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 you're out and about using your qualifications.

The weekend is all inclusive, comprising two full day workshops, Friday and Saturday night B&B, lunches and dinner on Saturday evening, plus Saturday evening talks. It's great value at £210 (for dormitory accommodation) or £240 (for a twin room). A non-residential option is also available.

• Attend two one day CPD workshops designed to broaden your knowledge and enhance your skills.
• Gain your full 5 year quota of CPD points.
• Network and meet like minded people from the outdoor community.
• Find out the latest news and developments from MTA.
• An evening lecture by guest speaker, Chaz Powell, on The Wildest Journey - His mission to walk Africa's wildest rivers from source to sea in the battle against wildlife crime.
• A kit demo from Cotswold Outdoor.

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We've packed so much into one weekend you'll be spoilt for choice! Master your contour navigation, get to grips with mountain weather, top-up your geology knowledge or take your skills to the next level with a personal scrambling workshop. Don’t miss an eye opening lesson on how to remotely supervise groups or lead a ghyll scrambling day and we'll also be arranging some inspiring evening talks and kit demos from Cotswold Outdoor for good measure. Read about each workshop below:

Mountain flora and fauna

A practical session looking at the UK mountain habitat and the species that make this their home. This will include a look at lichens, mosses, plants, birds and animals along with their tracks and signs. The session will also look at indicator species for mountain and upland habitats and how species interact as part of a mountain ecosystem.

There will be plenty of tips on how to remember easy species to show your clients along with a few interesting facts and tales to tell them. The workshop will also discuss erosion and conservation of the environment.

The day is suitable for participants working towards their assessment or anyone who needs CPD or a refresher. The day will be a mixture of classroom based teaching, fun quizzes and time spent outside seeing what we can find. You will be given a handout and lots of tips on how to remember certain species and their uses, along with some folk lore and quirky tales to tell your clients.

Lucy is the Environmental Education Coordinator at a local Wildlife Park and a Mountain Leader. Lucy has been fascinated by wildlife since a child and has a degree in Natural Sciences. She has been involved in many conservation projects including tracking and recording wildlife in the Amazon rainforest, beach cleaning by kayak in Scotland and running a volunteer group.

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Climbing tactics: physical & mental

Professional Climbing Coach and WMCI John Kettle will deliver a day of theory and practical exercises exploring rock climbing tactics and how to coach them: Topics include move reading, anxiety management, visualisation, injury management, breathing, pacing and goal setting.

This workshop can be combined nicely with the Coaching Climbing Movement workshop the following day!

PLEASE NOTE: This workshop will only be running on Saturday 23rd November.

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Slick rope work for Mountain Leaders

This workshop concentrates on managing a group on steep group and emergency rope work required for Mountain Leader assessment a great opportunity to update and practise your skills either as a refresher or particularly if you are preparing for an assessment. Let’s face it when did you last get your rope out?

The workshop will cover route selection and safeguarding a group in ascent and descent, confidence roping, selecting and using anchors.

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Beginner personal scrambling

A workshop provided by members of AMI
A workshop for MLs/RCIs to develop their personal scrambling skills. An ideal workshop for those considering moving up to the Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor qualification. The workshop will cover route selection and finding. The use of a rope and taking coils. How to protect a scramble, types of anchors and how to use them efficiently.

This workshop will give you all you need to enhance your own personal scrambling skills allowing you to scramble with a colleague as an equal to gain valuable log book experience.

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Navigation refresher

This is a great opportunity for people undertaking the Hill & Moorland or Mountain Leader qualification to consolidate their personal navigation skills and is a good refresher for anyone looking to brush up on their skills.

If there is demand for it on the day, there will also be opportunities to explore coaching navigation techniques, allowing you to present well pitched, structured and progressive teaching opportunities that are effective in improving the navigation of your groups and clients when out on the hill.

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Met Office mountain weather

We've teamed up with the Met Office to provide this specialist weather workshop specifically to support the syllabi of Mountain Training's qualifications as well as enhancing the knowledge of qualified leaders and instructors in their ability to apply information gained from available forecast information, practically whilst planning and dynamically whilst out in the hills and mountains.

PLEASE NOTE: This workshop will only be running on Saturday 23rd November.

