Scrambling Skills
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Course Title: |
Scrambling Skills |
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Course Dates: |
15th - 17th May, 23rd - 25th October 2009 |
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Cost: |
£180 |
Who Is This Course For?
‘Scrambling’ is the grey area between hillwalking and mountaineering. Using ropes, yet moving smoothly and efficiently; venturing into steep and broken ground, yet having confidence in your ability to reach to top; trusting your partner and relying on newly developed technical skills.
This course is for those with previous hillwalking experience. You are pretty sure of your ability to use a map and compass, and of the range of equipment available to you. You will have a good level of fitness, but want more – you want to learn the technical skills required to venture into steep, rocky terrain safely and confidently. You want to learn about the technical aspects of scrambling – ropework, equipment and route finding.
Course Aims
The aims of this course are:
- To develop a comprehensive level of understanding and independence
- To apply newly learned skills in rugged mountain terrain
- To provide an individually tailored learning experience with nationally qualified coaches and instructors
Skills Covered
This course will provide a comprehensive level of instruction in all areas, in order to develop a level of independence. This weekend will provide participants with comprehensive instruction in the skills required to plan and undertake journeys in rugged terrain and in poor visibility. When the staff meet the group and discuss aspirations and previous experience, they will decide on a more accurate structure for the weekend. This will ensure that all participants will have the opportunity to learn new skills at a pace that suits them. It will also bring course participants into the planning process, looking at the current weather and what is forecast for later in the course.
Areas generally covered include:
- Use of equipment, ropes, harness, technical rockclimbing equipment - what is available and what should you have, how to be more efficient in choosing what we bring
- Route choice
- Ropework, tying in, belaying and abseiling
Outline Programme
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FRIDAY |
Arrive (7.30 – 8.00 p.m.), course outline, stores. Route planning and equipment |
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SATURDAY |
Full day on the hill, looking at ropework and use of equipment. Return to Centre at 5.00 p.m. Evening Session: Technical session on climbing walls. |
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SUNDAY |
Journeying in rugged and steep terrain – pointers and good tips for developing efficient technique. Return to Tollymore at 4.00 p.m. for review and pointers for further development in the future.
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These are some of the essential skills required to develop a comprehensive level of independence for scrambling. All of these areas will be covered in a practical way during the course, giving you the opportunity to learn from the staff and other course participants alike.
Our Staff
The instructor(s) who will work with you are all highly experienced and qualified. Tollymore prides itself in the knowledge and experience that its full time and part time staff bring to its courses. Our staff are all keen hillwalkers and mountaineers and know the Mournes very well. You may well have met them in the hills in the past or will bump into them in the future on days when they are not working!
All are obliged to attend annual staff updates and training courses
What do I need to bring?
The following list is a suggestion of what you should bring. Waterproofs, walking boots and rucksacks may be borrowed from our extensive stores. We advise you not to rush out and buy kit for the course, but use it as a chance to find out what would best suit your needs. You should bring the following:
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Walking boots |
Gaiters |
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Waterproof jacket |
Waterproof trousers |
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Warm outdoor wear (fleece is ideal) |
Hat |
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Gloves or mitts |
1:25000 Maps of the Mournes area |
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Compass (Silva type 4 or similar) |
Headtorch, plus spare battery |
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Day rucksack |
Waterproof rucksack liner (bin liner is ideal) |
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Small first aid kit |
Water bottle |
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Vacuum flask |
Personal medication |
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Notebook and pen |
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If you have technical equipment, please bring it along.
Tollymore Information
Tollymore Mountain Centre, on the edge of the Mournes, is Northern Ireland’s National Centre for Mountaineering and Canoeing Activities. It is funded and managed by the Sports Council for Northern Ireland as a National Centre. The Centre is an attractive, purpose-built facility of log construction with accommodation for 30 people in 2, 4 and 6 berth bedrooms. Quilts, pillows and bed linen are all provided. The Centre is well appointed with toilets, showers, modern kitchen, lecture room, workshop and drying room. Outside there is ample parking space, a ropes course and a floodlit granite-climbing wall. A modern indoor climbing wall is open year round. The centre is ideally situated on the edge of the Mournes, with quick and easy access to the hills.
The Central Council for Physical Recreation opened Tollymore Mountain Centre in 1969. In 1974, it passed to the newly established Sports Council for Northern Ireland Trust. In 1995, Tollymore achieved the management standard BS EN ISO 9001:2000 for the quality systems it operates. However, as part of Sports Council for Northern Ireland’s ongoing commitment to the development of the National Centre, Tollymore will be undergoing a major redevelopment, commencing in 2007. The facilities will be improved and expanded, to ensure that Tollymore remains as an example of best practice in the provision of mountaineering, hillwalking, climbing and canoeing courses in Northern Ireland.
Accommodation
Accommodation is included in your course fee. Accommodation is in comfortable dormitories, and you will have full use of all Tollymore Mountain Centre facilities, including drying room, lounge and access to a wide range of instructional and inspirational videos and books for any spare time. Tollymore has a number of comfortable meeting rooms, where the instructors will meet the group prior to the start of the course each day. We will also meet here over a cup of tea or coffee for reviewing the course on Sunday afternoon.
Catering
Your course is fully catered, so all you will need to bring is some additional snack food.
What next?
Having completed this course, you should have a sound understanding of basic scrambling techniques. You may decide to develop your skills further, and could look at Scrambling in Skye. You may wish to try your hand at rockclimbing (See our Climbing Courses section) or expend your experience even further and travel to Scotland or Wales. Contact us to discus any of these options.
You may choose to join a hillwalking or rambling club, or join the governing body for hillwalkers, climbers and mountaineers – the Mountaineering Council of Ireland (MCI).
A full list of clubs is available from the MCI.
Useful Books
Recommended by and available from Tollymore
Hillwalking by Steve Long (published by MLTUK)
Rockclimbing, by Libby Peter (published by MLTUK)
Useful contacts:
Mountaineering Council of Ireland,
Sport HQ,
13 Joyce Way,
Parkwest Business Park,
Dublin 12.
Tel +353-1-6251115
Fax +353-1-6251116
Email mci@eircom.net