Mountain Training Association News

MTA Volunteer Awards 2023

Our volunteer awards are part of our ongoing appreciation for all that volunteers do for Mountain Training's Association and in the wider world. These awards highlight the incredible work that volunteers do and profile the positive impact they make on society and the world around them. Categories and criteria are all listed below and cover areas such as the environment, access, youth engagement,...

24/08/2023 12:11

New compostable membership card

Members expressed the wish for the Mountain Training Association to become more sustainable, so one of the actions we have undertaken is that we have sourced a new membership card that is completely compostable. Although this may not seem like a large change, with nearly 9000 members, that would mean that we would have had 9000 membership cards going to landfill annually. We looked into...

16/05/2023 13:36

Full Member changed to Qualified Member

We made this change to make it easier to understand the difference between the two membership categories Trainee Member and Qualified (formerly Full) Member. The difference, as you can hopefully guess, is that Trainee members are those who have registered for a Mountain Training qualification and have not yet passed the assessment for any qualification, and Qualified members are those who have...

16/05/2023 12:19

Positive Steps Outdoors

A new social enterprise (profit with a social purpose), we connect people to majestic upland, moorland and forested environments, and each other, helping communities and individuals manage life’s pressures, build sustainable networks, strengthen future resilience and deepen their affinity with the environment. Our ‘green therapy’ service comprises tailored hikes in iconic...

24/03/2023 12:30

Mountain Training Association strategy 2023-2028

The initial concept for a members’ association for Mountain Training candidates was put forward in 2001 by John Cousins (Chief Executive Officer for Mountain Training United Kingdom and Ireland) with a proposed remit to: Keep candidates informed about Mountain Training developments Create a forum for candidates to share ideas Enable candidates to access and create further training The...

02/03/2023 11:52

Mentoring programme 2023

We are delighted to be offering another opportunity for our members to have mentoring support from a volunteer MTA Mentor! MTA's Mentoring programme is designed to offer members additional one to one support after attending a training course, to help with the journey to assessment. It is available to you if you have Completed a training course for one of Mountain Training's qualifications...

23/02/2023 13:04

Contribute to The Professional Mountaineer magazine

The Professional Mountaineer is the magazine written by members for members and proudly produced by the four associations: British Mountain Guides, British Association of International Mountain Leaders, Association of Mountaineering Instructors and Mountain Training Association. The aim of the magazine is to provide a useful resource for members with educational and informative content covering a...

10/02/2023 10:31

Upcoming Met Office Weather Workshops

As we are entering our fifth year of collaboration work with the Met Office delivering specialist weather workshops to members around the UK, it's time for an update. These sessions have been carefully designed to support the syllabi of Mountain Training's qualifications as well as to enhance the knowledge of qualified leaders and instructors. They are all about the practical application of...

26/01/2023 10:01

Lessons for us from the recent stand up paddleboard tragedy

The accident : At about 09:00 on 30 October 2021, a group of nine stand up paddleboarders, two leaders and seven clients, on a commercial river tour from Haverfordwest to Burton Ferry, Wales, descended Haverfordwest Town Weir. Four of the group became trapped at the weir by the hydraulic towback and subsequently lost their lives. The investigators : We are fortunate in this case that a publicly...

03/01/2023 16:18

MTA Volunteer Awards 2022 Winners

At the 2022 Mountain Training Association (MTA) Autumn Conference at the Field Studies Council's Blencathra Centre the winners of the first ever volunteer awards were announced: celebrating members' achievements, those who have gone above and beyond, shown initiative and dedication, and made a difference in what they do. Nominations are open for next year's awards already, so if you know someone...

30/11/2022 16:46

MTA Autumn Conference 2022

We are excited to announce our biennial autumn conference is back on the programme! This year we'll continue to support outdoor centres by hosting the conference at the Field Studies Council's Blencathra Centre on Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th November 2022. We hope you will join us! We have a fantastic range of full day workshops run by experts in their field, all designed to support you...

27/07/2022 12:00

MTA Volunteer Awards 2022

At the 2022 Mountain Training Association (MTA) Biennial Conference, Friday 18th to Sunday 20th November at the Field Studies Council Blencathra, we will be presenting our first ever Volunteer Awards to members who have gone above and beyond, shown initiative and drive, and made a difference in what they do. Categories and criteria are all listed below and cover areas such as the environment,...

17/05/2022 15:28

Members Survey Results

WINNER of the Trailhead 65 Bronze Berghaus rucksack from the survey prize draw is John Lyster from Lisburn, Northern Ireland. Congratulations John! Mountain Training Association has recently conducted a survey of our members, with the survey open between the 23rd February and the 10th April, 2022. During which time we have received 784 responses, approximately 10% of the membership. The...

13/05/2022 15:50

Calling all MTA experts

Here at the Mountain Training Association (MTA) we are looking to use our social media platforms to profile the expertise and calibre of our members as part of a larger publicity campaign to raise the profile of Mountain Training’s association and its members to other organisations involved in walking, climbing and mountaineering as well as the public at large. To that end we are looking...

18/02/2022 13:52

Peak region roundup 2021

After a dubious start post lockdown, and practically no events being possible in the early part of the year, 2021 has turned out to be a bumper year! Cath Sinclair nobly filled the Peak void by organising a Zoom quiz early in March, great fun, and a chance to have facetime with old friends. But would we ever see a hill again? We are, however, nothing if not determined. With lots of help from our...

02/12/2021 15:02

Weather Workshops

We are delighted to be entering our fourth year of collaboration work with the Met Office delivering specialist weather workshops to members around the UK. These sessions have been carefully designed to support the syllabi of Mountain Training's qualifications as well as to enhance the knowledge of qualified leaders and instructors. They are all about the practical application of information...

23/11/2021 12:45

Yorkshire region - Autumn Winter programme

The Yorkshire regional volunteers have been busy pulling together a programme of events for the Yorkshire Region from Peer-led Night Navigation Practice, to Social Climbs and sessions on Archaeology and Geology for over the next 6 months. Details of all of these are listed below, those where details are waiting to be confirmed (TBC) will be updated on the workshop pages as soon as possible and...

