Hill and Mountain Skills 1

Course Title:	Hill and Mountain Skills 1
Course Dates:	18 - 20 Jan 2008, 29 Feb - 2 Mar 2008, 6 - 8 June 2008, 5 - 7 Sept 2008, 24 - 26 October (New Course), 5 - 7 Dec 2008
Cost:	£150

Who Is This Course For?
The hills and mountains of our countryside can look so spectacular, but so inaccessible to those without the skills, experience and knowledge to plan and undertake journeys in them. You may be a regular walker with friends, or with a club, but do not have the skills to plan and undertake journeys under your own steam. This course is designed to introduce you the skills required to develop a foundation for future hillwalking trips.

This course is for those with previous, but perhaps limited experience of planning and undertaking hillwalking journeys in the hills and mountains of Ireland. You may be unsure of your ability to use a map and compass, or of the range of equipment available to you. You will have a reasonable level of fitness, and want to ‘get the basics right’ with regard to developing your hillwalking skills in the future.

This course, along with Hill and Mountain Skills 2, forms a logical progression, covering all the skills required to develop independance as a walker in the hills and mountains of Ireland and the UK.

We have developed a syllabus, which will be covered over the course of the 2 weekends.  We have also developed a useful logbook, which you may choose to use if you wish to pregress to any of the governing body leadership schemes.  If you would like to see the syllabus, please click here.  If you would like to download a sample logbook page, click here.

TO BOOK THIS COURSE, PLEASE CLICK HERE

Course Aims

- To develop a basic level of understanding and independence

- To apply newly learned skills on hill and mountain terrain

- To provide an individually tailored learning experience with nationally qualified coaches and instructors

Skills Covered
This course, when combined with the ‘Hill and Mountain Skills 2', will provide a comprehensive level of instruction in all areas, in order to develop a level of independence. As a stand alone course however, this weekend will provide participants with comprehensive instruction in the basic skills required to plan and undertake journeys in the hills. When the staff meet the group and discuss aspirations and previous experience, they will decide on a more accurate structure for the weekend, working towards the Hill and Mountain Skills syllabus which has been developed by Tollymore Mountain Centre. 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:

- Introduction to various navigation techniques, including pacing and timing, feature recognition, contour interpretation and setting a map

- Introduction to compass work, poor visibility navigation

- Hillwalking equipment – what is available and what should you have

- route planning.

Outline Programme

FRIDAY	Arrive (7.30 – 8.00 p.m.), course outline, stores. Route planning
SATURDAY	Full day on the hill, looking at navigation techniques and skill development. Return to Centre at 5.00 p.m. Evening Session: Hillwalking equipment
SUNDAY	Further development of navigation techniques. Return to Tollymore at 4.00 p.m. for review and pointers for further development in the future.

These are some of the essential skills required to develop a reasonable level of independence for hillwalking and mountaineering. 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.
It is important to note that the above outline programme is a guide. Times may vary due to weather conditions or other reasons.

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:

Walking boots	Gaiters
Waterproof Jacket	Waterproof trousers
Warm outdoor wear (Fleece is ideal)	Hat
Gloves or mitts	1:25000 Map of the Mourne area
Compass (Silvia type 4 or similar)	Headtorch plus spare battery
Day rucksack	Waterproof rucksack liner (bin liner is ideal)
Small first aid kit	Water bottle
Vacuum flask	Personal medication
Notebook	Pen

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 some additional snack food.
What next?
Having completed this course, you should have an understanding of the skills required to plan hillwalking journeys on hill and gentle mountain terrain. You may decide to develop your skills further, and should look at Next Step Hillwalking Skills, which follows directly from this course. 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)

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