We plan to head out on an overnight expedition over the final 3 days of the course. We try not to move the exped around so it's easier to plan your accommodation in advance.

However, we may need to be flexible to avoid potentially extreme weather. We recommend booking accommodation for the first 2 nights of your course (3 if travelling up the evening before). Any changes to the planned scheduling of the expedition will be discussed, and taken as a group decision to help coordinate logistics for everyone on the course.

Daunting?

The Mountain Leader award, more so than any other award I believe, still has a lot of misconceptions about how tough and stressful the assessment process is. If you've completed the prerequisites, gained experience and practiced the stuff you were shown on your training course then you'll definitely have a more enjoyable assessment.
We are passionate about the Mountain Leader award and want to help people achieve a pass by providing a friendly and relaxing environment so that you show us what you can do! The Mountain Leader award is not just about navigation, though it's obviously a big part of it. Neither is it a fitness test; you need to be able to manage 3 days with expedition kit at a gentle pace. The standard is not perfect navigation throughout, we're all human and make the odd mistake. Most of the pressure we see on these assessments is self imposed, try your best to put yourself in a good position prior to starting the course so you can enjoy being out and strutting your stuff!

• Get the minimum prerequisites and a bit more so you know you're experienced enough.
• Practice specific elements such as the night nav and ropework - even in your local hills or abseiling down the stairs! Find other people in the same position as yourselves to practice with through the Mountain Training Association or Facebook groups.
• Get organised with your kit and food before the course start.
• Be current, try to set aside a weekend or two prior to the assessment where you can get out in the mountains.
• If you're still feeling like you need more input prior to assessment or it's been a while since your training, consider booking one of our Mountain Leader Refresher Days.

Hopefully as a keen hill walker you have plenty of kit to get yourself out and adventuring safely. For the Mountain Leader award we expect you to have a good knowledge about hill walking kit but we appreciate it can all be a bit pricey. We're very keen to remove obstacles and make the awards accessible to people from all backgrounds; we wouldn't want the expense of equipment to hold anyone back who would otherwise make an excellent Mountain Leader!

If you're struggling at all with any expenses such as equipment, we can potentially help out by lending kit and giving advice. We're genuinely keen to help so please do get in touch and we'll do our best to assist.

If you're only a little short, and are planning on gaining some more experience prior to the assessment we will be happy to take a booking if you can outline a plan to have the required experience by the start of the course. Having said that we would highly recommend waiting until you have all the prerequisites as they are bare minimums!

Mountain Training set their prerequisites for good reason, having a good base of experience and understanding on which to build the knowledge and skills is vital. Research has shown that candidates who arrive at Assessment courses with less experience are more likely to defer or fail assessment than candidates who have a greater depth of personal experience.

It is your responsibility to hold the necessary prerequisites by assessment, neglecting to do so will result in a technical deferral as a minimum. We want you to arrive at assessment feeling prepared and confident so you can enjoy the process and gain the successful result you want!

If you've done all the prerequisites but you still feel you're not quite ready for assessment, then consider booking on to one of our refresher courses or get some private coaching. Get in Touch.