28/10/2021 10:50

North Wales region - Autumn Winter programme

North Wales regional volunteers have been busy putting together a regional programme for the winter months, which includes, the popular night nav evenings, Welsh language sessions and pizza eating! Peter Rutherford, the Access officer for Snowdonia National Park has kindly offered to give us an overview of access in the Park. This is going to be a great evening and particularly relevant at the...

28/10/2021 10:03

Long Mynd social

11th May 2021 A huge thanks to Paul An opportunity for a midweek hill social, and hill skills refresher on The Long Mynd for local members. Find out what some of our members thought about the day... The day started off with determining individual pace counts. An exercise that proved incredibly worthwhile as none were as previously known or determined, with one being 25% under. It was explained...

27/05/2021 10:27

2021 Leaders landscape training

Friends of the Lake District are running a variety of landscape training sessions throughout spring and summer and autumn this year, specifically designed for outdoor leaders. Gain a deeper understand of Cumbria's upland ecology and understand some of the issues and pressures of outdoor users on the landscape, wildlife and habitats. Looking at your ‘office space’ with a heightened...

20/04/2021 15:10

2021 New Year Lockdown Webinars

We would like to wish all our members a Happy New Year! As we start the year in another national lockdown, we understand this is a difficult time for all and therefore we are busy putting together a programme of online webinars to help enable you to continue learning and engaging with the MTA community during these challenging times. Here's a few to get you started...... We are very sorry to...

08/01/2021 10:27

Get ready for winter

Important update: 6th January 2021 Following the recent Scottish Government announcements which came into effect on the 5th January. MTA and Glenmore Lodge deeply regret that our planned Winter CPD weekend due to take place on the 23rd and 24th January has now been cancelled. We apologise for any inconvenience and look forward to being able to bring you more CPD opportunities in the future. ...

18/11/2020 14:10

2021 Met Office weather sessions

The Mountain Training Association is thrilled to announce the launch of the 2021 programme of Met Office mountain weather workshops! These sessions have been carefully designed to support the syllabi of Mountain Training's qualifications as well as to enhance the knowledge of qualified leaders and instructors. They are all about practically applying information gained from weather forecasts...

17/11/2020 10:00

National Plant Monitoring Scheme - supported by Plantlife

Published: 23rd September 2020 Last updated: 19th March 2021 The MTA webinars covering aspects of the upland environment and upland vegetation that took place during spring/lockdown this year, were joined by a significant number of MTA members. These sessions were always oversubscribed and created some enthusiastic feedback, demonstrating a keen interest in this important aspect of the...

23/09/2020 10:53

2020 leaders landscape training

26/08/2020 16:57

Covid 19: Advice for members

15th May 2020 - Note this information will evolve over the coming weeks and months Following the UK Government’s announcement on 11th May about easing lockdown restrictions in England, we’re aware that MTA members may be looking for clarification about what this means for hill walking and climbing, gaining further experience, using your qualifications and the delivery of Mountain...

22/05/2020 10:28

Helping keep outdoor activities Covid secure

Last updated on 10th August 2021 We are committed to keeping our members informed with relevant information relating to Covid-19 across the UK and Ireland. We hope this will enable you to make responsibly informed decisions regarding any work and volunteering you do with your Mountain Training qualification, or to support your preparation for training and assessment courses. We strongly believe...

19/05/2020 11:30

Programme for 2020

To support MTA members during the lockdown we're thrilled to announce the launch of a new series of FREE online webinars running throughout May and June. We have a wide range of subjects on offer and a fantastic team of experienced and knowledgeable experts to host the sessions. This series experiments with a mixture of delivery styles from presentations and tutorials to discussions, quizzes and...

22/04/2020 10:58

Contact your MP

AMI, BAIML and MTA have produced a template letter for members wishing to contact their local Member of Parliament regarding government support for freelance/self-employed workers. It’s written so that if you are not freelance or self-employed you can still send it to support fellow members should you wish to do so. We are also making representations to the government (through the...

24/03/2020 14:34

MTA and Covid-19

During these unprecedented times as we all do our bit to try to suppress the spread of the Coronavirus epidemic, we all face many challenges. MTA has advised its workshop providers to cancel upcoming CPD sessions and this will be reviewed towards the end of April. This is because travel to and from workshops, possible alternative accommodation arrangements and a close quarter learning environment...

20/03/2020 10:37

Changes to AALA

After twenty four years the contractor that has run the Adventure Activity Licensing Service, TQS, is standing down at the end of March. Our thanks go to Marcus Baillie and his team for all our joint work over the years. Adventure Risk Management Services (Adv-RMS) will takeover on 1 April 2020. We are looking forward to working with Tim Morton of Adv-RMS, who is currently employed as Deputy...

28/02/2020 09:30

2020 Met Office mountain weather workshops

The Mountain Training Association are thrilled to announce the launch of the 2020 programme of Met Office weather workshops! Now in our third year, this collaboration is going strong and we're continuing to grow the number of educational opportunities available to our members across the UK. These sessions have been carefully designed to support the syllabi of Mountain Training's qualifications...

04/11/2019 12:05

Autumn Conference - Last few spaces

This year MTA is taking its biennial autumn conference to the Lake District! We hope you can all join us at Derwent Hill outdoor centre on Saturday 23rd - Sunday 24th November 2019 . We have a fantastic range of full day workshops run by experts in their fields, all designed to support you through your training, consolidation, get you ready for your assessment and/or refresh your skills when...

23/10/2019 10:06

Kick start your winter in 2020

The MTA winter CPD weekend is back in all of it's glory next January (25th-26th) at Glenmore Lodge, and we're already taking bookings!This is a great weekend, packed full of winter based CPD workshops for members of the Mountain Training Association; an ideal opportunity to develop, refresh and learn new skills, find out about working as a Winter Mountain Leader and meet like-minded members. ...

02/10/2019 15:46

Annual reports

2020 summary Due to the pandemic a fresh intake of mentor and mentee applicants was put on hold and the 2019 mentoring programme was extended for another year. All existing mentees/mentors from the previous year were invited to continue their mentoring relationships. 2019 summary Update coming soon... 2018 summary A big thank you to our mentors and mentees for being part of MTA’s first...

