Mountain Leader Steep Ground Masterclasses in the Lake District

A Masterclass for Mountain Leader and International Mountain Leader trainees who want a refresher before undertaking the assessment, or award holders who want to take their skills to the next level. We will explore and test ideas for safeguarding people on exposed consequential ground, with and without ropes, and we will look at what works and what doesn't. We will cover the Position of Maximum Effectiveness - what it is and how it will help you. 

Venue: meet at the Stickle Ghyll car park in the Langdale Valley, Lake District 

Dates: see the Masterclasses section on our online calendar

Times: 9.30am to 4.30pm approx

Cost: £68 Mountain Training Association and BAIML members, £74 non-members

Counts as 1 CPD point for Mountain Training Association members

Equipment list:
~ 30m confidence rope *
~ leather gloves or gardening/building gloves with rubberised palms
~ helmet *
~ 240cm sling & HMS krab *
~ lunch & drinks
~ warm/waterproof clothing
Let us know if you don't have any of the items marked *, and we can provide them

Useful blog posts

So What Do You Actually Do On A Mountain Leader Steep Ground Masterclass?

What do our clients say about us?

For older testimonials, please see the Testimonials Archive page. Where not specified, these comments are feedback from in-person face-to-face courses.

Wow, blown away by Chris, his knowledge and his approach and methods of teaching are fantastic. Made me feel at ease the whole time,and I came away absolutely buzzing about my day. I have learnt so much from him and thanks to him I am motivated to complete my ML. No only does he impart the required information with the rope work, he has a very supportive and encouraging manner that builds confidence in people - a rare skill!! I wish we had more educators like Chris in our current education system as he would impact massively on their life chances and also their self belief! Brilliant all round and I would thoroughly recommend anyone to have a day with Chris as his knowledge can’t be surpassed.
Lucy Maddison, June 2020

All elements of ML steep ground masterclass were covered. Chris was a superb coach, as expected. I booked this course because of the complete package of courses and support material, the IFMGA qualification, and the price. Overall - brilliant. Demonstrating knots on Zoom is tricky, but several attempts helped. Chris was patient and non-judgmental. I will return again.
Gabor Tahin, online masterclass, July 2020

The communication from the outset was open and friendly. I say of myself I am a slow learner and at times I felt I was hindering others' progress which in an online environment can be stress inducing - I have to say that Chris was completely happy to go over stuff as many times as I asked. Chris has a warm and reassuring manner - clearly knowledgable and able to impart his expertise well.
Peter Cloran, online masterclass, July 2020

I’m sure a lot of what we did would have been similar to what other instructors would have said, after all there was a need to be consistent with the Mountain Leader syllabus. However what made it better than bog standard for me is that Chris has an appreciation for a lighter body weight and I think the instruction on this which is outside of the syllabus was very beneficial and reassuring that you don’t have to be ‘big bloke’ to still be able to take care of people on a mountain. I’d like to personally like to look at more of those types of skills that mitigate the need for strength.
Jo Fulton, October 2021

An excellent refresher ahead of my Mountain Leader assessment. Good tips on rope management, which as a non-climber are useful to learn, although (as the course shows) using a rope is the last resort - it's much better to stay safe on your feet. As ever good coaching on movement technique, and breaking bad habits, even if it remains a work-in-progress for me.
Mark Richards, March 2022

I was originally booked on the March event but had to change. Anne was as helpful as ever and very kindly swapped me to the July Masterclass instead, which was very much appreciated. The day was packed with learning and not just about steep ground. Chris was fantastic as always. Knowledgeable, helpful, encouraging, crammed so much into one day covering so many different things. Been coming on your courses for about 4 years now, always great so no reason to go elsewhere. Thank you again for another great day out. Chris and Alex were great. Good to refresh things and I always learn something new. There's always more to learn so I'll be back again!
Sharon Bianchi, July 2022

Absolutely excellent. Staff training is vital and forms part of our annual programme. Sometimes it can feel like you are training for trainings sake and not developing and because of this we take our time to invest in our training. Chris made it a very worthwhile day and made it developmental. It was exactly what we were looking for as a team and I feel that it was a sensible investment training with Chris.
Martin Simpson, Simonside Outdoor Adventure, February 2023

Excellent training course, it was awesome going home and telling the family and kids what I did! I also achieved what I wanted for last minute checks and learning for assessment. I did way more than expected and left thinking, what's next after assessment, I love this ;)
Fran Croot, June 2023

Big thank you to both Chris and Al. Both have their unique styles and deliver the courses with great passion and a wealth of knowledge, in a relaxed, friendly and easy to understand manner. Would highly recommend.
Leslie Harris, September 2023

Contour Masterclass was excellent, this was even better!
Andrew Johnson, March 2024