completion of the DLog. However, it is your responsibility to fulfil the pre-requirements for assessment.
IS IT FOR ME?
If you have completed the Mountain Leader Training course and have recorded experience of 40 Quality Mountain Days (QMDs), then you are ready for this assessment.
The assessment will be run by some of the most experienced course directors in the UK who will create an environment and an experience that maximises your ability to perform well. You will also be doing it in one of the most inspirational mountain landscapes in the UK.
Glenmore Lodge has a mountain heritage based on decades of delivering and developing qualification courses such as the Mountain Leader Award.
We recommend choosing to stay at Glenmore Lodge for the duration of this course, as it means we’re able to fully support you on what is a very busy course. Due to the nature of the weather and conditions the programme is highly flexible with the course director making best use of their local knowledge to adapt and cover the syllabus. This is supported by onsite accommodation, amazing catering, powerful drying rooms, laundry facilities, meeting spaces, equipment stores, and a bar for socialising with course mates. Each day there will be an opportunity to review the day over tea and cake.
CONTENT
The programme can be downloaded from the link below. However, this is flexible and the course director will adapt the programme to best cover the syllabus over the five days.
The expedition phase may be moved due to weather, however if you have chosen the residential option, you will have the back up of a room and catering available for the whole course.
Over the duration of the course we will create opportunities and situations in which you can demonstrate your Leadership and Decision making. You can expect the course director to create an optimum environment and transparent approach to subject areas and scenarios such that it will be clear what is being assessed and clear feedback on how you performed. You can also expect to learn throughout the course. You will also be supported by our comprehensive stores, offering a resource for use on the course or expedition.
View the Mountain Leader Assessment Programme HERE
Home Paper
You will also need to spend time on researching and completing the written home paper, a copy of which can be found further down this page.
Environmental Talk
Please prepare a 5 minute environmental talk to be given while out on the hill during the course. It should have relevance to the general UK mountain environment. These will form part of the assessment relevant to the access and conservation competencies. The topics can range from flora, fauna & lichens, to landscape, history, aspects of land management, animal husbandry, access & footpaths, glaciology, food chains, forestry, military history, climate, geology, and social and economic benefits of outdoor adventure sports.
DATES & PRICES
| 2024 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COURSE DATE | COST (no accommodation) |
PLACES | BOOKING | |
| Date21/10/24 | Cost (no accommodation)£460.00 | Places | ||
| Need a different date? Call 01479 861 256 to arrange your own date, or email [email protected] | ||||
| 2025 | ||||
| COURSE DATE | COST (no accommodation) |
PLACES | BOOKING | |
| Date05/05/25 | Cost (no accommodation)£485.00 | Places | ||
| Date09/06/25 | Cost (no accommodation)£485.00 | Places | ||
| Date04/08/25 | Cost (no accommodation)£485.00 | Places | ||
| Date08/09/25 | Cost (no accommodation)£485.00 | Places | ||
| Date06/10/25 | Cost (no accommodation)£485.00 | Places | ||
| Date20/10/25 | Cost (no accommodation)£485.00 | Places | ||
| Need a different date? Call 01479 861 256 to arrange your own date, or email [email protected] | ||||
USEFUL INFORMATION
- Start Time:
- 09:00
- End Time:
- 17:00
- Meeting at:
- Glenmore Lodge
WHAT'S INCLUDED?
Instruction
Use of kit
Packed lunch and afternoon tea each day
In-course transport
Client REVIEWS
NEED TO KNOW
WHAT WILL I NEED
Glenmore Lodge has a large, and very comprehensive store of up to date clothing and equipment. Although we can supply most equipment you will need, at this level you are encouraged to use your own hill gear including emergency gear, tent, stove etc. (Your instructor will of course want to check that personal equipment is appropriate for the activity).
YOU WILL NEED (Glenmore Lodge can provide if required)
- Waterproof jackets and trouser
- Insulated synthetic jacket
- Appropriate footwear for the attended course
- Gaiters
- Helmet
- 40lt rucksack
- Walking poles
- Expedition kit (tent, sleeping bag & mat, stove etc)
EQUIPMENT YOU NEED TO BRING WHICH WE DO NOT HAVE IN THE STORES
Listed here are the essentials, this is not an exhaustive list.
- Personal clothing
- Warm outdoor wear
- Insulating layers
- Trekking / climbing trousers (not cotton)
- Hat & gloves – leather palmed Belay Gloves are useful for rope work scenarios.
- Whistle
- Compass – Silva type 4 recommended with a 1:40,000 romer
- Waterproof map case (maps and map cases are not a stores item but can be purchased from our shop)
- Rucksack liner (or sturdy bin liner) / dry bags
- Hydration system (water bottle)
- Box or bag for packed lunch
- Personal first aid kit
- Personal toiletries & medications (towels are provided)
- Suncream, sunglasses & sun hat
- Insect repellent
Map information – we encourage everyone on mountain courses to have a map covering the Northern Cairngorms with a 10km radius from the ski area. There are now a range of scales and maps available OS 1:50,000, OS 1:25,000 and Harvey Map 1:40,000. For candidates on any NGB course such as Mountain Leader summer, you should have a 1:50,000 map and ideally one other scale. For non-qualification courses any scale is fine, OS 1:50,000 map sheet 36 covers the widest area, but the Harvey 1:40,000 has a lot of additional information on the back of it, however it is useful to have the Silva Mark 4 compass with the 1:40,000 scale on it, (only available since 2010)
If you have digital mapping and can print off map sheets a suggested area would be:
NW corner NH8514 NE corner NJ0314
SW corner NN8593 SE corner NO0393
Glennmore Lodge will provide any technical equipment required on a skills course e.g. climbing ropes and racks. However it would be expected that students attending any climbing NGB courses will have their own technical equipment other than ropes which Glenmore Lodge will provide.
