Winter ML assessment with Plas y Brenin - areas visited?

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iamaclimber 05 Jan 2015
Hi

This season I am focusing on preparing and practicing for my Winter ML assessment which I hope to do in about a year. I will likely do the assessment with Plas y Brenin.

If you have done your assessment (or I suppose training) with PyB can you offer any guidance on areas/corries/mountains that you visited? I know that I need to be competent in all winter areas but a bit of familiarity would help.

Thanks
 2weak4owt 06 Jan 2015
Try exceeding the required number of qmd's and dont rely on other people! Only you can pass your assessment through thorough preparation as you won't have your hand held if you actually have a group to look after should you pass.
Just a thought
 Rory Shaw 06 Jan 2015
In reply to iamaclimber:

For the exped - anywhere in Scotland where there are suitable snow conditions
 Billhook 06 Jan 2015
In reply to iamaclimber:

I can understand your aforethought but I'd be concentrating on being able to navigate, in any UK mountainous terrain in absolutely any winter conditions with the ground features blotted out. So pick on large flat featureless areas such as the cairngorm plateau - pick the most unlikely spots to navigate to and from. Not big summits, but tiny obscure bumps, stream junctions and so on.
 Forester3 06 Jan 2015
In reply to iamaclimber:

Having completed the WML last winter, I fully agree with the other responses to your OP; I wouldn't consider myself ready for assessment until I was able to navigate competently in near zero viz on unfamiliar terrain - which happened to be the senario we were faced with on our exped! Basically, do as much night nav. as possible, in a wide range of conditions, in unfamiliar and pretty featureless areas.

As has already been said, you could end up anywhere where the conditions are suitable at the time. For the record, my training week included Creag Meagaidh, Aonach Mor and Buachaille Etive Mor. For the assessment; Coire Nan Lochan, Beinn Dorain and Beinn Inverveigh.

Good luck.
iamaclimber 07 Jan 2015
In reply to iamaclimber:

Thanks for the comments. I know that I need to be good in all areas. I just want to be as familiar as possible with the areas that I could be assessed. They will likely all be within striking distance of PyB's winter base, so I thought I'd ask the question. It's always good to be able to recognise corries and peaks when out trying to nav.
 Kimberley 07 Jan 2015
In reply to iamaclimber:

Sometimes believing you 'recognise' places you have been before can mistakenly overcome the objective info you have gained from the map............... It can sometimes be a disadvantage to have 'local knowledge'
 Doghouse 07 Jan 2015
In reply to Kimberley:

>. It can sometimes be a disadvantage to have 'local knowledge'

Rarely, local knowledge makes life much easier hence the OPs request.
 jezzah 07 Jan 2015
In reply to iamaclimber:

I did my assessment last year and was around the grey corries- but in between training and assessment I'd visited every major mountain area in Scotland (there was nearly 10 years between training and assessment) and there's lots of reasons why I didn't go for my assessment for ages (mainly because I spent my time winter climbing instead!) but it did mean that at least I recognised the walk in from the minibus! The rest was fairly irrelevant and relied on me being able to dig, navigate, dig, navigate, dig..... and again....
 wynaptomos 07 Jan 2015
In reply to Doghouse:

> >. It can sometimes be a disadvantage to have 'local knowledge'

> Rarely, local knowledge makes life much easier hence the OPs request.

Of course it makes life easier but I think that is Kimberley's point - you are not developing or testing your skills as much if you already know the terrain.

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