Mountain Leader – Guidance for trainers and assessors has been updated for steep ground

Definition: Steep ground

‘Steep ground’ as described by Mountain Training is complex terrain where a walker’s experience in weaving a safe route is demanded, and decisions about managing safety on exposed steps or sections will require judgement and foresight. Steep ground may include broken, often vegetated ground with a fair proportion of visible, potentially loose, rock, where the consequences of a slip or fall might be serious.

Hazards of steep ground 

The technical demands of managing a group on steep ground will overlap with the leadership and decision-making competencies in syllabus section 2.

Terrain

Terrain used must allow complex route finding and a range of steep ground leadership skills and management techniques to be covered in a non-threatening and relatively inconsequential environment. As a result, established scrambling routes that are committing, offer little alternative route finding or do not allow a wide range of management skills to be covered should not be used.

Candidate experience

Steep ground is hazardous and therefore candidates must be suitably experienced to undertake tasks. Course staff must check logged experience and confirm this through progressive practical tasks and careful questioning. This assures safety and also sends a strong message to impressionable candidates about how to make judgements about participants’ abilities themselves.

Training

• The techniques to manage steep ground hazards are on a continuum and chosen as the situation dictates; from verbal reassurance, simple physical support and the use of a rope to instil confidence, to direct and indirect belay systems. Trainers should practically cover all of these options during a course.
• The choice of which technique to use and when is key. Trainers should use appropriate scenarios to explore practical application during mountain journeys.
• When managing a group or individual in steep ground without the use of a rope, if the likelihood and/or consequence of a slip is significant, then the leader should be able to get in to a safe position to physically support the individual concerned. The leader’s safety should not be compromised when doing so.
• The rope is for unplanned and unforeseeable circumstances only, for example changing mountain conditions, with an emphasis primarily on descent and maintaining leader safety, rather than necessarily an escalation in difficulty.
• Candidates should be trained in appropriate ropes to use, knots and anchors in the context of emergency use of the rope. Only the rope should be used when undertaking tasks. Complicated rope harnesses inc. the Thompson knot and triple bowline, and the use of slings and karabiners, are beyond the scope of the qualification. 
• Trainers may choose to use whole group or smaller sub-group tasks to cover this syllabus element. Either way it is important for candidates to understand the complications of handling larger groups when operating in steep ground and the importance of good positioning when doing so.

Assessment

• Candidates should be confident and safe when operating in steep ground to undertake assessment tasks.
• Assessors should examine group management skills on steep ground both with and without the use of a rope. Both should be covered as part of a mountain journey.
• Candidates should be given the opportunity to choose and use effective and safe strategies to manage hazards in mountain terrain. Positioning is key here to maintain their own safety and that of the group.
• Good route finding is essential to avoid inappropriate terrain and manage groups safely. This should be carefully assessed.
• When managing a group or individual in steep ground without the use of a rope, if the likelihood and/or consequence of a slip is significant then the leader should be able to get into a safe position to physically support a client.
• Candidates should understand and be able to explain the appropriate use of the rope in the Mountain Leader context. Tasks should be set which enable them to choose an appropriate strategy to assure safety using the rope. If using a belay, anchors chosen should be safe and selected in an efficient manner. Candidates should be able to manage the safety of the whole group while undertaking tasks.
• Candidates should be able to tackle tasks in a relaxed frame of mind with reasonable amounts of time to respond to scenarios. The methods demonstrated should be safe, secure, efficient and practical with assessors recognising that there are usually several acceptable solutions.