UKC

Heading for my ML assesment this weekend. 70 odd days logged in my my book. Any one got any tips or words of wisdom to make sure I get through ok?

In reply to LancasterB:


Never done ML assessment but as for any similar assessment relax and enjoy it, remeber that you're working in a role and environment that you know and love.

In reply to LancasterB:

Yes, try to relax and enjoy it.

Practical tips:
Take a spare pair of boots in case yours get soaked on day 2, then you've got a dry pair for the expedition.

Take your favourite trail mix / snacks to eat during the day. A bag of Star Mix makes for a nice morale booster on the hill, and a shared bag of M&Ms went down a treat our second night out when we didn't have to do night nav.

Don't faff! Be ready, know where your kit is in your rucksack.

If you're carrying a map and not using a map case, fold it so it's just one OS rectangle wide, and stuff it in the waist strap of your rucksack so it's always available.

If you use walking pole(s), wrap some gaffer tape round one of them so you've got repair tape instantly to hand.

In reply to LancasterB:

I did a blog about this last year, take a look

http://www.jbmountainskills.co.uk/news/mountain-leader-top-tips

Best of luck!

In reply to LancasterB:

Make sure your pacing is up to scratch. Dont put your map in your waist belt you look like a knob. Cut your map down and put it on you pocket instead unless you want to look like a DofE student.
Get used to following people, its easy to nav your leg, but harder to follow others, hence then pacing.
Enjoy it whats the worst that can happen?

In reply to LancasterB:

Make sure you are comfortable in all conditions. If not, at least make it look like you are comfortable

In reply to LancasterB:

70+ QMDs should hopefully mean you have a good breadth of walking experience in different terrain, conditions, people etc so you should have most things nailed.

My advice would be to don't walk too fast and even when you are micro naving in the dark in crappy weather don't forget to keep checking back on the others (if you have done most of your walking solo or with mates then these are classic mistakes, my mate got an absolute bollocking on his assessment for walking way too fast!).

My pace is 60 for every 100 metres so I would stop and check back at a set point, say every 15/20/30 paces depending on viz. It shows you can nav and look after your group.

Agree with not tucking map in to waist belt, it is a bit amateurish looking. Again with your level of experience you should be using chopped down maps/small pocket sized printouts that can be shoved in pockets out of sight. It doesn't look good if you always have a map out as it can show a lack of confidence.

Don't worry about making mistakes, we've all made mistakes in assesment at some point. Just keep your head up and move on, it's a 5 day assesment so you normally have time to make up any mistakes.

Finally just make sure your flora and faunae, geology and history is all up to date and relevant for the area of your assessment. I used hostile habitats for Scotland and revised a day before assesment on the hill by walking around and looking at plants and matching them up with hostile habitats so I knew how to spot them in the field and also learn the name/history/usage etc.

Enjoy the experience, you will have an enjoyable week and make new friends no doubt. Best of luck and let us know how you get on!

In reply to D.botts87:


A guy fell into a ravine on my assessment and was lucky to survive. Does that answer the question?

In reply to LancasterB:
I like the Ortleib document holders (approx 5 x 10 inches) for storing my map. If you cut off the cardboard cover, fold the map to area required and expel excess air you have something that will easily go in most pockets.

Navigation will make or break the assessment for most candidates. My best observation is that some try way too hard to be super-slick and super-quick, and paint themselves into corners by not double-checking and looking for further evidence before making decisions. Being methodical is better than trying to do everything at Guide-speed. I've seen folk charging onwards, making features fit with what they want to believe they'll see, when a more paranoid scrutiny would have looked better to the Assessor. I'm pretty sure that plenty of successful candidates over the years have put their hands up and admitted that they were not on track, then rescued the situation by using good skills to relocate. Anyone can make a silly mistake, what the Assessor needs to find out if it is just that, or born of a genuine lack of knowledge of the skills. You will almost invariably be given a second chance, just don't allow a bad "theme" to develop!

With 70+ days you should be ahead of the curve. Good luck!

In reply to LancasterB:

I think it was 'girlmonkey in ukclimbing' who recently posted:

"Make sure you are so at home on the hill that you don't have to think about looking after yourself, and can focus on group care and tasks being set".

This sums it all up; being at home on the hill.

In reply to LancasterB:

Be prepared to learn, its still part of the learning process. Don't worry about the odd mistake, especially with Nav, as long as you can put it right.

Get out as much as you can in the dark so being out at night is second nature.

Even when its easy nav keep an eye on where you are, especially when you all get chatting, that's when the assessors often asked us where we were.

"Again with your level of experience you should be using chopped down maps/small pocket sized printouts that can be shoved in pockets out of sight."

You should do what you feel comfortable with.. I've never done that and have worked as an ML and would say I'm comfortable in the hills..

I think I almost always had the map out in my assessment even though it was in Snowdonia so I didnt need it at all for any macro nav stuff.

In reply to LancasterB:

Don't rush it, be methodical, remember the assessors have to spend at least 8 hrs a day with you! The quicker you do your leg, the more legs they will give you and the more chance you will have a brain fade and f*ck it up. Don't be afraid to ask the assessor questions, its all learning, and don't be afraid to tell him to shut up (politely) if he's rabbiting in your ear when your trying to concentrate, don't leave the group behind either, loosing some of them is BAD. Oh and on night leg, get everyone to cover there head torch for a couple of minutes so you can see beyond the beams light, you'd be surprised how much better you can see without it!!!

Good luck