27/08/2019 15:26

Moors for the future partnership

By Peter Judd - MTA member & BMC specialist volunteer This is the third year that I have coordinated a day out with the Moors for the Future Partnership looking at blanket bog restoration in the Peak District with the Moors for the Future Partnership This year MFTFP chose a new venue Wessenden Moor. Whilst previous events have filled to capacity with waiting lists, I was rather disappointed...

13/08/2019 09:55

The Real3Peaks challenge 2019

This year, not only do we have the ‘Big 3’ (Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Yr Wyddfa/Snowdon) but also Lochnagar, Cairngorm, Ben Macdui, Ben Lomond, Isle of Skye, Roseberry Topping, The Roaches, Coniston Old Man and Pen y Fan amongst others. This is a massive increase on ground we’re covering, including all the high ground in the Cairngorm National Park. That’s no modest...

19/07/2019 12:25

Green exercise for mental health

Last month, several of our MTA members volunteered as leaders in Black Dog Outdoors’ inaugural day walk, using their experience as qualified Mountain Leaders to lead the group and provide support throughout the day. Black Dog Outdoors has been established to promote outdoor activities as a means of improving mental health. “Many of the mental health organisations are citing...

20/05/2019 11:53

Blencathra summit stone replaced by MTA members

A group of enthusiastic Mountain Training Association members spearheaded by John Beamson have replaced the summit stone on Blencathra in the Lake District thanks to a crowdfunding campaign. The stone went missing in August 2018 and is presumed to have been stolen. After hearing rumours of the stone’s disappearance, John lead a client up Sharp Edge (a popular scramble on the Blencathra...

10/04/2019 15:36

What Brexit means for UK sport

On Tuesday 19th March Mountain Training attended an All Party Parliamentary Mountaineering Group meeting at Portcullis House in London. Representatives from Horse Riding, Paddlesport, the Ramblers, the British mountaineering Council and the Outdoor Industry Association were all there plus three MPs, including John Mann who chaired the group. During the meeting the Sport and Recreation Alliance...

26/03/2019 16:35

2019 Leaders Landscape Training

08/03/2019 14:58

Making the most of winter

The annual MTA winter CPD weekend was back in all of it's glory at Glenmore Lodge on January 26th-27th. Packed full of winter based CPD workshops it was an ideal opportunity for MTA members to develop, refresh and learn new skills, find out about working as a Winter Mountain Leader, top up on their avalanche awareness and meet like-minded members. Some of our members have kindly given us some...

25/02/2019 12:27

Met Office & MTA collaboration

These workshops have been carefully designed to support the syllabi of Mountain Training's qualifications as well as to enhance the knowledge of qualified leaders and instructors. They are all about practically applying information gained from weather forecasts during the planning stage and dynamically whilst out in the hills and mountains. By working with Mountain Training Association the Met...

18/02/2019 16:05

Night nav oclock

MTA workshop review - 14th Nov 2018 A challenge for those of us based in the South East is how to hone skills for the hill, moorland and mountain environments without travelling away from home? This week's night navigation and dealing with emergencies workshop with Steve Pease in the Chilterns proved that, with his approach, it is very possible to learn and improve for more remote locations, in...

12/12/2018 09:43

Coaching & Teaching event

MTA and AMI have teamed up to bring you a weekend of “all things coaching” focusing on the processes of coaching and helping you to understand coaching concepts and when to use them. Know when and how to apply coaching skills regardless of activity or level and integrate them when leading groups or instructing clients. This event will give you an abundance of tools, models and ideas...

19/10/2018 11:55

Get ready for winter

This is a great weekend, packed full of winter based CPD workshops for members of the Mountain Training Association; an ideal opportunity to develop, refresh and learn new skills, find out about working as a Winter Mountain Leader and meet like-minded members. There are a range of workshops including an introduction to winter skills for those who are venturing out in winter for the first time,...

19/10/2018 11:49

End of summer Midlands meet

On the last weekend in September, the Midlands Regional group were welcomed to the North Staffordshire Gritstone venue of The Roaches. A strong selection of volunteers and members met at the fantastic Peak Climbing School in Upper Hulme (thanks for the warm welcome Stu!), before heading out in peer led groups to look at diverse areas such as, rigging as a Rock Climbing Instructor, Bridging the...

10/10/2018 13:56

MTA Leadership resources

The Mountain Training Association (the support and development branch of Mountain Training) have teamed up with Dr Samantha McElligott, Mountain Leader and leadership consultant, to provide members with a very handy package of practical leadership resources to help you review and develop your leadership practice , as well as links to other useful websites and reading material to further enhance...

26/09/2018 10:53

E-learning

We currently have five e-learning modules available, with more under development. All of the modules are designed to complement one or more of the Mountain Training schemes and we think they're a great way to supplement your learning and development, regardless of what stage you're at. One of these modules (Geology) has been designed by us, the Mountain Training Association and is exclusive to...

14/09/2018 11:26

Bridge the Gap

Our 'Bridging the gap between SPA and RCI' workshops are one day update and training sessions for people who have completed their Single Pitch Award training and wish to become familiar with the new aspects of the Rock Climbing Instructor syllabus prior to assessment, or for those assessed under the SPA to update their skills in line with the RCI syllabus. Update and refresh your skills, revisit...

07/09/2018 12:51

All things coaching

30/08/2018 11:28

Moors for the future

A windy and overcast Saturday morning saw 12 MTA members set out onto Kinder Scout accompanied by two members of staff from the Moors for the Future Programme (a multi-million pound upland peat bog restoration programme working with moorland land owners across both the Peak District and South Pennines). During our journey we were told how industrial pollution had caused extensive damage to the...

23/08/2018 15:34

Kick start your winter

09/08/2018 14:44

1:50 maps and beyond

We all navigate confidently (usually!) at 1:25k. But as you know, the Mountain Leader syllabus requires candidates and award holders to be just as efficient at other scales. Typically this will be 1:50k, but there are other scales; Harvey at 1:40 with those tricky 15m contours; 1:10k, which you have to order; and so on. Ever tried navigating your way around Kinder Scout using a 19th century map?...

