Summer Mountain Leader Assessment - Day 2

After breakfast, we were surprised that all are gear had dried overnight in Calluna's excellent drying room. Richard was bang on time and we were soon all squeezed into his car heading out of Fort William towards Glen Coe. It was still raining and it was quite a chilly morning; certainly a good few degrees colder than the previous day. Richard told us that he expected snow on Ben Nevis today so he was excited at the possibility of some winter climbing later in the week. I had heard from some friends that Richard was quite a serious winter climber but I didn't really know what that meant. I always thought winter climbing looked pretty 'serious' at any time or level but would love to have a go - something else for the list. We passed through Glencoe village and parked at the large car park near Achnambeithach. We got out of the car to faff with our gear and get ready to go. I picked up my bag and turned away from the road to look South and gazed up at Bidean nam Bian in all it's misty magnificence - stunning.
It was raining hard so Richard said he was going to keep the briefing short so that we could get moving. He told us that we didn't have to worry about navigation today. We crossed the large footbridge and headed towards the trees that surround Achnambeithach. Once there, Richard said he would ask us each to lead the group up the steep grassy slopes. So up we went; each of us taking it in turns to lead a zigzag up the slopes between Aonach Dubh and the Allt Coire nam Beithach. The rain had now eased a little and Richard stopped us on a steep grassy slope and asked us to get out our ropes. We then paired up to demonstrate how we would manage a nervous person on steep ground. First we all showed techniques without using a rope e.g. leading and holding folk by their rucksacks. Then we used the ropes and Richard got the other person to close their eyes to make it more realistic.  Richard then told us to pack away our ropes and to put our lids (helmets) on. Just then the rain really started coming down so we pressed on up the rocky slopes and found a sheltered spot to have a munch. The grassy slopes were now some way below us and we were now on some pretty gnarly ground - probably some of the worst I'd been on. Almost as if he could read my mind: Richard asked me to lead us first up the rocks. At first there was a vague path that lead through the slope that seemed to avoid most of the main obstacles but that didn't last long. Soon, the only place to go was up... and up! There were a few tricky sections where I had to spot the others up a couple of small 'bad steps'. I felt I struggled a little with my positioning and found it tricky to spot the others from where I was a couple of times. I guess this was down to my experience and I think it probably showed where I was lacking compared to the others in the group. I followed on with my confidence a little rattled, as the others took it in turns to lead around the rim of Stob Coire nan Lochan.
Richard called us to a halt above a small crag and asked us to get out our ropes. He paired us up and I was asked to get Mike down the vertical drop below me. This was a huge step up from the angle of slope we had practiced on the SML Training but I knew the principles were the same. I lowered the rope down to check the length and it looked like it was just about going to reach the bottom of the crag. I then looked around for an anchor, and there was only one: a large boulder to the left of the drop. It was a little off-line but it was the only anchor around that looked bomber. I wrapped around the end of the rope, rethreaded the figure-of-eight knot and then tied an overhand knot on a bite a little further down the rope and climbed into the middle of it (making sure it was a good fit around me). I then put my bag back on to avoid being cut in half by the rope as I passed it around my back and prepared for the body belay. Richard asked me if I was ready and I nodded. He called Mike over to me. I passed the rope around his waist and made sure the loop was a good fit; not too tight and not too loose. Mike then looked at the drop that he was about to go down and seemed to freak out a little and I could tell he wasn't happy. He looked up at Richard and asked if he had checked the anchors - Richard turned and went over to the boulder to inspect my rope work and said, "Looks pretty good to me!" Mike still didn't seem happy and as I lowered him down the drop he seemed to be shaking slightly. I was quite surprised at this, because I knew he had a reputation as a climber - but at that moment he seemed very ordinary. This boosted my confidence again and I brought him back up again, much to his delight. The wind was now howling and the hail was actually coming up from the corrie below us. Richard wanted to get moving again so we could get warm so we packed away our ropes and headed up to the top of the corrie, above Collie's Pinnacle.
Richard then mixed the pairs up again and this time I was asked to get James down safely from a big ledge on a small outcrop. The anchors were good so I started setting up once again and was much quicker this time. After James was safely down, Richard asked me to get myself down safely. I knew exactly what I needed to do and quickly got down safe using a traditional abseil. I had practiced this a little at the local crag but it was a different thing altogether when faced with this vertical drop, the wind howling and the hail coming down - I was glad that was over! At the end of the SML Training, Steve had said to us that the assessment would also include some further training that followed on. We hadn't covered the South African Abseil in the training but I had studied the technique in a couple of books but had never been shown how to do it properly. Seeing the opportunity, I asked Richard if he could show me the technique? He looked at me so I knew he had heard me but just walked towards the others and shouted at them to pack up and get ready to move. I was now feeling a little deflated as I packed my rope away. Did he think I was a useless idiot? Maybe I was... maybe he didn't like me? I tried to bury these thoughts as we all met up behind the shelter of some rocks.

After having a quick bite, we started our steep descent down the opposite (West) side of the corrie. We took it in turns to pick a route down through the rocky buttresses and steep drops. This part was actually quite enjoyable and route finding wasn't too hard as there wasn't really many options! Mike spent the entire time pointing out various summer and winter climbing routes on the buttresses above and around us, but I'm not sure anyone was listening as none of us answered or spoke - we were all trying to concentrate. When we reached the grassy slopes on the other side of the Allt Coire nam Beithach, we were asked to demonstrate the use of our confidence ropes once again. As if deciding that he had seen enough, Richard announced that we were heading for the car. We packed up and joined the good path leading down the glen back to the footbridge where we had started. It was already quite dark when we reached the car to drive back to Fort William.

At Calluna, Richard took us into the small bouldering room and asked us to empty out the contents of our rucksacks on the crash mats and talk us through what we carried. I had noticed earlier in the day that my bag was definitely the smallest out of the lot. But now that I looked at what everyone had been carrying, I actually had the same (if not more) amount of kit. This was something that Richard also spotted, as he looked at me and said, "You manage to fit quite a lot of stuff in that wee pack of yours, eh?". I hoped this was a compliment, but it was good to hear. It turns out we were all carrying the same array of things for emergencies and to keep folk warm. Richard didn't really say much to any of us and seemed satisfied that we were all carrying the right kind of gear.

We were told to wear our old gear tomorrow morning, as we would be covering river crossings in the morning, before going through our home papers in the afternoon and then we would be left to plan and pack for our expedition tomorrow evening. Darren, Mike and Richard left James and I to get a brew on and try to get warm and dry again.

After we had eaten we talked over the day's events and both said that it had been a pretty full on day. I told James that I wasn't sure how well today had gone and that I wasn't sure if Richard though I was an idiot or not. James put my mind at ease by telling me that he thought the same and was finding him hard to read but he also said that folk had mentioned to him that he can take assessments quite seriously so he didn't think it was anything to worry about.

Before bed, we went over our home papers together and compared answers that were quite similar.
I crawled into bed mentally exhausted from the full on day. I listened to the rain pounding against the windows above my bed and wondered how big a river we would be crossing in the morning.

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.