GUK Level 1 courses

Theory on the Level 1 course at Hautbois

Today I’m teaching a Level 1 course at Great Hautbois House near Norwich. We have 6 candidates undergoing training; staff for Hautbois House’s activity programme this summer. Organised by Emma Davey, the Activities co-ordinator for Hautbois, and Ian Markham, the course is over two days with the assessment coming in March. You can run one at your centre if you have enough people; just contact Gilly Gray at HQ. You need an approved trainer who will usually be an MIA or maybe an SPA holder with Guides training. Don’t wait for one, organise one!

Always read the guide book..

Today I did a route which didn’t look that long, so I didn’t check the guidebook. At the top I lowered my climbing partner, dropped the rope to abseil – only to find it was 8m short of the ground! Luckily it was possible via a circuitous route to scramble off, but be warned – it happens to everyone!

Steve at Joshua Tree after a day's climbing

Winter Adventures

Your author is currently climbing in Joshua Tree National Park in California – one of the world’s best climbing locations. Just to keep you up to date, it’s 70 degrees F here today with perfect sunshine, beautiful granite with immaculate friction..

It’s important we all keep up our climbing adventures, so that our skills are up to date. Where are you climbing this winter? Whether at the local wall or grabbing a decent day at the crag, make sure you get out there somewhere!

Sun and Rock at Joshua Tree

Abseiling using prussik backup – caution

There has been some discussion recently following observation by a British Mountain Guide that when abseiling backed up by a prusik loop which is attached to a legloop of a harness, some types of harness with a cinching legloop buckle can come loose. This causes the legloop to open. The prussik can then jam in the abseil device and stop the abseiler.

The conclusion is: test to see if this happens with your harness; use harnesses with ‘double back’ buckles rather than ‘cinching’ style.

Weaselling

There has been a little confusion about “weaselling’ recently. To clear it up..

‘Weaselling’ is the local name in the Peak District for rock scrambling. This has been a very popular activity for many years in the area with outdoor groups.

Weaselling is classed as a climbing related activity as it: a) requires the use of helmets, spotting and climbing techniques; b) can involve considerable drops and work near cliff edges (e.g. Higger Tor); c) is usually undertaken in areas recognised as climbing crags.

Therefore the qualifications for weaselling are:
- A National Governing Body outdoor climbing qualification: SPA, MIA, MIC, British Mountain Guide. (NB Not Climbing Wall Award)
- OR a competent adult in possession of appropriate First Aid certificate who has been trained by a holder of the MIA or MIC. The assessment must be carried out directly, and signed, by the MIA/MIC holder. This training will be site specific. The training will normally be valid for a period to be decided by the MIA/MIC but not more than five years.

This information will also appear in the ‘Equivalent Awards’ section of the climbing website.

Petzl safety Warning – Via Ferrata Lanyards

PETZL Product Safety Alert: Request for inspection of PETZL SCORPIO L60 and L60 CK via ferrata lanyards.
Please follow the link to get detailed information and to read the original notice:
http://www.petzl.com/en/outdoor/news/products-news-0/2011/05/13/product-safety-alert-request-inspection-scorpio-via-ferrata

European Ropes Course Instructor Qualification

Last week we hosted a high ropes course for the European Ropes Course Association at Blackland Farm. The course was run by Ropeworks of North Wales, and led to the Instructor and Rescuer qualification – for more information please see www.erca.cc

Martin Robinson and Bryn Beach from Blackland were on the course as well as Yvonne and Martin from Chigwell Row, and in general the ERCA qualification is considered a step forward in providing standardised qualifications for high ropes.