Overview
Mountain Leaders offer people an opportunity 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. Mountain Leaders can also lead walks in hills, moorland, and lowland areas. This is a training course for summer mountain walkers that would like to lead single or multi-day walks. The qualification is a very well-established benchmark of mountain leading comeptence, as such many people with appropriate experience also attend for personal development reasons.
DETAILED INFO
AIMS
This is a six-day course with a two-day expedition and overnight camp. This is a leadership course, therefore the themes of each day will revolve around the technical skills and qualities of a Mountain Leader.
We will aim to train skills that are not often practiced or called upon in a recreational walking context. Throughout we offer feedback and advice on how to develop your skills and help you build an action plan that will prepare you for assessment should you wish to become qualified.
PRE-REQUISITES
This is a Mountain Training qualification course, as such you must meet the following criteria and register before booking a training place:
- You must be at least 18 years old
- You should have at least a year’s worth of mountain walking experience
- You should have an interest in leading groups in the mountains
- You must be a member (club or individual) of a mountaineering council (BMC, Mountaineering Scotland, Mountaineering Ireland)
- You must have created an account on Mountain Training’s Candidate Management System (CMS) and registered for the Mountain Leader qualification (cost: £65)
Once you have registered and prior to booking your training course:
- You must have recorded a minimum of 20 Quality Mountain Days (QMDs), ideally recorded on the digital logbook within the Mountain Training CMS, which can have taken place at any point pre- or post-registration
All the information you need about the Mountain Leader Award, including the registration process, Quality Mountain Day definition, candidate handbook, and skills checklist can be found on the Mountain Training website.
IS IT FOR ME?
If you are a summer mountain walker with experience of at least 20 Quality Mountain Days, then you can register with Mountain Training and attend this course. If you want to gain confidence, develop your skills to a high level, learn leadership and decision-making in the mountains and share your experience with others, then this course is for you.
This course will be run by some of the most experienced course directors in the UK, who will create an environment and experience that maximises your learning 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 your learning 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 with some early evening lectures.
CONTENT
The Mountain Leader Training course 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 six days. If you refer to the candidate handbook, downloadable from Mountain Training’s website, this will give you an idea of what to expect.
Leadership and decision-making will be a theme of each day. Expect to have specific training in personal skills such as:
- Navigation
- Environmental knowledge
- Weather knowledge
- Equipment
- Steep ground hazards and management
- Water hazards and management
- Expedition skills
- Emergency procedures
The whole course is supported by our comprehensive stores, offering a resource for equipment training and for use on the course or expedition.
View the Mountain Leader Training Programme HERE
Additional Useful Links:
Where are the mountainous areas of the UK and Ireland?
DATES & PRICES
| 2025 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COURSE DATE | COST (no accommodation) |
PLACES | BOOKING | |
| Date28/04/25 | Cost (no accommodation)£485.00 | Places | ||
| Date19/05/25 | Cost (no accommodation)£485.00 | Places | ||
| Date16/06/25 | Cost (no accommodation)£485.00 | Places | ||
| Date30/06/25 | Cost (no accommodation)£485.00 | Places | ||
| Date21/07/25 | Cost (no accommodation)£485.00 | Places | ||
| Date11/08/25 | Cost (no accommodation)£485.00 | Places | ||
| Date01/09/25 | Cost (no accommodation)£485.00 | Places | ||
| Date15/09/25 | Cost (no accommodation)£485.00 | Places | ||
| Date06/10/25 | Cost (no accommodation)£485.00 | Places | ||
| Date19/10/25 | 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
WHAT'S INCLUDED?
Instruction
Use of kit
Packed lunch and afternoon tea each day
In-course transport
DOCUMENTS
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 all the 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
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
Glenmore 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.
Please print out and bring with you the Skills checklist.
