3 Stacks in 3 Days

The thee old men in three days. An idea conjured up by Ian that we thought unachievable. Would the tides fall at the right times, could we catch the Orkney Ferry in time or would we get rained off? There was only one way to find out.

Am Buachaille, Old Man of Stoer, Old Man of Hoy.

3 Stacks in 3 Days from Jonny Hawkins on Vimeo.

10 Top Tips for Passing Your Winter Mountain Leader

This winter I was delighted to pass my Winter Mountain Leader so thought I would share a few tips for trainees to help prepare for the big week .

Waking up to this from a snowhole reminds you whats it's all about! 
Photo - Kirsty Macmillan

Read the syllabus 
This helps focus your practice and structures what you need to spend more time working on. I like profile wheels to visually map my progress, scoring each area of the syllabus out of 10 so I can focus on my weaker areas. Others use a traffic light system; green = pass standard, amber = needs work, red = haven’t a clue. Find something that works for you and helps motivate and focus your days out.

My profile wheel with updates as I progressed and 'to do' lists around the edge

Attend a refresher course
My training course was a few winters ago so a two day refresher course was a great way to; get feedback from an assessor on areas to improve, ask lots of questions and identify any bad habits to work on.

Shadow some current wMLs
This really puts into context everything that you are working on. It is particularly useful for learning different ways to teach the required movement skills, but also how the BAA fits into a day, what to teach to newbies, how to use venues and what a proficient wML looks like.

Shadowing a Glenmore Lodge winter skills course

QMDs
Get them done early and aim for more than the bare minimum. Ensure you do them in different areas, with varied weather, types of terrain and with different people. This will enrich your experiences, allowing you to learn way more during them.

Some cracking QMDage in the NW of Scotland

Nav with mates 
Solo nav is brilliant for getting lots of legs and going at your own pace, but following people is a very important skill to nail. During your assessment, you will spend more time relocating than leading so practice this and in the worst possible weather. Train hard assess easy (hopefully)!

Liam Malone embracing some perfect west coast nav, weather

Take friends out
Put all your leadership skills to the test by taking out non-wintery friends. It’s a good chance to practice teaching the movement skills but also to catch up with them and share the mountain love. You will be amazed what you take for granted and the range of skills that a wML has to teach.

James, Camille and Amy learning how to navigate off Cairngorm

Avalanche notebook
If you are not out in the hills regularly or living away from them, keeping an avalanche forecast diary is a great way to keep in tune with the snowpack. Predicting the forecast before you read it and identifying features in the field that were recorded in yesterday's snow profile are great ways to broaden your avalanche knowledge.

Snow profile, MWIS weather forecast, my avalanche risk forecast and the SAIS one

Source infomation
There are loads of excellent books and videos to learn tons from. The Glenmore Lodge and Mountain Training Youtube channels have loads of brilliant videos to get stuck into. I really enjoyed reading/looking at Mike and Allan’s Avalanche Book which clearly explains lots of avalanche geekary, aided by some brilliant cartoons.

Lots of really accessible avalanche info in this great book

My dyslexic brain trying to slimline all of the avalanche geekary

Gold standard
Aim to reach the gold standard when out practicing, not just ‘that will be enough to pass’. You want to show your assessor textbook examples so you cruise through the assessment and more importantly make a great mountain leader.

Amy enjoying a beaut of a day out on Creag Meagaidh

Enjoy it!
This qualification is a great excuse to spend a whole winter in the hills. Squeezing it in between life might be a challenge, but it should be a really fun journey, full of lots of laughs and good memories.

Fun and games during a traverse of An Teallach.  Photo - Charlie Beard

A winter of work, walking and wML

A summer of MIAing in N. Wales

Celebrations for Tom's birthday on Tryfan.  Who said you cant have fun in the rain

Leading Ali and Russ along the Aonach Eagach

Turns out The Chasam scramble is actually quite tight

Guiding Byron and Nigel up some Gogarth classics

Mega scrambling with Rory and Megan on Tryfan

My main man Ian getting grovely on Jammed Boulder Gully

A fab day out guiding Emily, Tom and Amy up Tower Ridge

Climbing in Croatia and the Dolomites

Ian cruising some some perfect limestone during our attempt on the Paklenica trilogy

Sparing lines in the Dolomites

Top banter on some epic routes

Sport Climbing Summer Shenanagons from Jonny Hawkins on Vimeo.

Arapalies

One month learning how to be a 'dirt bag', living in the dust and climbing epic rock

Tights for power wit Nic Euan

Amy lapping up the classic Watchtower Crack

South Island - New Zealand

Excellent scenes at Paynes Ford climbing and enjoying life with the Hillary Outdoors gang

A wee heli-boat mission down the Kokatahi River, Hokatika with Sanda and Rory

Asending the glacier to climb Mt. Sealy 2627m with Amy and Kieran

Remarkables Grand Traverse with Amy, Rory and Megan

Climbing at Twin Streams with Kieran

Second descent of a canyon in the Craigieburn Range with Kieran and Amy

Awesome biking on the 3 day 'Old Ghost Road' track with Amy

Hiking in the Nelson Lakes National Park with Amy

Nevis Bluff Rapic - Kawarau River, Queenstown from Jonny Hawkins on Vimeo.