Coming Up Over The Coming Weeks In Glengarriff, Cork; Lowland Leader Training, Mountain Skills 2 Training, Bushcraft Skills Week, Bushcraft Skills 1

I have a flurry of training courses coming up over the coming weeks; and in fact all of them are beginner friendly. A couple of spots are left available on all of them, so get in touch on info@outdoorsireland.com if you are interested. Thanks, Nathan Kingerlee-Outdoors Ireland


19th - 20th Apr : Lowland Leader Training
https://www.outdoorsireland.com/activities/lowland-leader/
This is the training course to become a hiking leader, guiding and leading on trails/tracks/paths/beaches, across Ireland and UK

23rd - 24th Apr : Mountain Skills 2 : Glengarriff
https://www.outdoorsireland.com/activities/mountain-skills/
Follow-on from Mountain Skills 1, this course covers compass skills, more in-depth map reading, navigation techniques, night navigation and skills for steep exposed mountainside

26th - 30th Apr : Bushcraft Skills Week : (5 Day Beginner Friendly)
https://www.outdoorsireland.com/activities/bushcraft-skills/
Our ultimate bushcraft course! Five days and four nights in the wilds, learning how to both survive and also thrive. From fire making to shelter building; from tarp and hammock skills to foraging and making natural cordage. Beginner friendly

3rd - 4th May : Mountain Skills 1 : Glengarriff
https://www.outdoorsireland.com/activities/mountain-skills/
Beginner friendly map reading, navigation and mountain safety course. This is the first step of getting self sufficient for the Irish mountains, and being able to get off trail and into the wilder mountains

10th - 11th May : Bushcraft Skills 1
https://www.outdoorsireland.com/activities/bushcraft-skills/
Beginner friendly, bushcraft training - covering a wide range of bushcraft skills over the two days - including fire making, shelter building, foraging, fire managment and outdoor cooking

BBC - Ardal O Hanlon Kayaks With Us In Glengarriff Bay

Our Kayaking Piece Is @ 2:32mins Or This Link: https://youtu.be/ePvDLeyxl4U?t=152

A while back I had the priviledge to meet, and work with, probably my biggest hero - Ardal O Hanlon / Father Dougal.

Anytime I'm under big pressure some Father Ted; with a cup of tea or glass of wine always fixes things😃

This is the footage from BBC. Thankfully I'm in the background and not on camera😅

Fair play to Bantry Bay Charters and Eccles Hotel & Spa also!

Bushcraft Skills Courses Coming Up At Our Bushcraft Base, In Glengarriff/Cork

Two bushcraft skills courses coming up over the coming weeks; with places available on both to book.


Five-Day Bushcraft Skills Week; nicely intensive but also completely beginner friendly; running 26th - 30th April: https://www.outdoorsireland.com/activities/bushcraft-skills/


Two-Day Bushcraft Skills 1; our most popular bushcraft course; completely beginner friendly - and you cover a lot over the two days - running 10th - 11th May: https://www.outdoorsireland.com/activities/bushcraft-skills/

My Youngest Ever Mountain Skills Student

My youngest ever mountain skills student, 11 year old Alielle. She could map read as well as any adult; and better than some!

Thanks to her and her great mom for hitting the hills last weekend

Mountain Skills Details & Dates Here

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

Sea Kayak Wipeout

Two days sea kayaking, exploring the beautiful Beara coastline, down near Dursey Island. Arches, tunnels, sea stacks, rocky headlands, narrow inlets...

One of the reasons we were there is a few weeks back now, my paddling partner and I took a wipeout in a narrow rocky gut (inlet). Major set of breaking swell came out of nowhere, and kept coming. Luckily we'd reversed into the gut, so as swell began breaking on us I was able to power out. My partner wasn't so lucky and swam inside there (or got sucked out of his boat moreso).

I had to wait outside the swell for about 4/5 mins before I could paddle back inside. Over those few mins things were looking a bit grim for him, so touched base with the local coast guard. Fair play to them; within minutes the lifeboat and helicopter were launched.

Anyway after about 4 mins I was able to paddle back inside, and swim-tow my partner out of the danger zone; abandoning his kayak. Got him onto the cliffs and he scrambled up to safety. At that point the main coast guard stood down. That day continued too rough to safely retrieve the sea kayak, despite abseiling part way down from above; at which point the kayak was totally twisted and folded, with blown hatches 🙁

So we were back looking for it the past two days. No joy though - I'll need to ask CH Marine Kayaks & Watersports and P&H Sea Kayaks nicely for another boat 🙂

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1E8mXT3Zcw/
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19kPSexTLi/

In terms of emergency communication these three items are great; mobile phone in a waterproof case, vhf radio and an emergency beacon (plb). The vhf and beacon can be got from the likes of CH Marine, Darrens Kayaks, Great Outdoors

I should mention that with work, we would never get into situations where students/clients are in proper danger. That's not good. However with personal paddling or personal climbing we do push things a little from time to time - it keeps our skill progressing and keeps us sharp! We do consider though, causing hassle for rescue services, or family, if things were to go wrong.

A training course should be done to use a vhf radio - and it's a really good, straightforward, course.

Thank you to Derrynane Inshore Rescue CRBI, Castletownbere RNLI Lifeboat, Castletownbere Coast Guard and Rescue 115

Finger Splinting - Tactile Session - On A Lowland Leader Training Course

Finger Splinting - Tactile Session - On A Lowland Leader Training Course

Looking at finger splinting, using purple moor grass (fionnan grass), on a guiding/leadership course.

As a medium term fix this would have been used by Fianna tribes, Celtic warriors, shepherds on lonely hills; even rebel fighters in slightly more recent times...

New Prepper Skills Course

It's been a while coming, here are details of the four-day Prepper Skills Course (divided into 2 two-day blocks)

www.outdoorsireland.com/activities/prepper-skills-training-ireland

Syllabus is pretty encompassing and intensive, but also very much designed to be totally beginner friendly.

Have a read through the weblink and get in touch if you're interested in booking:
info@outdoorsireland.com
+353 (0) 86 860 45 63

Beautiful Winter Route In The MacGillycuddy Reeks, In Recent Snow

Thanks for all the interest in last week's winter mountaineering shots. It was a straightforward enough route, but been on my bucket list and had been waiting for winter conditions for a long time now. The route may not mean much, unless you know The Reeks.

Up Curve Gully to Carrauntoohil for sunset; down Central Gully, back up O Shea's Gully. Across Beenkeragh Ridge in thick powder snow for dusk. Beenkeragh (second highest peak) for nightfall and semi whiteout conditions - which needed careful ice axe probing to ensure I didn't step over the cliffedge. Then down easy side of Hag's Tooth Ridge as the whiteout lifted and the moon emerged.

And in fact with the moon reflecting off the snowpack I didn't need my headtorch whatsoever for the 3/4 hrs of darkness - apart from the occasional map check! Nice 10 hr day; slept well that night!