09/07/2018 10:49

Reliving the Mass Trespass

In glorious clear weather, sunshine relieved by a cool breeze, nine MTA members walked in the footsteps of the heroic working class lads and lasses, who in 1932 defied the hired bullies of the grouse-shooting toffs, and dared to set foot on the forbidden slopes of Kinder Scout, demanding the right of access to our wild places. Stephen Jones, MTA regional coordinator for the Peak District lead the...

27/06/2018 13:13

Become a GPS guru

Everyone who ventures outdoors knows how important it is to be a competent navigator in the terrain that you are in – be it countryside, moorland or mountain. This is even more vital when leading groups; your navigation should be so slick that it doesn’t impinge on your responsibility for the group’s well-being and enjoyment. GPS technology, while never being a substitute for...

18/04/2018 14:47

ML Refreshers in the Peaks

Chris Harling has been running some brilliant Mountain Leader refresher weekends this spring and summer in the Peak District and we're looking forward to him hosting more for members in the coming months. Here's a little review of the sessions so far: Until I had been asked to run a Mountain Leader refresher workshop in The Peak District, I had not really looked at the possibilities for coaching...

05/04/2018 12:05

Lake District Leaders Landscape Training

Friends of the Lake District are running a variety of landscape training sessions throughout spring and summer this year, specifically designed for outdoor leaders. Gain a deeper understand of Cumbria's upland ecology and understand some of the issues and pressures of outdoor users on the landscape, wildlife and habitats. Looking at your ‘office space’ with a heightened awareness and...

28/03/2018 12:41

Volunteer for MTA

Our membership is growing annually and the spread of members across the UK is ever changing. As a result, we're looking to create more local communities of support within the wider MTA community and we have a number of brand new regional volunteer posts available, as well as a replacement post for Sue Manns our West Midlands Coordinator who is stepping down in order to take up another volunteer...

18/01/2018 16:11

Winter weekend

The MTA winter weekend held at Glenmore Lodge is back by popular demand and this year the focus is Getting into Winter . This is a great weekend of winter based CPD workshops for members of the Mountain Training Association; an ideal opportunity to develop, refresh and learn new skills and meet like-minded members. All workshops are staffed by instructors who work at the National Centre or are...

12/01/2018 09:26

Learn to lead

Transformational leadership; inspire, enable and develop others. Following the successes of the last few years, Samantha returns again this year to deliver her popular Transformational Leadership workshops for Mountain Training. Leadership is central to all the qualifications that Mountain Training administers and this is a great opportunity to focus on what good leadership really is. The...

12/12/2017 11:56

What a weekend

Expert instructors, super keen members, kind weather and amazing Plas y Brenin food and accommodation proved to be the perfect recipe for a very successful MTA CPD autumn conference last weekend. We had a fantastic range of full day workshops run by experts in their fields, all designed to support members through their training, consolidation, get them ready for assessment and/or refresh their...

23/11/2017 14:20

MTUK Adventuremark Accreditation

Adventuremark is a non-statutory safety scheme devised by the Adventure Activity Industry Advisory Committee (AAIAC) for providers of adventurous activities that are outside the scope of the Adventure Activity Licensing regulations. Adventuremark allows providers to demonstrate to their customers or users that the provider's safety management and related delivery systems have been inspected and...

15/11/2017 11:19

Training with the West Mercia SAR team

On a sunny Sunday morning (15th October) 10 MTA members joined the West Mercia Search and Rescue team on a training session in the Wyre Forest. Having learned about different search techniques and the way in which humans record visual events, we headed off on an initial route and path search to find a missing 28 year old, white male (rather a broad description, but very typical). Reports of a...

20/10/2017 14:15

3 is the magic number

As part of the excellent CPD workshop programme organised by the MTA Peak District regional group coordinator Stephen Jones, it has been my pleasure to provide a series of workshop days this year focusing on the Access and Environment components of the various Mountain Training award schemes. Following an initial discussion with Stephen, Belinda and Jo over coffee and cakes in the Outside...

11/10/2017 14:24

The 2017 Real3Peaks Challenge

This year's date for the Real3Peaks Challenge is Saturday 7th October The Real3Peaks (R3P) is now 5 years old and this year, not only are we cleaning up the Big 3: Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon, but also Lochnagar, Cairngorm, Ben Macdui,Ben Lomond, Goat Fell and two areas of The Peak District! The aim of the Real3Peaks Challenge is to increase awareness of the ‘Leave no...

02/10/2017 11:02

CPD, cake & climbing

CPD, cake and climbing . . . what more could you want from a September weekend in the Peak district? How about chilli and chips and a rave at the rectory?! Excellent! The Peaks MTA crew welcomed us North Walians with open arms and hosted a weekend to remember; the return visit after an enjoyable day of climbing in sunny Snowdonia back in May.Bright and early on Saturday we had a delicious...

27/09/2017 10:24

What are our members up to

On 17th July, MTA member, Graham Little and the rest of the team from Outdoor Education NW (an AALA licensed provider), joined forces with West View climbing centre to host their very first free climbing festival for local schools along the Fylde coast. The aim of the event was to create an opportunity for a high volume of young people to have their first taste of climbing in a relaxed, fun...

22/08/2017 15:55

Climbing with confidence

31/07/2017 15:16

Ropework refresher

Steve Pease of Vertical Relief ran an excellent Mountain Leader ropework refresher workshop yesterday evening for MTA members in the South East. Here's a little bit of feedback from some of the attendees: Having done my Mountain Leader assessment nearly seven years ago, but not practised the techniques taught on the Mountain Leader courses much since then, the workshop was very useful not only...

19/07/2017 12:52

A lesson in Access & Conservation

In June and July, MTA members local to the Peak District were treated to a two-day CPD workshop series by David Broom (expert ecologist and Mountain Leader course staff), designed to help Lowland, Hill and Mountain Leaders expand their environmental knowledge and consolidate their environmental interpretation skills. Walking and mountain leaders enjoy opportunities to lead groups within outdoor...

12/07/2017 09:35

An MTA member in need

I have been involved in mentoring several aspirant CWA holders in schools I have been working with. This has been through lead climbing training, coaching, and supporting them getting experience with novice groups. One of the school staff, MTA member Karen Martin, successfully passed her CWA/CWAA a few years ago and quite quickly gained work within outdoor education. Sadly Karen was recently...

