Mountain Medicine

Mountain training, is the introduction to teaching individuals how to walk, climb and hike in the great outdoors. 

We preform our mountain training sessions in the beautiful South Wales scenery surrounding Brecon Beacons. 

Our mountain training involves teaching people of all ages how to use maps, compasses, assess dangers & weather warnings, navigate and coordinate whilst walking. 

Mountain training can begin at any level, you don’t need any experience and you don’t need to be a fitness guru!

Training is typically as part of a group, but can be done one-on-one if preferred. 

There are a number of mountain skills you learn whilst mountain climbing, here are some of our tought mountain skills that you’re likely to be trained when you journey with Mountain Medicine

• Map Reading 
• Mountain Safety Procedures
• Navigation Techniques
• Night Time Navigation
• Compass Reading
• Knowledge of Hazards, Warnings & Weather Warnings
• Personal Equipment Training
• Risk Assessment 
• Survival Skills 

Mountain walking simply means walking in the mountain or hill area. It doesn’t strictly involve rock climbing, or river gorging, however this often comes hand in hand. 

Mountain Walking in Brecon Beacons involves learning the multiple different paths and routes, each with their own history, backgrounds and difficulty. 

When you decide to undertake a mountain walk with Mountain Medicine, you can choose your terrain, difficult and speed. The walks are completely customised to your skill set. 

Mountain walking can be done in a group or one-to-one with your Mountain Leaders Phil & Janine. 

Preparing for a hill walk doesn’t have to take a lot of time. For starters you’ll want to prepare your equipment. If you’re just starting out you may not have all the fancy new tech and gears. But it’s important to have some of the basics like;

• Proper walking shoes with decent support 
•  Large water bottle 
• Extra layers
• Hat, Scarf & Gloves

When it comes to physical exercise, it’s important to stay in shape before your big hike. Doing morning stretches, lunges and squats are a good way to encourage blood flow and muscle movement in the body. 

Any uphill walking can improve the overall endurance of the lower half of the body. Whilst hill climbing isn’t necessarily a known tactic for building muscle, it can increase strength and fitness of the core, glutes & leg region. 

The most important part of navigation is the planning, understanding your map can be tricky. 

Take 10 minutes aside and plan your route, this way you’ll be able to pinpoint where you are at what time. 

Set yourself goals, and time frames, this way you will be able to understand if something has gone awry and you may be in need of some help.

Learn to use your compass, this is absolutely vital before beginning your route.

Poor visibility can be a serious risk during mountaineering. 

It’s important to stop and take a moment to evaluate and conduct a risk assessment. 

If the poor visibility is still manageable, and you are not near any sudden drops, bodies of water or dangers, then consider setting up camp if possible. This ensures that yourself and the group are safe for the next few hours, waiting for the fog to pass. 

Alternatively, if you are unable to come to a complete stop, lie the compass on the map and rotate it north, wait until both the map and compass line up together. 

The best mountaineering course is more suited to the individual, there’s no best course as it’s completely reliant on your own personal skillset and endurance levels. Starting at beginner level is the best place and working your way through to advanced navigation, night navigation and further.

Simple walking as part of a group or with another individual who offers instructions and directions, potentially on tour of a new destination. 

Our guided walks take place along the Brecon Beacons & Snowdonia National Park

Typically a guided walk & tour will depend on the duration of the hike, the difficulty, the number of participants present and the distance travelled. 

For example. 

You may expect to pay  more if your hike is 4-6 hours, traveling across Snowdonia at high altitude, rather than the 1-3 hour walks in Brecon Beacons.