Made To Move

I had a good day in Glendalough doing some multi pitch with two mock clients. We were waiting for the Irish Mountaineering Club Barbecue to start and were timing our arrival carefully.😁
We were working on rope management and I tried a new belay spot on one of the pitches, the gear was great but the actual position didn’t allow for an easy anchor set up. I even got to practise a bit of hauling, it’s good to keep the skills sharp in case you actually need them. The IMC had a big turn out at the Barbecue, it was great to catch up with a few people I haven’t seen in a while. Thanks to everyone Irish Mountaineering Club who prepared the food and keep the club hut in such good shape.
Thanks to Chris Chris Kearns for the photos

Enjoy the Comeraghs in all conditions. Build your confidence, get experience of navigating in poor visibility. Don’t be afraid to go new places, learn how to plan your route and be prepared for when things don’t go as planned.
This course is an ideal introduction to poor visibility or night navigation.
We are back to the starting point about 2-3 hours after sundown.
The course is great fun and you will surprise yourself how relaxing it can be to walk in the hills at night

Comeraghs, Co Waterford
17-18 October
21-22 November
19-20 December

Wicklow, Laragh/Glendalough
07-08 November
12-13 December

Mountain Skills 2 (MS2) builds on the skills learned on MS1 or previous navigation/hiking experience. Map and Compass supplied! A night navigation is a great experience in the mountains and a great confidence builder. Participants get the opportunity to work as a team and as individuals to lead navigation legs.
Using a compass, taking and walking on a bearing and a poor visibility/night navigation are included in the syllabus. Participants get the opportunity to work as a team and as individuals to lead navigation legs. Mountain features and contours are covered in more detail. The skills required to plan and choose an appropriate route are taught including steep ground and general hazard avoidance.
Cost: €150.00 per/person for the two day course.
Map & Compass Supplied.
Contact me and I will send more details about equipment and payment details.
No camping is required on this course.

We don’t hike huge distances and we don’t go very fast, so you don’t have to be super fit.
[email protected] if you have any questions.
Thanks.
Ken

There was everything on my Rock Skills Intermediate last weekend. There was sunny weather, a bit of drizzle, lots of knots, lots of gear placements, lots of laughing, a bit of drama (short lived and only in your head really!!), tons of ropes, coffee, requests to feed the animals..NO!…and even some very bad, bad language!! Just my average course really.
Ohh.. and some great colour on occasion (Instagram loves colour)
So sometimes people say they don’t remember and then you hand them the rope and suddenly they do remember, or they say they don’t know, which they might not but I ask them to try and work it out. And they do!
Keep it simple and repeatable, most people who have any experience of anything can grasp the fundamental principals of climbing, anchor building and keeping themselves safe. It’s always rewarding to see people realise it’s not that tough and with a little practise they can become independent very quickly. I’m not saying they know everything but enough to start climbing and feel confident and most importantly they know what their limits are.
Join a club, find some people to climb with, get outdoors.
Thanks to everyone who braved the two days with me!!😂
K

Start the Autumn with a Mountain Skills navigation course. Build your skills and confidence and learn to use a map and compass. We meet in Glendalough and have a great couple of days covering the fundamentals of navigation and then on day two we plan a hike using our new skills.
Mountain Skills 1 in Wicklow is a relaxed course suitable for people who want to hike and navigate with confidence. We don’t hike far or fast and we spend lots of time observing and chatting. I supply a map and compass for each participant so come along and have a new experience.
Book early.

Wicklow Dates:
03-04 October
31 Oct-01 Nov
05-06 Dec

€150.00 per person. Saturday and Sunday. 9.30am-5.00pm approximately, both days.
Map & Compass supplied.