03/07/2017 09:27

Tools for teaching nav

Friday 12th of May at The Black Mountain Lodge, Glasbury, South Wales with South Wales MTA regional coordinator, Will Kilner. I knew the second Will arrived it was him. His “Adventures with Will” T-shirt said so! Even though it was early, he had a lot of energy and greeted those of us who had arrived with the news that coffee and tea was available. This was eventually much...

25/05/2017 09:52

2017 Conference

Don't miss your opportunity to attend MTA's 2017 autumn conference at Plas y Brenin National Mountain Centre on Saturday 18th - Sunday 19th November 2017 . We have a fantastic range of full day workshops run by experts in their fields, all designed to support you through your training, consolidation, get you ready for your assessment and/or refresh your skills when you're out and about using...

22/05/2017 10:48

North Wales- Peak Exchange

A recent MTA event held over the weekend of the 13th and 14th of May saw the North Wales and Peak Regions of the MTA come together in a social gathering . The event was jointly organised by the North Wales and Peak Regional Coordinators, Paul Poole and Stephen Jones respectively. The reason for this event was to bring members from each region together for a fun filled weekend of activities which...

22/05/2017 10:09

New member benefit

We are excited to announce that our members will now receive tahdah premium features for free as part of their MTA membership. We know that a lot of our members have been using these features already so for them this is a great annual saving of up to £20. We think the premium features have a lot to offer which is why we wanted to share them with all of our members. Here are just a few of...

17/05/2017 14:23

A layer cake of history

Saturday the 6th of May saw 8 people gather in Gradbach, in the Peak District, to join Austin Knott in visiting a number of Peak District aircraft wreck sites, scattered amongst the surrounding hills, in this attractive corner of the White Peak. Austin took participants to a number of sites where aircraft had been shot down or crashed, both during and shortly after WWII. Austin, who had clearly...

10/05/2017 14:24

Leaders Landscape Training 2017

04/05/2017 09:53

A members story

Cath Sinclair has been an MTA member for the past 3 years and holds the Mountain Leader award. Read more about her story: Brought up in a walking and nature loving family, I walked up Snowdon aged 5 and never looked back!The inspiration to do mountain training came from wanting to increase my skills as I was already leading walks and my friends encouraged me to follow my dream. I have just...

12/04/2017 09:23

A Winter Mountain Leader at age 22

Alex has been an MTA member for almost 4 years and became a Winter Mountain Leader at the age of 22. Read more about his journey... I've always been interested in the outdoors, since I was a child. , I think growing up watching the National Geographic and Discovery Channels on TV shaped my dream of being an adventurer for a job, but school and college sort of put you into the mind-set that it...

05/04/2017 14:39

Read about Ali

Ali Evans joined MTA 2 years ago. She was already a Hill & Moorland Leader award holder and is now currently working towards her Mountain leader and Climbing Wall Award qualifications. Read more about her journey ... My real passion didn’t come until my late twenties. In fact, I hadn’t climbed Penyfan until my 29th birthday – embarrassing as it’s on my doorstep!!...

30/03/2017 11:02

Leave No Trace

On a very sunny March weekend in North Wales last year, MTA members were out in force making the most of the first MTA Leave No Trace Trainer workshop, hosted by Life Trek Adventures, now Nature Training - a company based in the Highlands, run by Sebastien Shingler and Heidi Schwenk. Seb and Heidi are experienced Leave No Trace educators dedicated to delivering Leave No Trace ethics in the form...

27/03/2017 14:25

Throwing some light on night nav

22nd March 2017 - hosted by Steve Pease of Vertical Relief. After a busy day at work, jumping in the car to go and spend an evening strolling through the darkness sounded a bit odd to my (non-outdoorsy) girlfriend, but under the banner of CPD a glimmer of understanding was seen and so the night navigation course was booked. I met Steve our mentor for the evening in fading light at a carpark near...

27/03/2017 09:22

An MTA members story

Alex Kendall has been an MTA member for 6 years and is a qualified Winter Mountain Leader working in the outdoors. Read more about his outdoor journey here... I've always enjoyed being in the outdoors, from holidays to Wales and Devon when I was small, to walking weeks in Austria and Switzerland when I was a bit bigger. It was during my degree that I really got into mountain walking in the UK,...

24/03/2017 09:52

2017 Leadership workshops

Transformational leadership; inspire, enable and develop others. Following the huge success of last autumn's series of leadership workshops, Mountain Training will be running a second set around England and Wales this spring. Leadership is central to all the qualifications that Mountain Training administers and this is a great opportunity to focus on what good leadership really is. The...

24/03/2017 09:46

Once upon a time

The mountains are different things to different people; they are a place for adventure, a place for solitude, for friendship or for learning. Many of these perspectives are relatively recent phenomenon, but the elemental nature of the mountain environment has gone hand in hand with the telling of stories for centuries . It was this perspective that brought 10 curious individuals together at Craig...

20/02/2017 10:28

A winters tale

This was not something I'd ever thought I'd be attempting while hurtling down a snow slope, head first on my back. Life is full of challenges and the 'tummy crunch' would enable me to stab the slope with the most lethal weapon I've ever handled. Flip over to my stomach in one smooth movement. Gravity would do the rest - so theory has it. I now know how to do an ice axe arrest - all I have to do...

08/02/2017 15:37

Night nav in the lowlands

You live 160 miles from the nearest decent fell walking countryside; you crave some night nav practice; you get to hear about the South East Night Navigation in Lowland Terrain workshop from the MTA taking place on 1st February… Bliss! Not knowing quite what to expect, I was heartened, upon arriving at the National Trust Car Park near Ivinghoe Beacon after dark, to see a cluster of seven...

03/02/2017 12:47

A day out with SSART

Saturday 3rd Dec 2016 MTA members were welcomed at the Staffordshire Search and Rescue Team base by Rob Messenger , search dog Penny and his SSART colleagues. Rob led a lively, informative and very amusing presentation on the work of the team. SSART is run by volunteers, funded by donation. They give up an enormous amount of time and do not benefit from the ‘kit deals’ that MRT...

