Dave MacLeod on Echo Wall

Dave MacLeod on Echo Wall

Mountaineering instructors will be able to improve their technique with a masterclass by two experts at their annual meeting.

Dave MacLeod, famed for his Echo Wall feat high on Ben Nevis’s north face, and Andy Turner, who completed an ‘on sight’ of The Secret route on the same mountain, will coach members of the Association of Mountain Instructors at the November AGM at Plas y Brenin, the national mountain centre near Capel Curig.

Dave MacLeod will also lecture the gathering with tales of his exploits pushing the boundaries of climbing.

There will also be workshops on subjects as diverse as gear manufacture and testing; expedition medicine, and coasteering and gorge walking.

Jeremy Windsor, an anaesthetist at the Whittington Hospital and lecturer in physiology at University College London who has climbed Cho Oyu and Everest as part of the Caudwell Xtreme Medical Research expedition will run one of the workshops.

The AMI is the organisation that represents those with the Mountain Instructor Award and the Mountain Instructor Certificate, which qualify holders to lead and train mountaineers in multi-pitch routes in summer and winter conditions respectively, and oversee training of Mountain Leaders and Walking Group Leaders. Those undergoing training towards the two AMI awards are also eligible for membership.

It was formed in 1990 to represent the interests of experienced mountain instructors and those being trained. The coaching and workshops are part of the association’s programme of continuing professional development for its members.

The annual meeting has secured sponsorship from outdoor wear firm Mountain Equipment to enable the workshops and coaching. The AGM will be held over the weekend of 27-29 November.

Meanwhile, the Mountain Leader Training Association will hold its annual conference at the same venue in October. The MLTA encompasses training for holders and trainees of the various mountain leader awards in Britain and organises further training and workshops to keep members up to date.

Topics covered at the MLTA conference will include bushcraft, disability awareness, latest developments in GPS and online navigation tools and a technical and safety workshop that includes a visit to the DMM factory in Llanberis. Climber Katherine Schirrmacher will deliver the BMC fundamentals course for those who coach climbing. The conference takes place over the weekend of 24-25 October.