Skylark

The mountains are alive with busy skylarks at the moment. This is what a skylark sounds like, although you won't see it 🙂 This was a beautiful warm sunny second day of a Mountain Skills 1 Course, up in the West Cork Mountains.

Homeward Bound

Well that's that's; homeward bound after nearly two months of winter walking and winter climbing in the Scottish Highlands.

Two months of living and breathing snowpacks, avalanche reports and frontal systems 🙂

Thanks to some great climbing partners; Elaine-about to give up smoking for good; Jason-about to spend the summer driving around Ireland; @jennygrahamis_ just back from setting a record cycling around the world!

@glenmorelodge @mountaineering_ireland @mountaineeringscotland

The consolation for leaving the snow behind, is at least I'm going into a summer floating on Glengarriff Bay in a kayak; catching up with otters, kingfishers and sea eagles 😎
@glengarriffwoodsnr

Mountain Skills 1, Map Reading & Navigation Weekend, Coming Up In Glengarriff/Cork

Kicking things off this spring with a two-day, beginner friendly, Mountain Skills 1 on the weekend of 29th & 30th Mar.

This is a map reading/compass skills/navigation weekend - aimed at getting hill walkers self sufficient, and giving the skills to get off trail.

More details here: www.outdoorsireland.com/activities/mountain-skills

Our Kayaking Tours In Killarney National Park Starting Again For Another Summer :)

Summer's arriving again and our kayaking tours in Killarney National Park are kicking off

Thanks to www.instagram.com/lucas_machowski for these recent shots

Killarney Kayaking

Lowland Leader Refresher

If you have completed Lowland Leader Training; with us, or elsewhere; and feel like you would like a refresher day this spring, get in touch on info@outdoorsireland.com

Hoping to run a one-day a refresher course; covering things like navigation, group managment, leading techniques, flora + fauna, dealing with emergencies, hazard awareness.

Plus any areas you may feel need brushing up on...

Thanks, Nathan - Outdoors Ireland

Camping Leader Assessment Dates For 2025

Just Scheduled Some Camping Leader Assessment Dates For 2025:

The Camping Leader qualification is for people who wish to supervise a camping group and develop participants camping proficiency by teaching campcraft activities.

Terrain:
A qualified Camping Leader can operate in a variety of campsites, all with vehicle access, including land with no facilities and commercial campsites offering a range of facilities.

A qualified Camping Leader who also holds a mountain training walking leadership qualification can operate in terrain within the scope of that scheme, such as a journey and a wild camp.

The Camping Leader Scheme is ideal for those involved with the Duke Of Edinburgh Award, Gaisce Award, clubs and school groups among other things. The skills covered apply to groups using commercial campsites as well as wild camping.

Price: €135 Per Person

930am - 530pm

Camping Leader Assessment Dates
Glengarriff/Cork:
25th Apr 2025
16th May 2025
23rd Oct 2025

Course Director: Nathan Kingerlee

Details: info@outdoorsireland.com

Biscuit McCormack

Catching up with a great friend and colleague, from Scotland, I haven't seen or worked with for 21 years; Biscuit McCormack :)

It got me thinking about some of the really great places I worked over the years; and the experience, vision and ethos they gave me - as to how I wanted my adventure school to run.

Cappanalea OEC, in the highlands of Kerry, working on their sailing and river kayaking courses; and being involved in working on what was the first fast-track instructor course in the country at the time.

Then Scotland, Aviemore, driving mini busses and trailers in and out of Glasgow, taking folk skiing and white water rafting.

Back to Ireland where I was incredibly lucky enough to be taken on as a freelance instructor with our National Training Center, Tiglin, up in Wicklow. That was such an inspirational place, with such inspirational instructors - sadly closed now. Rock climbing and mountaineering mostly.

Some time with Pat Falvey, training folk for overseas expeditions and higher peaks.

And some time with an excellent guiding company, Go Ireland, which gave me so much invaluable guiding experience; with groups of Americians and Canadians; hiking Ireland's waymarked trails for multiple days, going from b&b to b&b. Each morning urgently reading up on the folklore and history of the area we were heading to!

Thanks to legends Sean O Suilleabhain and Noel O Leary, in the days before Google, for answering my last minute text questions; such as did de Valera know we'd only get 26 counties before he sent Michael Collins to negotiate; and why was butter buried in the bogs on hot days... And now year 20 of running Outdoors Ireland...

Lowland Leader Refresher This Spring

If you have completed Lowland Leader Training and feel like you would like a refresher day this spring, get in touch on info@outdoorsireland.com

Hope to run both a one-day and a two-day refresher course; covering things like navigation, group managment, leading techniques, flora + fauna, dealing with emergencies.

 

Plus any areas you may feel need brushing up on...

Tea Break, Waiting For Moonrise

Tea Break, Waiting For Moonrise

Upgrading Your Backpack

Upgrading Your Backpack:

1.The waterproof cover that comes with a backpack is no good for proper wet (or windy) conditions - you can't beat a heavy duty binbag, with all your contents dry inside.

2. A whistle on a shoulder strap is good for those unplanned emergencies. Technically the emergency signal is repetitions of 6 whistle blasts, or six torch flashes; however in general whistle blasts or torch flashes are seen as an emergency signal; so don't worry too much about remembering the number!

3. Then for map reading/navigation a waterproof stopwatch for timing, plus 10 pacing beads for pacing. Pacing beads can be put onto a piece of lace or paracord.

Here Are Older Posts On:
What Backpack Kit To Have: http://outdoorsireland.blogspot.com/2016/06/what-kit-to-carry-in-mountains.html

What First Aid Kit To Have: http://outdoorsireland.blogspot.com/2018/01/mountain-skills-first-aid-kit.html

Text Message 112 Register: http://outdoorsireland.blogspot.com/2021/02/emergency-text-message-to-112-for.html