08/12/2016 11:50

Night navigation is back

The clocks go back and suddenly thoughts turn to the much maligned night nav..... The last Sunday of October saw 8 MTA members meeting in Great Langdale as the Lakes area ran the first of a series of progressive night navigation workshops . The mix of members attending was great – we had trainees, people who qualified 20 years ago, IML's and members just wanting to meet up with other like...

03/11/2016 16:14

Taking your climbing to the next level

Last weekend Samantha Leary of Sam Leary Mountaineering ran two brand new single day workshops for MTA; Ropes and Rock on Saturday was followed by Single to Multipitch on Sunday. Here's a little update on the weekend: The weather was kind to us and we had a great couple of days in the mountains of North Wales on dry rock. Saturday was all about staying safe on a single pitch crag. We spent most...

26/10/2016 09:35

Leading the way in the lowlands

We're bringing CPD opportunities to the South East and we've kick started the autumn with a fantastic lowland navigation refresher and many more workshops in pipeline. Hosted by Steven Pease of Vertical Relief - an experienced provider of both the Lowland Leader award and the Climbing Wall Leading award courses, this workshop was a great navigation refresher for Lowland Leader award holders and...

25/10/2016 14:35

Environment CPD

Are you working towards a walking leadership qualification? Do you want to know more about key environmental issues? Do you want to explore and learn more about your local area? Qualified ecologist David Broom has the perfect CPD workshop for you! In early October David hosted a one day Environment, Access & Conservation workshop based on the Stiperstones Ridge in Shropshire. Members were...

13/10/2016 11:48

Reading the View

The Milestone Buttress, low down on the West face of Tryfan above Llyn Ogwen is a place where many instructors will spend a little time looking at the view. On ascents and descents of Tryfan by the North Ridge or the west face this is a good chunk of your view. In this view there are features left being by glacial erosion, ridges of different rock types, fluvial features of erosion and there is...

30/08/2016 09:42

Scrambling skills in Scotland

Following the success of some North Wales and Lakes personal scrambling skills days, Alan Halewood got to work and organised similar for members in Scotland. So on Saturday the 23rd of July Jim Sutherland nineonesix-guiding provided the first of what we hope will be more, Mountain Training Association Continued Personal Development days based in the North West Highlands of Scotland. The purpose...

04/08/2016 16:04

Mountain Rescue weekend

Don't miss out on this exciting and very rare opportunity to spend a whole weekend with Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue from Friday evening the 16th until Sunday 18th September. This will be a superb opportunity to practise Mountain Leader skills alongside qualified Mountain Rescue team members, learn about their procedures, review your First Aid from the point of view of the rescue team and...

26/07/2016 09:56

Upskilling in the Lakes

Chris Ensoll is a British Mountain Guide and has been a provider of Mountain Leader and Single Pitch Award training and assessment courses for many years. He runs a variety of popular walking and climbing CPD workshops for the Mountain Training Association throughout the year, sharing his wealth of outdoor knowledge with MTA members and taking skills to the next level. The feedback from members...

12/07/2016 16:26

A CPD weekend in the Peak with Paul Poole

Paul Poole (of Paul Poole Mountaineering) was over in the Peak District last weekend (9th-10th July) delivering two great days of walking and climbing refresher workshops for anyone wanting to hone their skills in the areas of HML, ML and SPA. Paul is a MIA and course provider from Snowdonia with a wealth of up-to-date knowledge and advice on the awards and skills as both trainer and assessor....

12/07/2016 10:13

Become an OK Champion and help blow the whistle on sunburn

The Mountain Training Association is proud to support The Outdoor Kids Sun Safety Code (OKSSC), the UK’s only free sun protection resource bank and accreditation scheme, specifically designed for all those who work outdoors with kids. This summer the focus is on taking action; because as we all know, despite good intentions, sun protection doesn’t work in a kit bag! The Myfanwy...

28/06/2016 09:53

Sunshine and skills in Scotland

There's nothing more satisfying about my job than getting out of the office and meeting members at events and workshops, getting out in the mountains myself, getting to know new people, finding out what members do with their awards and what aspects of the membership is important to them. These are also great opportunities for me as a Mountain Leader to join in and brush up on my own skills whilst...

15/06/2016 13:37

A day out with Mountain Rescue

Maybe you haven't visited the Kinder Mountain Rescue Base. Well, a select party of nine Mountain Training Association members did just that on Saturday, 4 June. The first thing you notice is that it is conveniently situated in the yard of the George Inn! Just the thing for thirsty team members after a summer's day sweating away on the hill ... The Kinder Mountain Rescue Team generously hosted us...

14/06/2016 14:17

Rewilding in Ennerdale

- 10th May 2016- The biodiversity of the hills is, in most places, unfortunately impoverished. The 2013 'State of Nature' report found that 65% of upland species have declined over the last 40 years , and many of these have 'declined strongly'. Any effort to turn around this trajectory should be welcomed, and it was with interest at seeing one of the most famous examples that I signed up to the...

24/05/2016 09:16

Upper Dove from above

Spring's Professional Mountaineer magazine arrived and I was highly delighted when I got to page 28 to see an article by Paul Gannon on superimposed drainage in the Peak District. Why delighted? As a volunteer leader for Staffordshire Moorlands District Council some 8 months ago I'd arranged a walk from the County's highest village, Flash, through the landscape that Paul was describing in his...

18/04/2016 16:47

Glaciation of North Wales

On Sunday I spent a day with Jim Langley of Nature’s Work in Snowdonia. I hold a strong passion for the outdoors as i have spent many years guiding walks, fell running and teaching the Duke of Edinburgh scheme throughout the UK. My outdoor year is in some ways dictated by the weather. My clients make plans throughout Winter and Spring for my busier periods later in the year. This allows me...

15/04/2016 14:23

Leaders Landscape Training

Friends of the Lake District are running a variety of landscape training sessions throughout spring and summer, specifically designed for outdoor leaders. Gain a deeper understand of Cumbria's upland ecology and understand some of the issues and pressures of outdoor users on the landscape, wildlife and habitats. Looking at your ‘office space’ with a heightened awareness and...

