Mountain Skills 1 Training Course, In The Galway/Burren Hills, Back In The Heatwave!

Looking To Move From Hill Walking To Mountaineering & Scrambling?

If you are a hill walker looking to get into scrambling and mountaineering, these are the skills you may want to have:

1. Rope Flake, Coil & Carry
2. Retrievable Classic Abseil
3. Bucket Seat
4. Body Belay Climbing
5. Body Belay Lowering
6. Placing A Sling Runner While Climbing
7. Using Terrain As A Runner While Climbing
8. Simple Climbing Calls
9. Only Move/Climb When Rope Is Tight
10. Never Ever Have Slack In Your System!
11. Direct Belay (belaying from your anchor)
12. In-Direct Belay (belaying from your body)
13. Direct Belay: Rope Friction Belay Around Rock Anchor
14. Direct Belay: Italian Hitch Belay From Sling, Around Rock Anchor
15. Know When To Turn Back
16. Interpreting A Weather Forecast
17. Testing Handholds, Footholds & Anchors

You can get these skills from a more experienced partner, reading, youtube or do a training course with us. If relying on youtube make sure the skills being displayed are proper best practice.

Here Are Some Blog Resources

Spectacular Sunrise On The Water In Glengarriff

Glassy Waters & Curious Seals

Please Text Message For Last Minute Booking

Working away from office a lot over the coming few days.

Best way to get in touch is text message please to 086 860 45 63 (00353868604563).

We have good availability for Killarney Lakes Kayaking, and some availability for Glengarriff Bay Sea Kayaking. Thanks! Nathan

Tick Offs & Cut Off - My Two Favorite Navigation Tools

Tick Off Points:
When navigating from A to B; before you begin moving pick two/three/four points from your map, along your route. These points need to be obvious and reasonably foolproof.

Ideally they need to be features you will physically hit and not something you may see in the distance.

So, for example, as you move from A to B you are expecting to pass a forest, cross a stream and go through a col. You tick off these features as you go and you know things are going to plan.

If you miss one or two tick off points it can act as an early warning system to stop and reassess.


Cut Off Point:
When navigating from A to B; before you begin moving pick a point from your map, just beyond your destination. This point needs to be obvious and reasonably foolproof, for example, cliff/lake/change of slope/headland/island.

It has to be a feature you will physically hit and not something you may see in the distance.

If you reach this point it will cut off your progress and let you know you have overshot/gone too far - hence the name Cut Off Point.

We sometimes overshoot our destination on purpose, to hit the cut off point and establish everything is good, especially in times of poor visibility.


Click Here To See More Training Resources
Click Here To See Our Mountain Skills Course Dates

Happy Healthy Hedgehog

Organising gear yesterday morning before a 6am dawn/sunrise sea kayak tour I came across this beautiful big hedgehog in the yard; heading for the oak and birch woods.

First live hedgehog I have seen in years - brilliant to see!

Bumble Bee Nest & Wasp Nest This Week

Bumble Bee Nest Came Across Out Hiking, And Wasp Nest Came Across Out Kayaking.

Great Blog Post From Travel Blogger - Lynne

An Amazing Kayak Trip On Glengarriff Bay Ireland: https://wanderyourway.com/an-amazing-kayak-trip-on-glengarriff-bay-ireland/
Thanks Lynne! @ https://wanderyourway.com/

Simple & Effective Hydration Drink For Climbing/Kayaking Outdoors In Baking Weather

Most of us are often dehydrated at the best of times. With this baking weather - working outside can become a major issue.

Heat exhaustion and heat stroke are more real than you might think.
Our instructor tip, which we use, is a simple homemade hydration drink: 1 liter water + 1 teaspoon salt + 1 tablespoon sugar.

Really simple and really effective! Way tastier and far more inexpensive than your chemist dioralyte stuff.

For Other Tips & Tricks Check Out Our Training Resources