Most people don’t want to become mountaineers. They just want the confidence to go a little further, move a little faster, stay out a little longer, trust themselves a little more, and stop turning back because they’re unsure of what they’re doing.
That might mean learning to read a map properly, camping wild for the first time, navigating in poor visibility or finally tackling the sort of routes that once felt out of reach.
Navigation Skills
Using a map and compass to move confidently in poor visibility.
Mountain Skills
Confidence, decision making, route choice and understanding the mountains properly.
Wild Camping
From spending the night in a shelter you made in the wild to multi-day expeditions deeper into the hills.
The Real Goal
For some people it’s learning to stop relying entirely on phone signal and apps.
For others it’s gaining enough confidence to take their kids into the hills knowing they can still get everyone home if the clouds suddenly roll in.
Sometimes it’s finally sleeping out under the stars instead of only thinking about it. Sometimes it’s scrambling routes that once felt intimidating. Sometimes it’s simply learning to trust your own judgement outdoors.
The skills matter, but what they really give you is freedom.
Confidence is built one good decision at a time.
In the mountains it rarely arrives all at once.
I’m a Mountain Leader
I gained the Mountain Leader qualification in 2018 after years spent walking, navigating and camping in the mountains in all sorts of conditions.
The qualification included a three-day assessment expedition covering navigation, group management, steep ground, mountain safety and emergency situations.
During my assessment year alone, I logged more than 100 mountain days and 38 nights wild camping while building the experience required for the qualification.
What interests me most isn’t turning people into elite mountaineers. It’s helping ordinary people feel calmer, more capable and more self-reliant outdoors.
Who is this for?
Hundreds of people I’ve worked with in the past simply wanted to feel more capable outdoors, gain confidence with navigation or try wild camping properly for the first time. I believe it’s good to get information from different sources and get an idea of the scope of the subject before undertaking training. That’s why I write blogs, some people still read!
For some, learning that way will be enough. We’re all different.
When I’ve been out with instructors much more experienced in their craft than me, it’s taken things to a whole new level though. Physically learning new skills give you a confidence that you can’t get from YouTube. There’s a lovely place in the Lakes for example that lends itself perfectly to navigation, having a wide range of features you don’t ‘see’ when you’re out for an afternoon walk. These features help us ‘know’ where we are without any doubt and then help us get to the place we want to be.
Learning ‘hands-on’ can never be replaced by looking at a screen.
What I can help with
Navigation
- Map reading
- Using a compass
- Planning routes
- Finding the way in poor visibility
- Digital mapping tools
- Mountain judgement
Hill skills
- Gear selection
- Weather awareness
- Packing for the hills
- Moving safely on steep terrain
Wild Camping Skills
- Wild camping confidence
- Campcraft and setup
- Cooking food
- Staying warm
- Planning overnight mountain trips
- Building mountain confidence gradually
- Travelling ultralight
What these skills really give you
The real reward isn’t simply learning to use a compass or pitch a tent.
It’s building the confidence to head into the hills knowing you can look after yourself, make good decisions and experience places that once felt beyond your reach.
That confidence changes the sort of days you’re able to have outdoors.
Walked it. Wrote about it. Taught it.
Much of what I teach and talk about also appears throughout the walking blog, alongside route cards, mountain days, scrambling routes, gear advice and years of observations gathered out in the hills.
What people have taken away from these days
Over the years I’ve worked with complete beginners, experienced hikers wanting more confidence, and people preparing for bigger mountain days and wild camps of their own. I’ve run many retreats in the Lakes and Scotland, organised leadership events in the wilderness for CEOs, and run an academy for Mountain Leader Trainees to assist in their transition between training and assessment.
Kath
Navigation and Map Reading Workshop
“I learned far more than I’d ever anticipated. I feel a lot safer venturing out as a result.”
Nicky
Wild Camp – Lake District
“I knew I was excited to do it but I didn’t know how fab it would be. I learnt a lot about what to do and what not to.”
More confidence in the mountains
Start with the skill that would make the biggest difference to your confidence outdoors.