15/04/2016 09:59

Regional Night Navigation

Night navigation is proving popular in the regions. These evenings provide a great opportunity to practise navigation strategies and techniques for both night and poor visibility conditions. It's also an opportunity to act as a mentor for other members, refresh your own skills and network with other members. Winter brings opportunities as well as challenges, and the dark evenings are great for...

23/02/2016 10:32

The Telegraph Outdoor Show 2016

It all started with a casual look on Facebook, as you do, and I saw a post from JP Edgington from www.the-outeredge.co.uk on the Mountain Training Association (MTA) Facebook group asking for willing volunteers to help out at the above event. “Great” I thought, “what could be so bad, it’s probably full anyway!” However, quite surprisingly, I received an email the next...

17/02/2016 12:36

Mountaineering and Ecology

In the West, most of us live indoor lives, insulated from the elemental realities of sun, moon, stars, wind, frost and rain. Going to the mountains is a reminder that we are still a part of the natural world. Yet even mountaineers can be woefully ignorant about the mountains they climb and they are the poorer for it. The nature and origins of the rocks we climb, the forces that have shaped those...

22/12/2015 12:12

Peak region vs technology

The day dawned cool and misty, and hopes were high for a day of poor visibility, as a dozen enquiring minds (and a dog) gathered at YHA Edale to fathom the mysteries of GPS navigation. The day was put on by Steven Hayes and Jim Bob Derry from Cotswold Royal Oak in Betws y Coed who sponsored the event. Thanks too to Garmin, who lent a selection of GPS devices for the day. In the classroom we...

23/10/2015 13:06

Real3Peaks Challenge

Saturday's results... Ben Nevis 13 Volunteers, 153kg Scafell Pike39 Volunteers, 155.5kg Snowdon36 Volunteers, 205kg What an astounding day, organised by three members of the Mountian Training Association and joined by 88 people who came out on Saturday 10th October to support the Real3Peaks Challenge on the UK’s highest peaks - Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike & Snowdon, collecting litter...

20/10/2015 11:57

Identifying Trees

On Friday 7 August 2015, the Friends of the Lake District and the Mountain Training Association organised a Tree Identification Workshop led by Pete Leeson, Woodland Creation Adviser for The Woodland Trust. This interesting and informative day took place at ‘The Helm’ woods, near Kendal, Cumbria. The Helm is partly owned and managed by the Friends of the Lake District who have planted...

22/09/2015 12:29

A geological and geomorphological tour

No Vestige of a beginning, no prospect of an end. A geological and geomorphological tour of Holyrood Park, Edinburgh On Wednesday 26th August 2015 ten members (and one dog) went on a Geological and Geomorphological tour of Holyrood Park led by member Alistair McGowan, Hills of Hame We began by looking at some of the sedimentary rocks, which form the bedrock before the volcanic eruptions that...

21/09/2015 12:23

Avalanche Hazards in Scotland

This event is taking place at EICA RATHO in Edinburgh on the weekend of the 24th and 25th October and is a great opportunity to address the challenges that avalanche hazard in Scotland presents. What snow conditions are we faced with? How can we manage ourselves in mountain terrain? How can we best understand the messages and information about avalanche hazard that we present or receive? What...

11/09/2015 10:17

Climbing goes social

Wales started it, the Peak cottoned on and now the Lakes and South Wales want a slice! It sounds like a beer and BBQ event, which isn’t too far from the truth, just good tea, cakes, fabulous climbing, great locations with some super enthusiastic people! We started the summer socials last year and this year has seen a steady number of people turn up each time. The aim is really simple, just...

17/07/2015 11:53

Exploring the geology in the Peak

The lovely late-spring / early-summer evening of Tuesday 16th June saw 13 people gather in the Peak District village of Castleton for a Peak Regional Mountain Training Association organised walk exploring the Limestone and Sandstone geology of the area. Peter Judd and Cath Lee jointly led fellow members through Cave Dale, up past Treak Cliff Cavern and round to the mighty Mam Tor landslip to look...

18/06/2015 11:37

Mountain and moorland birds

When I did my Walking Group Leader award a few years ago my assessor presumably wasn’t a keen ornithologist because, as I recall, we spent a great deal of time talking about plant life. My knowledge of birds like plant life is limited and now that I’m going for my Mountain Leader award, I thought I’d better remedy that lack of knowledge. So, making the most of one of the...

17/06/2015 11:06

Bird recording in the uplands

I am always impressed with how many Continued Personal Development opportunities there are on offer via find a workshop and it’s usually just a question of finding a date that fits in with work schedules and will be appropriate for my own level of experience and aspirations. It would be great to be able to schedule in at least 1 x MTA approved CPD workshop each month, as well as the CPD...

22/05/2015 11:13

A day getting to know upland plants

‘Getting to know your Upland Plants’ with Arthur Jones of Trossachs Treks was a really excellent workshop. It took place in the Mentieth Hills, north of Glasgow in a mixture of woodland and moorland terrain. The small group was evenly split between prospective MLs, looking to increase their environmental awareness for assessment, and practicing MLs supplementing their knowledge for...

19/05/2015 11:55

Joint South West CPD event

The Association's regional co-ordinators in the South West have got together and organised a great weekend of CPD, so whether you are local or fancy a trip to the Sunny South West this is a great opportunity for members. The weekends events will take place at The Bedford Hotel, Tavistock on 20th and 21st June 2015 and will provide a number of workshops for MTA, AMI and BAIML members. The weekend...

11/05/2015 17:39

Climbing for all

On 18 April Graham Hill (GB Paraclimbing Team Manager) delivered a very well received Climbing For All workshop at Redpoint Birmingham. The day started with a discussion on appropriate and inappropriate references and definitions and how easy it is to fall into the associated traps – the take away is use positive language and don’t be shy about discussing the person’s needs and...

21/04/2015 10:31

Leadership for special educational needs

I've worked for several years in a variety of special and mainstream school and outdoor centress and am passionate about the differences you can make to peoples lives by having some knowledge and understanding of their challenges. I started my career as a teaching assistant, before becoming a behaviour specialist and finally completing teacher training in outdoor education at Bangor university, I...

