MWIS

MET OFFICE MOUNTAIN FORECAST

As an aside, please don’t go out to the hills in these conditions if you’re not adequately prepared (note: this is likely to include crampons and ice axe at the moment!!!)

• Could all leaders please double check record books before sending them in – I have had to send a number back already this term. The two biggest problems are that the participant hasn’t done an expedition report, or that the expedition has been assessed by someone who is not an Accredited Assessor.
• Conservation days with the National Park – one day a month you can do conservation work with the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park which can go towards either your Skill or your Volunteering sections. This scheme has proved to be very successful but there are spaces still available.
• Accredited Expedition Assessor course at Fishguard Community Learning Centre – 28 February 2010. Anyone who is not yet accredited but who wants to assess expeditions must attend this course – and it’s free to Pembrokeshire based staff – outsiders are allowed but must pay £5 enrolment and bring a cake.
• Junior Sports Leader Award course – February 2010 [exact dates to be confirmed]. A brilliant opportunity for Bronze and Silver Award participants to complete either their Volunteering or Skills sections, this course was highly successful last year and received rave reviews from all who took part. Cost £35.
• Mid Wales Practice Expedition – 15-18 April 2010. Open to all Pembrokeshire Gold Award participants as long as they have completed their Silver Award, made progress with their 3 sections and have either completed or booked their Residential.
• Isle of Harris Scotland Expedition – 21-29 July 2010. Open to all Pembrokeshire Gold Award participants as long as they have completed their Silver Award, made progress with their 3 sections and have either completed or booked their Residential. Cost approximately £200.
• Residential Project in Mid Wales – 10-15 August 2010. Open to all Pembrokeshire Gold Award participants as long as the rest of their Gold Award is complete. This project is being co-run with our good friends at the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award in Richmond. Cost approximately £140.
• BELA course 2010-2011. We are taking applicants already! This course is open to anyone who wants to help out with the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award in Pembrokeshire. Cost £150 or £80 for concessions.

• I left my Cadair map in Bristol. However after a bit of investigation, there is a huuuuge map shop in Fishguard (okay Goodwick) that produce laminated OS maps and loads of other travel guides. It’s run by a helpful chap called Chris David and has been there for about 5 years!? It’s essentially a wholesale setup for camping/walking shops but they’re very happy to have local callers (do them a favour and take hard cash..) The stock seems huge and they had a laminated Cadair map to hand within seconds. Contact details: Chris David / Tel: 01348 874666 / Trail Card, Unit 5, Goodwick Industrial Estate, Goodwick, Pembrokeshire, SA46 0BD.
• McDonalds have read my mind. After years of driving through Aberystwyth at 06:30hrs; a 30 whole minutes before breakfast muffins and coffee were available, they’ve seen the light and decided to open early! I’m not a fast food adovcate but it’s a cracking breakfast for red-eye mountain starts!

The DOE Award provides a fantastic framework for getting young people interested in the outdoors. It does this through a controlled, progressive scheme of teaching and practising both the practical skills and background knowledge required to navigate the hills in safety. Always be sure you possess the skills and equipment necessary to complete any route you choose and do not assume that others will be available to rescue you. If you want to push your limits to learn even more, always do so in the presence of a skilled, certified instructor.

Here’s an exerpt from a callout log of the Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Organisation (OMVRO):-

Standby for overdue walker who had reported he was “Near Wales, Snowdonia” and had not returned home when expected. He ‘phoned home in the afternoon and explained his mobile had had no signal.

The OVMRO website is very well maintained, check out the callout logs for some thought provoking reading…

This is a volunteer scheme run in Iceland during the summer months to maintain various networks of footpaths in more remote areas of National Parks etc. Unfortunately you need to be over 18 years old but the only self funded bit are the flights from the UK, everything else is free!