Holiday Fellowship Guidelines Assessment
I finally took the plunge and booked on the Holiday Fellowship Guidelines Assessment at Derwentwater in the Lake District. I’ve done the ML training at Lochgoilhead with Pete Hill and I needed some more experience south of the border. I’ve got 9 Munros left to do but I’ve rarely been out of the Highlands, other than the recent Julian Alps trip and few bimble trips to the Cotswolds. So it was with some trepidation that I made the journey south from Skye to the Lakes on the bus and train, then taxi (which cost most than the bus/train combined!).
I stayed at the HF house at Derwent Bank and very nice it was too. Very plush and posh. Right from the start the assessment started, with evening activities information and presentations going on into the night, finishing around 11pm. On top of that we had to prepare route briefings for the guests and a detailed route card for a local walk but it soon became apparent that a few late nights would be needed to actually do the work. This is because you’re worked very hard over the four days, with outside assessing during the day and evening activities until about 10pm each night. So you have to find the time to sit down and do the extra work. Also, on the first day, tired from travelling and a tad hungry, I sat down straight away to a written exam! Map and compass work. Nerve wracking indeed. And that sets the pace of the four days nicely. Non stop and rather hard work.
The second day had us out on the hill in horrendous weather of violent gales, heavy rain and stinging hail. Ideal for micro-nav assessment! Then straight to dinner upon return to the house and more sessions and evening activities. I was up until 1am that night working on the route briefing and route card.
Third day was the leading assessment. Our group of four candidates took turns in leading the other, with myself getting the summit route. Picking a way through the crags into the howling gale and rain. Incidents were thrown in throughout the day by the assessors just to spice it up and it was quite a tough challenge. When you’re leading you really can’t look at the view. You look at the guests and the weather and the route ahead, then the guests again, chat to them, don’t chat, let them enjoy the surroundings, mingle, don’t just lead from the front but by ready to walk briskly to the front of the group as rougher and steeper ground approaches. Tough work but very very satisfying if you manage to get it right. At one point, with various observers joining and leaving the group, I ended up leading nine folk up the ridge of Sail and into the screaming gale!
The assessment is all about the whole HF experience, not just leading in the mountains. So you have to be prepared to organise evening activities for the guests and be around all the time. You’re completely at their disposal for the week’s holiday. That’s a holiday for the guests, not you as a leader!
The last day is the route briefing, where you must deliver a clear and concise account of a day’s walk, to allow the guests to make an informed choice on whether they’d like to do that one and whether they’re up to the demands of that particular walk. You have to make sure the right people go on the right walk. Then there’s final interview and I headed back home after a hectic four days.
And the result, which I just received in the post. Out of a possible 3 navigation gradings (gold, silver, bronze) and HF authorisation (A-F, with F being the highest altitude authorisation), I got Gold navigation and an E* authorisation (* meaning I’ve done rope training). So I can lead in any of the HF houses throughout the UK at all altitudes, except the harder routes in Glencoe and on Arran.
Ironic really, as I’ve done a fair bit of ice and rock climbing in Glencoe and some rock climbing on Arran but it just goes to show what a different world leading in the mountains is. It’s a world of difference between climbing with your pals and guiding a group of strangers on potentially dangerous ground but I’m looking forward to it.
So next year I’ll start leading for HF and end of next year maybe go for my ML assessment. Watch this space!
March 28th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Interesting piece. i have an assessment coming up at the end of April in Sedbergh for HF. Like you I am approaching this with a little trepidation. i have been walking for many years, with most of my walking done on Dartmoor and in the Brecon Beacons, along with the HRP across the Pyrenees last summer with a mate I was wondering if you could enlighten me as to the “evening activities” bit of the weekend as their own website is a bit confusing. What exactly do they expect you to have prepared? What sort of activities were tried on your weekend?
March 28th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Hi Stewart, if you just be yourself, you’ll be fine. I had visions of playing the guitar or the piano or something but the activities are designed to get guests talking to each other, mingling and chatting. A lot of guests are on holiday on their own, so the activites should be designed to bring them all together. Mine was a bit corny, where you get all the guests in a circle (the other candidates on the assessment) and get one to start a story, say, grandma went to the shops… and the next person in the circle continues the story.
Other people had drawing games with people split into teams. Others had people all wandering around asking other people set questions, like, where are you from? what do you do? etc and the winner was the first to fill in the questions with a certain answer, e.g. a brain surgeon from Swannage, you know what I mean! It’s designed to get guests meeting each other.
When I started leading last year (Coniston and Glencoe), the other leaders had a full range of activities, like bridge with teams changing around (there’s a name for it, can’t remember what thouugh).
Dancing is a big option for guests but I can’t lead dances – it said that in my assessment!
Quizzes about the local area etc.
When you’re leading, after dinner the guests take their coffee and nibbles into the big room and you do your route description for the next day, then you do the activities until about 10pm. I found a lot of guests prefer to sit and read or hit the bar though.
It can be quite tough – I led the Coniston horseshoe last year, about 12 miles over all the main tops and we walked back to the house, arriving just before dinner and I had to help organise the final night’s dancing straight after. Was knackered! But it’s great fun and you really do meet a lot of interesting people.
June 8th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
[...] on the top shelf, this blog has only been going for about 18 months, with my first post back in December 2006. Looking back, it was a change in direction for me, with respect to wandering the hills. I’d [...]