Mountain Expertise

Frameworks to support consolidation. Assessment can evoke all sorts of thoughts and feelings for people. Over my time as a trainer and assessor any candidates have discussed their preperation and how assessments make them feel. In this podcast I aim to help reduce these feelings! Podcast taken from article written for Professional Mountaineer Summer 2023. Check out https://kathryn-james-s-school1.teachable.com for more information and if you'd like to buy a coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/MountainExpertise

There are so many options available in terms of belay devices these days. In this podcast I talk through the advantages and disadvantages of using guide mode when trad climbing. As with any piece of climbing equipment you should be familar with it before heading out on to the crag to use it and this podcast is not a subsitute for real expereince or being taught by an expert. This type of belay plate can also be used to climb up a rope - I've not gone into this in the podcast, I have focused on belaying.

Continueing on the previous podcast, I talk about use of the IDEAS acronym to support in self checks.

I talk about the self check systems I teach my clients when they are learning about building belays, top/bottom ropes or abseil anchors. A simple commonly used structure to help develop judgement and keep folks safe. In this episode I talk about scoring of the gear in the belay/anchor and in the next one I will talk about a check list to run through before shouting 'safe' to your second, or commiting to using your top/bottom rope or abseil anchor. 

Death roping - a term given to misguided tying on to a rope in the winter without being attached to the mountain in any way. I talk about why it is not a sensible thing to do, and what options there are instead. My aim is to raise awareness of when a rope is useful in the mountains, and why it is unsafe to just tie on and move around. If you are not sure what to do, please get some instruction to help you understand the techniques you are using. 

A welcome to my podcasts and why I've decided to do some podcasts.  This one focuses on Mountain Training assessments and the brief I give candidates as a course director at the start of a course.