20/04/2015 16:04

Members get to know their GPS

It’s a small and generally misunderstood creature, bright yellow in colour and usually found lurking in the bottom of my rucksack . . . or hiding in a Random Dry-Bag of Stuff as it was last weekend which meant I was last to arrive for the start of the workshop on Saturday, oops! It is of course my trusty GPS receiver; the etrex 10 to be precise. It’s a basic model, but on those...

07/04/2015 15:12

Climbing and Psychology

Alan Halewood was one of 4 people who attended a CPD workshop at TCA Glasgow recently. As an established climbing coach here's his comments: The workshop was based around Coaching Mental Skills for Climbing and was run by Sport Psychologist Jessica Tang of Sportpsych Solutions. Jessica is working professionally with a number of climbers including TCA Glasgow's Youth Squad. Jessica gave us 2...

30/03/2015 15:46

Getting together with Mountain Rescue

Joint Associations' Furness and Duddon Mountain Rescue Team Workshop – 5th March 2015 The aim of the workshop was to learn more about the role of the Team, the type of call outs they attend and how we can best assist them as professional mountaineers. There were 3 sessions: The control room and ‘behind the scenes’ management of a call out. The theory of cliff rescue, searches...

11/03/2015 12:57

An Evening in the Peaks

Wednesday 4th March saw the first formal event held for the members of the newly-formed Mountain Training Association Peak District group – an evening of night navigation practice based on Houndkirk Moor overlooking Sheffield, hosted by Olly Toogood and Tony Hall, with very able support from Regional Co-ordinator Stephen Jones. A group of twelve keen navigators met in the car park at The...

06/03/2015 11:58

Avalanche Awareness - Getting Updated

Last month I attended the Mountain Training Association (MTA) CPD day hosted by Andy Townsend IFMGA Guide based in the Northen Cairngorms and a Director of Infinity Mountain Guides. The day was a mix of practical and static sessions looking at Avalanche awareness, route planning and decision making in the mountains under winter conditions. The course was aimed at Summer Mountain Leaders who are...

02/03/2015 12:26

Launching the Peaks Regional Group

Nature had turned a simple moorland walk into something rather more challenging, following a heavy fall of snow. But some of the views were spectacular! Seventeen brave pioneers turned out for the day, and a couple more were able to join us for the meeting. I’d planned a few challenges along the way providing a little bit of insight into the local Bronze age settlements often used for...

06/02/2015 11:22

Winter weekend in Scotland

This year I attended my first Mountain Training Association (MTA) meet, the Winter Weekend hosted at the Glenmore Lodge in the Cairngorms. The weekend was designed to provide Mountain Training Association members with workshops and evening lectures to develop skills, technique and knowledge relating to the winter mountain environment. I was particularly interested joining the weekend to help...

03/02/2015 09:32

Night Navigation - A Perfect Regional Event

The West Midlands regional group organised a night navigation evening at Cannock Chase (a more challenging area to navigate that one might think!) followed by some festive cheer in a local pub which proved an extremely popular event. The evening had no shortage of participants and volunteers who together with Steve Wright's co-ordinating skills made it a successful event. Joby Maw Davis lead the...

22/12/2014 11:37

Through the Ages on Tal y Fan

Who would have thought there was so much Archaeological history on one mountain! The hills of Snowdonia have been inhabited for at least 6000 years and modern day hikers and mountaineers are walking in the footsteps of our ancestors but rarely notice their remains. Not this day though, thanks to Jane Kenney a Senior Archeologist from the Gwynedd Archaeological Trust who took us on a grand tour...

23/10/2014 17:27

What a load of rubbish

An astonishing 488kgs of rubbish was lifted from the 3 most popular mountains in the UK during this years Real3Peaks Clean and Conserve event which took place on Saturday 4th October. Coordinated and led by committed members of the Mountain Training Association, it was no suprise to see a host of volunteers (many of them freelance instructors) turning out despite a dreadful forecast. A modest...

22/10/2014 12:10

Single Pitch Bits and Bolts

Thanks to those who came along to Auchinstarry Quarry for a Scottish evening workshop for SPA Trainees/Award holders. We told rigging horror stories, discussed 'good' vs 'best' practise, solved Alistair's problem and I put him on the spot by making him explain the role of sacrificial protection in the corrosion of bolts. We were still stood talking in the car park well after dark! Alan Halewood...

30/09/2014 10:59

The Real3Peaks Challenge

This year's date for the ‘Real3Peaks Challenge: Cleanse & Conserve' is Saturday 4th October In 2013, Mountain Training Association member Rich Pyne was working on Ben Nevis and was shocked by the amounts of rubbish he found - posting about this on social media he soon heard back from other outdoor professionals - the UK's three highest peaks were becoming a dumping ground for near...

29/09/2014 15:33

The Start of things to come

MTA Midlands Region workshop - Weds 10th September 2014 – Redpoint Climbing Centre Seven Midlands based members met with Joby Davis the regional CPD coordinator and Mountain Training Coaching Scheme provider who introduced the group to the theme for the evening: And so a full evening of activity started with games to warm up, bouldering activities and then some developmental climbing...

26/09/2014 15:58

Getting to know your Upland Plants

This summer, association member Arthur Jones from Trossach Treks ran a series of workshops about upland plants. His aim was to support other members by enhancing their environmental knowledge and arming them with some great information which they could then share with their groups in the future. I thought it was excellent. I've never found wildflower ID using a book very successful - I'm never...

12/08/2014 10:17

North Wales Social Climbing Evenings

Who says its always wet in Wales, so far we have had four gloriously sunny social climbing evenings, one after our DMM factory tour in the slate quarries on some great sports routes, one at the Grochan in llanberis Pass where we just managed to pack up and run away before the midges got us and one totally midge free evening on a sunlit Bochclwyd crag. The heatwave extended to allow us a...

23/07/2014 14:02

South East Regional Event

Seven hardy souls braved the heat and humidity of the Chilterns for Sunday’s South East Region CPD event, “Running a Lowland Walk”. While nominally aimed at those working towards the new Lowland Leader award, the members present included ML, MIC and IML holders, everyone with a slightly different reason for attending from learning more about the user group for the award to...

22/07/2014 15:44