I have qualified as a a summer Mountain Leader in the UK. Before the assessment I was worried about pretty much everything to do with the five-day test. Having completed the qualification, I thought it would be helpful to reveal what I took with me and what I packed for the three-day exped.
An important note: I took the assessment in early November in Scotland. It could have been warmer but, then again, it could have been colder. We had strong winds and then heavy rain and quite a few chilly days. I know people who did the assessment in April and also in mid-summer and they also faced tough conditions.
In April, there is also a risk of cold, wet and even snow. In mid-summer, it can also rain and temperatures will subsequently drop. In summer, it might be very hot and there are difficulties associated with that, too.
It’s not possible to do the summer ML assessment if it’s truly wintry weather – ie conditions that require you to take ice axe and crampons for safety – but in milder winter weather, it’s possible to complete the training and assessment.
Put simply, in the UK you need to be prepared for all types of different weather and very changeable conditions.
The pros and cons of the seasons
In autumn and early winter, the sun sets a lot earlier and this means it’s possible for the night navigation part of the assessment to take place en route to the first night’s camp.
In contrast, in spring or summer, the night nav will usually require a separate night outing. What that means in reality, is you reach a camp spot, set up your tent, eat and then wait for darkness before getting up again for the night nav.
There are advantages and disadvantages of both scenarios but, personally, I preferred the “night nav on the way to the camp”.
It could be you are required to two nights of nav but if the first night goes well – ie conditions are dark and all your group does well with the nav tests – then you will usually only do one night of navigation.
Assessors will also be hoping for low cloud or some other kind of difficult day-time weather. We had the lot: Cold, wind, cloud, damp, clag and darkness. This made the assessors very happy!
Summer can mean high temperatures and (too much) sunshine and also the dreaded midge.
Spring, autumn and early winter are more likely to be cold, wet and cloudy. But the midges are less likely to be out and about.
Cold hands and Raynaud’s issues
I had to cope with Raynaud’s Syndrome, which badly affects my hands. I was very worried about how I would manage to navigate by map and compass with cold, numb and painful hands. I found a solution that worked for most of the assessment.
I wore a thin but windproof pair of gloves, Rab Transition Windstopper gloves, before adding a pair of heavy duty latex gloves over the top. These kept my hands dry, as well as offering extra insulation. Then, when I needed extra heat, I popped a pair of slim rechargeable hand warmers into my palm and under both pairs of gloves.
This worked really well and afforded me enough dexterity to use the map and compass and also allowed me to write notes (see below). I kept the two-layer system on the entire day.
Another woman had Showa 282 Atlas TEMRES Insulated Gloves, which many outdoor work people use. They are insulated and waterproof.
Cold feet
I swear by Dexshell waterproof socks, which I wore with my Salewa boots. This maintained my foot warmth even when we tramped many kilometres over wet and soggy ground.
General kit list of mountain leader assessment
- I wore, from top to toe:
- Head buff
- Sports bra
- Short sleeved base layer (merino, or similar)
- Long-sleeved base layer (merino, or similar)
- Fleece layer
- Lightweight synthetic insulated jacket Helly Hansen Everdown
- Waterproof jacket (Helly Hansen Odin Ultimate Infinity)
- Gloves, as described above
- Pants/knickers
- Fleece-lined running tights (Flanci leggings)
- Waterproof and windproof over-trousers (Helly Hansen Odin, again!)
- Waterproof Dexshell socks
- Waterproof hiking boots (Salewa Mountain Trainer Mid Gore-Tex hiking boots)
- Boot gaiters (if you want extra protection from mud and wet)
Extra items for ML assessment
- Cord with toggles for counting paces of 100 metres (attached to pack)
- Stopwatch (attached to pack, or use watch)
- Timing card (attached to pack)
- Waterproof notepad and pencil (in hip-belt pocket)
- Chinagraph pencil, or eyeliner (in hip-belt pocket)
What I packed for three-day ML exped
I packed all of my kit into a Salewa women’s Alptrek 50 + 10 pack
What I packed in my rucksack for ML assessment
As well as what I was wearing, I packed:
- Head torch (for night nav and while camping) (Silva Free 1200)
- Spare head torch battery pack
- iPhone
- Map and compass (Silva Expedition 4 with 1:25, 1:40, 1:50 scale measures)
- Waterproof map case
- Spare Silva compass
- Whistle
- Hiking poles
- Sunglasses
- Waterproof socks
- Running tights
- Baselayer – i didn’t take many spare layers but some people might choose to add a few more
- Pants
- Running mittens (Arc’teryx Venta mittens)
- Berghaus down mittens (winter thick)
- Warm down jacket (Berghaus Summit-Nomad Down)
- Extra handwarmers/power banks (Ocoopa UT2s)
- Phone charger cable
- Warm beanie hat
- Soft water flask
- Nalgene water bottle
- Tent (MSR Hubba Hubba™ NX 2-person)
- PHD Greenlandic 500 semi-rectangular down sleeping bag (winter warm)
- Down slipper socks
- Sleeping mat (Sea to Summit Ether Light XR inflatable sleeping mat)
- Camp stove (MSR Windboiler Stove System – with coffee plunger) (this also has a bowl/cup
- Lighter for stove
- Spork
- Small but full gas cylinder (100g Primus)
- Emergency water purifier tablets or filter (I didn’t use as i boiled drinking water)
- 2 x Summit to Eat meals
- 2 x Summit to Eat desserts
- 2 x croissants with butter and jam for breakfasts
- 2 x lunch sandwiches
- Lots of snack bars and jelly sweets
- Toiletries – toothbrush, toothpaste, moisturiser (with SPF25), small wet wipes.
- Toilet shovel (Sea to Summit pocket trowel), plus loo roll & dog poo bags (Read about wild toileting in this guide to wild camping.)
- Emergency bivvy bag
- Blizzard survival poncho (one size fits all!)
- First aid kit (Read ML list of kit)
- In our group of four, we also carried an emergency group shelter (such as Summit Bothy 4) and a 30m rope (guide assist type rope)
- Helmet – you will need a climber helmet for the rope work skills assessment (I have the Petzl Meteor)
- I made sure everything was packed into various dry bags – this keeps items dry and allows you to stash things in a sensible order
Sleeping tip for staying warm
I am a cold sleeper. I took a good quality sleeping bag but also packed down socks and I created a clever hot water bottle by filling my 500ml Nalgene water bottle with boiling water, which I then put inside one of my down mittens. This stayed warm inside my sleeping bag all night. The added bonus was a bottle of boiled clean water for the next day.
ML nav assessment tips
My brain is quite slow these days and sometimes I needed to retain information, such as the distance and bearing when following someone during the nav assessment. I used a waterproof pad of paper and pencil to keep a note of these sorts of things.
A chinagraph pencil is also useful for marking on the map where you start or finish each leg. This means you can immediately see where you are, rather than having to search on the map each time.
“Thumbing the map” is another good technique. This means you keep a thumb on the map to show where you are in real time.
When doing navigation exercises at night, a head torch is vital. But if you also face thick cloud and rain at night, carrying your head torch in your hand provides a lower down – and often better – field of vision.
Pacing is a vital technique to learn. There are more tips on how to pass summer ML assessment.