Summer Mountain Leader Assessment - Day 3

When I woke, my first thought was that the rain hadn't stopped all night. My second, was that I remembered we were meant to be doing a river crossing today - brilliant.

We put on our old clothes, old boots and old waterproofs and waited nervously whilst sipping a brew. We could still hear the rain hammering down against the flat, as we flicked through the pages of Classic Rock. Richard soon arrived with Darren and Mike and they all came in and sat down. Richard said that we would go through the home papers first and hopefully the weather would clear up a bit, so I got up and put on another brew. We sat around and went through the home papers and discussed the answers together. It was clear that we all had good knowledge of the outdoors, the laws, regulations and best practice. The rain hadn't eased at all but Richard was still keen to cross a river so we jumped into his car and headed along the minor road towards Blarmachfoldach once again.

We parked at the roadside just above the river to our right. Down at the riverbank, Richard gave us a quick briefing. We were standing at a corner of the river and to our right the river looked deep and fast-flowing. To our left the river was wider, slower, more shallow and a lot more inviting. We were asked to get ourselves across safely using whatever method we liked. We all grabbed our walking poles and set off to the other side. The water was rather chilly to say the least and was fast flowing but only shin-deep and none of us had any problems getting across to the other side. Richard then asked us to move down the bank a little where the river was a little deeper and faster. We then each took it in turns to be in charge and get us all safely to the other side; this involved either the wedge or the single file technique. Then Richard got the rope out and it was time to get serious... and very wet. Richard took us  around the corner of the river where it looked deep and fast. We were asked to try out the 'V' technique with the rope and try to get us all across. James sat down behind a large rock on the bank that looked like a good belay spot. Darren went in first, holding onto the rope and doing his best to fight the strong current. He was making steady progress until he got closer to the other bank; where the river seemed to get deeper. As I looked on, Darren was really struggling and I could see that the water was rushing over his thighs and around his waist. I turned around and saw Richard had moved downstream and was on standby with a throw line. Darren made a lunge for the other side and rolled onto the high grassy bank. I was up next.

The rope came back over and in I went. Up to halfway the going was good, but then the water got deeper, stronger and faster. Wobbling a little I pressed on; using the tension of the rope for balance. To make things worse: the rocks underfoot became large boulders and they were smooth, slippery and hard to avoid. The water was now at the height of my waist and the water was gushing up into my chest. I couldn't keep my balance or fight the force of the current for much longer so I made a sideways lunge for the bank. I grabbed a handful of grass, swung my leg up and rolled onto the grass - I had made it... just! James came over next and he struggled to the other side the same as I did. Maybe I was just being a bit soft, but as James rolled up onto the bank he looked at me and I could tell he was thinking the same thing; that was a close call and I knew he had been right on the edge too. Mike then came over last with Darren belaying him. At around halfway, Mike became quite unsteady and as he went deeper, even more so. We all looked on but could do nothing; he lost his footing in the deep water. He tried to hold onto the rope and right himself but he couldn't as the current was too strong and was keeping his feet from under him. He was fighting a loosing battle and soon he had let go of the rope and was heading downstream. Richard had been watching and had thrown his line in for Mike to grab. Richard hauled Mike towards him and out of the deeper water until he could stand again and he stumbled to the other side. Richard shouted across to us and said that we were going to head back.

Mike was obviously soaked but he probably wasn't much wetter than then rest of us; the rain was still hammering down and hadn't stopped. I couldn't feel my hands as we crossed back to the other side, further up the river this time. As we headed back to Calluna to have hot showers and get warm again, I reflected on what just happened. Speaking to a few folk about their SML assessment, all of them told me that they never even did a river crossing on their assessment; their assessors talked it over with them and suggested that you would never attempt crossing a big river with a group. Clearly this assessment was of a much higher standard and that river crossing was certainly an experience!
After we were warm and dry again back in the flat, we sat around with a brew and laughed about what had just happened. After lunch, Steve Spalding arrived from Pitlochry. Steve was going to take over from Richard as our assessor for our expedition over the next 3 days. As usual, he was in fine spirits and we chatted about what each of us wanted to do for the expedition. James and I said that we weren't too bothered, while Darren and Mike fancied heading into the Mamores. Steve said that he had been looking at the weather closely over the last few days and he was concerned about the snow line and said that we had to try and stay below it. For this reason, he wanted to head to the West and fancied heading into the Glengarry Forest. Everyone seemed happy with that idea so it was settled.
After the others left, James and I couldn't wait to talk about the epic river crossing earlier and how we hadn't expected that at all. Apart from the experience being a little 'out there', we were both pleased with how the day had gone and felt we had coped well with all that was asked of us. We were well organised with our gear and supplies so it didn't take us long to pack our larger expedition rucksacks. Then we both fell into bed totally wiped from the last few days of activity and relentless concentration.
I was very much looking forward to the expedition.

Summer Mountain Leader Assessment - Day 1

The weather really couldn't have been any worse on Sunday night, as James drove us up to Fort William. The rain wasn't taking any time to fall, as it lashed on the windscreen though Glen Coe - I was glad I wasn't driving. The road was flooded in places, and it was late before we eventually arrived in The Fort - the rain still hammering down and the wind howling. We were staying at Alan Kimber's excellent Calluna Self Catering, a legendary bunkhouse among mountaineers. We were made to feel very welcome and we settled into the large and comfortable flat. We were both pretty nervous so there wasn't much chat but we got a brew on and sat in the lounge making polite and awkward conversation. We knew that our first day was going to be micro nav, before bed, we both made sure that we had all our gear ready and our bags packed, ready to go.