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Remote supervision

Effective remote supervision is achieved through good planning and the decision-making. A supervisor should be able to identify hazards, know their personal strengths and limitations as well as understanding how group experience and dynamics as well as the impact of different types of supervision on a group. Types of remote supervision have various advantages and disadvantages and choosing the best one is dependent on the group, terrain, and weather. In this workshop the different options a supervisor has and the factors which affect the decision to use a particular type are discussed.

The workshop is highly interactive and based around discussions and indoor scenarios and map exercises.

Workshop provider, Rebecca Coles is an IML and MCI and has been leading expeditions for 15 years. Work has taken her to all 7 continents and, together with personal travel, to over 70 countries.

PLEASE NOTE: This workshop will only be running on Saturday 23rd November.

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Coaching climbing movement

Professional Climbing Coach and WMCI John Kettle delivers this popular, in-depth practical workshop covering all the latest ideas on coaching technique to all abilities. It includes principles of balance, using momentum and exercises for teaching movement. It also combines well with the Coaching Climbing Tactics workshop the day before.

PLEASE NOTE: This workshop will only be running on Sunday 24th November

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Geology for Mountain Leaders

An introduction to the geology of mountains in the Lake District on a one-day field event designed for mountain leaders and instructors. No previous knowledge of geology needed. A great opportunity to explore and identify the geological features in the area and to find out how they were formed. This workshop is open to all with an interest in Geology and would suit all walking leaders.

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Expedition Leadership

Designed for overseas expedition leaders but also relevant for Duke of Edinburgh Supervisors and those leading long-distance treks in the UK and Europe, this workshop gives individuals specific tools for managing and leading expedition teams through interactive sessions and scenario based examples. It is suitable for prospective/new leaders as well as for established leaders who want to develop their skills and share their experiences of both youth and adult expeditions.

Workshop provider, Rebecca Coles is an IML and MCI and has been leading expeditions for 15 years. Work has taken her to all 7 continents and, together with personal travel, to over 70 countries. She leads for companies such as Jagged Globe and Secret Compass. She is on the Montane Athlete team, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and has a PhD in Physical Geography.

PLEASE NOTE: This workshop will only be running on Sunday 24th November.

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Rock Climbing Instructor skills Update & Refresher

Designed for people working towards their Rock Climbing Instructor assessment or are RCI's who haven’t practised for some time, this essential one day workshop will refresh and update your skills, provide plenty of opportunity to practise.

It will include slick bottom and top rope systems, dealing with common problems, group management and setting up abseils.

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Contour Masterclass

Hosted by Chris Ensoll

Open to all Mountain Leader trainees or Mountain Leader qualification holders this is an opportunity to consolidate on areas of personal performance, especially useful for those considering assessment and is intended to look at current ideas, techniques and practices. There will be plenty of opportunity to ask as many questions as you like, seek advice where needed and to practice the areas of the syllabus that you feel you need to.

Part of the workshop will focus on some simple ways to understand contours and how to use them in navigation using contour only maps and will include relating map to ground and identifying slope angles and aspect, identifying features and positions, method of relocations and route strategy using solely contours.

What initially started as a hobby for Chris, climbing and camping with family, soon led to employment and the pathway to becoming a fully qualified IFMGA Guide. Now based in the beautiful English Lake District, he spends some time each summer and each winter guiding in the European Alps. He is a Mountain Training provider for Mountain Leader, Lowland Leader, Rock Climbing Instructor and Climbing Wall Instructor. He has a holistic approach to the mountains believing that if you need to take time out to explore your physical and mental boundaries, to reconnect with what is important, to be encouraged and refreshed, then a trip to the mountains could be just what you need. When he’s not working in the mountains you’ll find Chris spending time with his family, or out on the Lakeland crags.

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Ghyll scrambling for leaders

Hosted by Andy Brown
Add some extra skills to your teaching tool box. Familiarise yourself with a local ghyll scrambling venue and explore the role of the leader/instructor and ways to teach/lead the activity to groups. Explore the management and safety considerations of managing ghyll scrambling and canyoning. We will go into a ghyll and canyon and look at good practice and by participating in the activity learn about its safe management.

Andy Brown is a WMCI and IML and an experienced ML and RCI Provider and Course Director. He runs www.ghyllscrambling.co.uk and www.adventures.org.uk

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Main photo credit: Kelvyn James (Lake District MTA regional coordinator)