Workshop and Moderation

Last week I joined one of the MLTW Providers down in South Snowdonia for a Mountain Leader Training course. I joined the course on the second day and they were learning about micro navigation skills in complex terrain. The group were enthusiastic and enjoying their course.

Last weekend I was working on the join workshop which is mentioned in Mal's post below. The afternoon session I attended was with Chris Rowlands from DMM. The climbing kit DMM makes is all done on their site in Llanberis as part of their quality control process and Chris gave a very good talk on the process of how carabiners are made.

We then spent the rest of the session looking at how equipment might fail and also how to check and care for the equipment.

Bryn
MLTW

Joint Workshop

On Saturday 26th June 22 people and 5 MLT staff attended a joint MLTE/W workshop at Ogwen Cottage. After an introduction from the Head of Centre, Stan, never a man to miss the opportunity to offer a couple of amusing anecdotes, we got on with matters relating to the delivery of the awards. Updates, News from the Boards and the BMC and a quick look at some of the 'not so perfect' course reports it was time for a look in to the future to canvas opinion as to what folk think might be required 10 - 15 years time. After lunch it was either breaking karibiners and snappping slings with Chris Rowlands from DMM or out in to Idwal for a session on conservation, access and land management issues with BMC Cymru Officer Elfyn Jones and Jim Langley of http://www.natureswork.co.uk/ The pictures here prove that it does not always rain in Idwal with staff mambers Cath, Jon Garside and John Cousins sporting the latest in high mountain footwear...in the other picture Elfyn explains some of the finer points of land management to Bob, Mick and Clare.

Mal

News from the Welsh Officer

Its been a while since I have posted on here - must be a sign of busy times!

The last few weeks has been great in terms of work and play. I have made several Moderation visits to Providers and Course Directors and had a chance to talk with staff and candidates on how we might look to improve our services for the future. Some candidates suggesting the idea of an online logbook, and also clarity in the organisation structor too as they have found it a bit confusing with the current setup, so hopefully the plans for a single website which directs people into the different Home Nation Board area may help this.

My spare time I have used well with some good climbing days on Slate, Tremadog, Ogwen, Llanberis Pass and also several sport climbing evenings down the coast. The new A55 Sport Guidebook is now out and if very useful for evening bolt clipping ideas.

Bryn

Another day in paradise

Today I made up a foursome on the main cliff of Gograth. Our team consisted of a military trainer, a development trainer, the vice chair of MLTW and myself, the chief officer. A slice through part of the leader training world! Pete and Andy dispatched Citadel (E5 6b) in good style and Rob and myself fought our way up Hunger (E5 6a). It shouldn't feel too hard as I've climbed it so many times before, but it was really damp and I had to fight every pinch grip to stay on. A fun and safe tussle though and I enjoyed the fight. We lounged about in the sun for a while afterwards before a leisurely stroll back over the heath and home. There is nowhere finer in the world than Gogarth.

Back to the promised land today. I love that place. As I'm working at the weekend I took a day off to climb with some friends from the Climber's Club. We romped up the lovely classic "Big Groove" (E3 5c) and followed this in the afternoon sun with "Fail Safe" (E2 5b). Although early in the season I felt that I was going well, so threw myself at the pumpy testpiece "Energy Crisis" (E5 6a). After running it our rather alarmingly above reasonable protection I was able to throw in some knee-bars and piano hands until a final rock-over negotiated an in-balance solution to the final bulge. Hauling myself onto the belay ledge I was almost sick with exertion! Further proof however though that sports climbing mileage helps to kick start the "trad" climbing year.










Pete Sterling leading the first pitch of Big Groove

Lecture tour of Japan

P1010637
Originally uploaded by SteveMLT

Right now I'm engaged in a series of meetings and lectures as the guest of the JWAF. I've lectured in Tokyo, Sapporo and Osaka about the work of Mountain Leader Training and also the work of the UIAA Training Standards Working Group. The meetings have included an advisory consultancy meeting today with the Osaka branch of JWAF as well as the Search and Rescue Committee. I've also been interviewed by TV and met the presidents of various Asian federations and the Nepalese Ambassador as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations. The Japanese are very interested in learning from the lessons learned in standardising qualifications across the UK and are investigating the possibility of working towards UIAA accredition, though these are early days, with a politically complex background.


We managed to slip in a day's hill walking in Japan's Northern Alps and I had a brief play this afternoon on the ex-competition wall at Kobe University, Osaka. After the lectures I stayed on for a few days and joined the JWAF's General Secretary Mr Takashi and translator Ms Owada for some climbing at Mitsutoge, a stunning location with Mount Fuji as a backdrop.

You can see a report from the lecture at Sapporo at: http://hkdrenmei.exblog.jp/i14/

You can see my other photos on Flickr.

UK SAR

On Tuesday I attended a meeting of the UK SAR Operators Group. There was a wide ranging agenda incorporating just about all types of Search and Rescue in the UK from nland water to mountain, cave and coastal. We had an update from the RAF SAR on the proposed changes the helicopter service and how it might affect rescue teams in the future and apart from bigger, better, (noisier?) machines that will be black and orange it would appear that things will carry on much as they do now. The meeting was based in the depths of the Lancashire Countryside in the forest of Bowland and very pretty it was too. The next meting is at the end of November so more updates then.
Mal