Day 1
I didn't sleep much and woke early well before my alarm. I could hear that the rain was still coming down outside the window but it seemed that the wind had eased of, so that was something at least. After breakfast, we both had at least 4 cups of tea and paced up and down the flat so much that we actually bumped into each other at one point - very nervous. Eventually, the waiting was over; there was a knock at the door and in came Richard.
Richard Bentley was to be our assessor for the first 3 days. I had never met him before but had heard quite a lot about him in mountaineering circles. He seemed pleasant and greeted us with a smile and asked us if we could get a brew going. Following him in through the door were the two other candidates: Darren and Mike. We sat down in the lounge to have a cuppa and introduce ourselves. I recognised Mike's face immediately but I couldn't place him. In fact, it turns out that he was actually Mike Lates from Skye Guides - the penny dropped. Darren was from down South, Yorkshire I think, aged late 30s to early 40s and had only four Munros left to tick off - he'd also ticked off all the Wainwrights by the time he was only 18. Very impressive, I thought. I knew that James was very experienced and had worked in a couple of outdoor centres over the years and he already had a good few awards to his name. Then it was my turn and I didn't really have much to say - certainly nothing to brag about in comparison. I think everyone looked at me as if to say, "Is that it?". I suddenly felt relatively very inexperienced in the present company. I knew that all I could do was give it everything and do my best, as I already felt privileged to be here attempting this.
Once the formalities were over, we all jumped in Richard's Subaru Forester and headed South on the minor road out of Fort William. We were barely in the car, when we pulled in and parked up near the sheepfold about a kilometre before Blarmachfoldach. Richard showed us exactly where we were on our 1:25k OS maps and explained the format of the day. We would each take it in turns to lead everyone to a place, designated by Richard, but only the current leader would know where this spot was on the map. On arrival, the leader would need to tell Richard that we had arrived at the spot, or at what they thought was the spot. Then the 'followers' had to approach Richard individually and show him where they thought we were on the map. Simple.
Once we had all finished 'faffing', Richard pulled me aside and, pointing to my map, asked me to take him Northwest along the track and to where the first stream crossed, just after the track turned into a path on the map. Happy with the task that I had been given, I paused for a moment to estimate the distance along the track to the river and set off pacing along in silence... concentrating. It wasn't raining, but it felt like it was because it was so misty and damp. There was no wind so the mist hung in the air, reducing visibility to a little over 100 metres. It was also quite mild, making it rather warm under the waterproofs. I had noticed that we had passed over a few small streams but I knew that these were too soon to be my target, as they were too small and wouldn't be marked on the map; it was just because of all the rain. Suddenly I came across a larger stream and it timed in nicely with my pacing. A quick check and I knew we were here, so I let Richard know - ice broken. But there was no time to relax; it was Darren's turn to lead next and I had to remain concentrating. Darren left the path and went straight up the path to the right. Up we went and soon we stepped onto the higher path that was marked on the map. Darren turned right and carried on for around another 300 metres or so and then announced that we were there. I looked down at the map and I could see that there was an obvious kink in the 300m contour line and there was also a couple of distinct bends in the path. I wasn't 100% sure but I went over to Richard and pointed to the kink in the contour line - there was no response and he just turned away and looked over to James and I could tell he wasn't quite sure either. Was I right? I couldn't read Richard's reaction; as there was none. Mike's Turn next and he immediately set off at a blistering pace along the path in the direction we had just come from. Thinking fast, I took a quick bearing from where I thought we were to the lochan just to the East of Creag an Aoil. We carried on along the path and I watched my compass closely. As the lochan emerged out of the mist, it was clear that something didn't make sense; the bearing was wrong... but actually, I was wrong. I walked over to Richard and told him I had been wrong at the last point and, again, no reaction. As I turned round to carry on with the task and James brushed past me to tell Richard the same thing - this was reassuring. I turned my attention to Mike, who was standing proudly on top of the small mound on the Southwest side of the lochan. I don't think any of us were in any doubt that we were on the ring contour on the map, but we still individually confirmed this with Richard and followed the ritual. It went on like this for another 40 minutes or so - each of us taking a turn to lead and find a feature. Thankfully, I was pretty sure that I was correct every time and I found it quite easy to follow and was able to keep up with where we where. We found a sheltered spot and had a munch. No one really said much and it was all still quite serious and tense. After our break we carried on with some more navigation legs until Richard lay down on a flat patch of ground and asked us to treat him as a casualty. We all took a turn at being 'in charge' - however, when it was my turn to lead, I instructed the others to perform a logroll so we could get Richard onto a group shelter underneath him, but Mike went ahead and told us to roll him onto the side of his injured leg. I took charge and said that this was the wrong side to roll him on - I think Mike found this hard to swallow. Richard then quizzed each of us on evacuation procedures and we all gave him intelligent answers, I thought. We packed our gear away and continued with a few final navigational legs each before joining the minor road at Glengour for the short walk back to Richard's car. We were all pretty wet at this point and it was quite late in the day when we got back to Calluna. Richard said goodbye to James and I and told us we would be doing a steep ground day tomorrow so we would need our helmets and ropes. He also said that we should pack a 'leader's rucksack' for the day and be ready to leave at 9:30am.
James and I each had a hot shower and a couple of brews before we had got rid of the chill of the wet day. Before eating, we sat around our maps and discussed the day and each nav point we had to find. James' points matched exactly with mine and we both had the same reasons why it was those points. It was a little bit of relief and we had both felt the stress and tension of the day. We also discussed the standard of Mike and Darren and we agreed that the standard of this assessment was quite high - we sensed that this theme would continue through the rest of the week.
I forced the food down me that evening - my stomach was knotted tightly and I was finding it hard to relax and forget about tomorrow. Before bed, we compared what we were packing in our backpacks for tomorrow - basically everything was the same. This gave me some comfort, as I headed to bed to try and get some sleep.