Day 1 – we focused on navigation skills and enjoyed some spectacular views on a rare day of sunshine.

Old Members’ Trust Graduate Conference and Academic Travel Fund Report – Catherine Baldwin (2023, DPhil Earth Sciences)

I recently completed the Mountain Training Mountain Leader (ML) training week in a very wet and windy Eryri National Park. The ML certification is designed for people wanting to lead groups in UK mountains, hills, and moorlands. It is a respected award in the outdoor industry and has been a goal of mine for years. However, before you even undertake the training, you must show that you have a minimum number of mountaineering days and experience under your belt. Time and financial constraints meant this took longer than I’d hoped. Finding out I’d generously been awarded the Old Members’ Trust Graduate Travel Fund was the catalyst that enabled me to begin this long-term goal, and I’m very grateful for that.

We have our heading…

Since my DPhil fieldwork and undergraduate demonstration will be taking me to remote highland and Arctic locations this year, it is an ideal time to have done the training and begin consolidating the skills we developed during the course.  The training week covered essential skills for keeping yourself and anyone in your care safe in remote areas. We learnt technical skills such as navigation in fog and darkness, river crossings, ropework and safety on steep ground. We were taught how to anticipate and cope with inclement weather, and how to approach emergency situations that may involve mountain rescue or other emergency services. This training will help me better support the safety aspect of our upcoming field trips – although I hope I won’t have to use much of it outside the planning stage!

What most of the week looked like – “character building!”

As well as the technical skills, I discovered a lot about leadership and mindset during the training. We experienced bad weather for most of the week – 40-60mph winds, heavy rain and poor conditions underfoot. The sort of weather that would make most (sane) people hesitate about heading out into the hills. But our instructors, to our horror, kept saying how perfect it was that we didn’t have it too easy. As they said, it’s all about what you’re used to – they’re experienced mountaineers and this was well within their comfort zone. However, if you’re not as hardcore as them (I’m definitely not), a week of torrential rain and high winds in the Welsh mountains can feel a bit harsh. Understandably I was cynical of the instructors’ apparent glee towards the grim conditions, but our training group quickly established a sense of camaraderie that kept everyone in high spirits. You couldn’t help joining in, and within hours on that first rainy day I realised that my laughter was genuine. Hang on, was I actually enjoying being out in this? If I think back to my days in Scouts and DofE, I used to love being out on the hills in wild weather. When did I get so hesitant to leave my comfort zone? I’d become a fair-weather walker, which is just no good when you’re Welsh. During those first few days I rediscovered how good it can feel to leave your comfort zone (and that a warm car and dry shoes waiting for you really helps too).

Wild camping on our last night – leave no trace. Image credit: Rob @essential_climbing

It’s been a challenging and inspiring week. I am looking forward to consolidating what I’ve learnt through my own fieldwork, and through demonstrating on Earth Sciences undergraduate field trips, by helping to support field safety and welfare. I am immensely grateful to the Trustees of the Old Members’ Trust Graduate Conference and Academic Travel Fund, who made this opportunity possible. Also thanks to Phill George and Joe Begley for their tuition and good humour throughout the course.

Published: 30 August 2024

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