Lots of enthusiasm on my Rock Skills Intro…so much so I'm running another on Thursday August 27, come along and try something new. It was a busy day with lots of great effort being put in. I really enjoy watching the struggle to work out the next move and seeing people develop their skills. It was a great mix of people and some great chats and laughs along the way. I had lots of help from Liam as an observer. There were some big efforts being made and some real projecting going on. It’s always good to set yourself a challenge. The Abseiling went smoothly, it can be time consuming as I emphasis learning personal safety but I think it is worth it as I usually have no idea what people will try by them selves. I’t good to see people moving from indoors to outdoors for the first time and I love to hear about peoples plans and help with advice and encouragement. Thanks to everyone who came along.
K

A big thanks to Mountain Meitheal for all the fine work they do restoring and maintaining the paths that I use. I came across them having a well deserved break in Wicklow this weekend while I was out giving a mountain skills course. They are a voluntary organisation and are always looking for new recruits and donations to help fund their work.
I did ask them not to make the paths too obvious otherwise my courses won’t be as much fun!!

Get the last of the Rock Skills….
Get the last of the Rock Skills…..
Take an Intro or Intermediate course before the good weather ends

Intermediate Course
15-16 August & 19-20 Sept, Sat-Sun, Dalkey
Have a great couple of days learning all the skills you need to become an independent top or bottom rope climber and a competent second (Following a lead climber)
This course will suit people who have done a bit of climbing before and know that they want to learn more.
The purpose of the course is to help you become an independent trad rock climber.
The course will teach you how to build safe anchors, place, remove and rack gear, abseil and plan a path for your future climbing.
Each course is two days. 9.30am - 5.00pm.
€190 per person
All equipment supplied

Introduction Course
27 August, Thursday, Dalkey.
Take a one day Rock Skills Introduction course and learn the fundamentals of rock climbing.
If you have never tried climbing before then a Rock Skills Introduction course is for you.
You will learn how to put on a harness and helmet, tie into the rope, belay and lower another climber and fundamental climbing skills.
This rock climbing sessions will suit anyone who would like to give rock climbing a go for the first time or who wants to practise or develop their fundamental skills acquired indoors.
The sessions are ideal for adults, kids, family, teens or a group of friends.
Each course is one day.
€85 per person
All equipment supplied

My Mountain Skills course at the weekend was "Pretty Good”…I know this because a German told me!!😂 You just have to love the mix of cultures and ways of expressing yourself that I come across on my courses. I believe thats about the highest complement I can get from a German person, thats what I think anyway and I’m sticking to it. As usual the navigation, while important, took a back seat to laughs and lots of chats about future plans, life and general happiness. We even fitted in a bit of bouldering, which of course is not on the syllabus but it is great to see people give new things a go. Suddenly more possibilities open up and you find yourself planning a climbing trip! The weather was ideal and the deer posed for photos, otherwise we came across only a few groups, everyone must be away. I’m looking forward to see how future plans work out for everyone, I see lots of camping and night hikes in their future!!

I was taking it easy on the Rock Skills Intermediate last Sunday and Monday 😂. I had great clients and great help. My Observer(s) were very keen and contributed loads including an impromptu demo of some ‘hard’ climbing. It’s all about keeping the systems easy and repeatable and very safe. I like to think people are near the beginning of their climbing life and I’m equipping them for their future days out. Joining clubs and meeting other climbers is important but you also need your own sense of what is safe and have some skills to ensure your own safety while you progress.
We got retrievable abseils done, seconding, gear placement and removal, sling anchors, rope anchors, lots of belaying and lots of laughs. Getting people to the place where they can build their own systems safely is key for me. Then they can climb and practise skills on a top or bottom rope. The weather was kind and the quarry was mostly quiet. I did run into a few faces I knew of course, everyone was their usual kind and thoughtful selfs!!😂😂
I got a great buzz from the three days of Intro and Intermediate Rock Skills.
Next Dates are
Introduction,
Friday 14 August
Intermediate,
Saturday Sunday 15-16 August
Saturday Sunday 26-27 September

Thanks for coming along everyone.
K

I have to fire my assistant…he forgot the climbing shoes!!…but that didn’t stop this lot. Rock skills intro and it felt at times that they needed to be put on harder routes…and most of them were climbing in their runners.
Great laughs and lots of great partnerships formed. Belaying, tying into the rope, some great climbing and an abseil. Everybody was really supportive of each other and cheered each other on, it was great to see.
I had help from Liam and Conail with lots input and some great discussions and chats about various techniques. The group went home happy and threatened to come back for more. I promised to bring climbing shoes next time.