Mountain Leader Assessment

Hi there! it has been quite a while since I last posted as I've been busy getting ready to take my ML (summer) assessment. I took it last week at Blue Peris Mountain Centre in Deiniolen, Snowdonia and passed!!

To tell you the truth, it wasn't as bad as everyone makes it out to be. It was obviously difficult, but if you have prepared, you will find it easier. It's a 5 day assessment with tests you on your navigation skills, rope work and group work skills. Me and my mates spent the last few months going out most weekends  practicing all of this. The logbook as well is important, you need to ensure you have more than 40 quality days logged or else you will defer.

There is a 3 day expedition, so if you are still using old kit from your D of E years ago, you may struggle. I'm not saying "go out and buy the best kit", but it does help if you do have a decent rucksack, waterproof and sleeping bag. The main emphasis has to be on being comfortable so you can concentrate on navigation and your admin so that you reflect your skills well. If you are flapping about being wet and carrying a heavy bag/not getting any sleep you may find it harder to keep up your concentration. 

Throughout the week you need to remain switched on and concentrated on the task. Always keep an eye on your map and the bearing you're on, as the assessor will randomly ask for your position. This is the same for the night nav, just much harder as it is night time. Which brings me onto the next point, a good head torch. If you just use the one you got free with a tank of diesel from the petrol station, you won't find it as easy as if you had a better one. I used a Petzl Myo RXP, which has a fantastic search beam which comes in handy for finding those cheeky contour features. However, last week the weather was pretty foul and we had a misty night, so the beam just bounced off the mist and we could only see when the wind made a gap. It is for this reason that a good compass (Silva expedition 4) comes in handy for accurate bearings and a definite pacing for 100m allows you to measure distance travelled accurately.

A decent but light tent allows for a comfy night. Me and a friend shared a Vaude Taurus Ultralight and it was really good. Waterproof and sturdy in the wind, which allowed us to get the sleep we needed (during the gaps in snoring). Sharing it out let us keep our packs lighter. 

I carried everything in an Osprey Kestrel 68, including my personal kit and group kit. The equipment you have is pretty comprehensive, but if you have prepared right leading up to the assessment everything has its place and nothing unnecessary is carried. 

This is what I carried:

• Inflatable sleeping matt (Mountain Equipment Helium 3.8)
• Inflatable pillow (poundland's own)
• Sleeping Bag (Marmot Atom)
• Bivvy Bag (Alpkit hunka)
• Group first aid kit
• Group shelter (Terra Nova)
• Poles and pegs from tent
• Spare personal clothing (Ron Hill leggings, Smartwool socks)
• Gloves (Mountain Equipment Guide, Randonee and Touch)
• Hat (hand knitted)
• Spare group clothing (Rab Generator, gloves and hat)
• Food and spare sweets (see earlier post on use of smash)
• Stove and gas (Jetboil PCS)
• Waterproof salopettes (Paramo Aspira)
• Waterproof Jacket (Mountain Equipment Kongur MRT)
• Sweets and energy gels (Go Gel)
• Head Torch (Myo RXP)
• Compass (Silva Exped 4)
• Poles (Black Diamond Contour Eliptic Shock)
• Bottles (Sigg and Nalgene)
• Knife (Edelrid sawtooth - for cutting up food and general camp stuff)
• Water treatment (Iodine tincture and Neutraliser powder) 
• Rope (30m Beal climbing rope)

All of my kit has been tried and tested since ML training a couple of years ago, I have replaced some things for the kit above, like a sleeping bag (see earlier posts). The clothes I wore were softshell trousers and Paramo Velez Adventure light as it is what works for me. The list above is not meant to say what you SHOULD have, it is just how I do things, you should make up your own minds.

My best advice is to concentrate and be confident with your bearings and pacing. Also, brush up on your geology, nature, weather and history knowledge to chat whilst you're on the move - however, don't get caught up talking when you should be pacing, you may lose your distance measurement. 

Good luck to those taking their assessment in the future, and HAVE FUN!

Kit for my weekends away....

As i'm in the lead up to doing my Mountain Leader Assessment at Easter, I'm frantically getting into the hills to practice. These weekends away are brilliant for navigation, ropework and group skills; but they are great for fine tuning the kit you take. Over the past few years my hillwalking kit hasnt changed a whole lot, just different rucksacks and bits and bobs. 

Sleeping Bag

I used to use a Snugpak Chrysalis Autumn as my sleeping bag, it was great and kept me warm even when it was wet and is great to snuggle down in on a crappy night out on the Glyders. But it is massive!!! So a couple of months ago i was in Go Outdoors and saw a Marmot Atom for £69.99......its a £300 down sleeping bag!! (Although it is a summer bag and only goes to around 6celsius) So i bought it, because i had read some reviews earlier that week saying how great it is in Alpine climbing for use as a bivvy bag for nights out because its light but still warm. I knew I wouldnt be using it for winter days, but for summer 

ML, where I would like to keep weight and pack size to a minimum - a sleeping bag that packs super small (in a Podsac Spider) and weighs less than a can of coke.

After using it a couple of times; once for a wild camp and once for a bothy, I can safely say that I love this bag. I always carry a Down or Primaloft Jacket in the colder months anyway, so i just wore that to sleep in as well as my clothes.....which i usually sleep in anyway.....and i wasnt cold at all. Combined with my Mountain Equipment sleeping matt, i didnt wake up all night! Unlike my friends, who's matts deflated overnight and couldnt sleep. Then come morning all I had to do was compress it back down and stick it in my Podsac Alpine 50.

Rucksack

I had an Osprey Mutant 38 a couple of years ago, but i didnt like it because of the tiny fiddly buckles on it and I couldnt fit everythin I wanted in it properly. So I bought a Crux AK47, a fantastic bag (when fully packed). I had never had a bag with a fixed lid, so with smaller loads I thought it looked dead weird. I also found the shape of the straps caused chafing around my arm pits which after a couple of days of walking were agony. So I asked for a Podsac Alpine 50 after my friends gave it a glowing review. And i must say, they werent wrong. This is hands down the best rucksack I have ever owned. Its light, its basic, waterproof, easy to pack and the removable lid with roll top is fantastic. Its so comfy too, the foamy straps and back pannel are great for long days and the gear loops on the hip belt were great when i took it to Scotland. I can fit everything I need in this bag and still have room left. My hat goes off to Podsac.

Food

In the past when I did my Duke of Edinburgh, super noodles were the order of the day. They are light, tasty and filling. However, that was when pot washing wasnt an issue (being on a camp site and all) and nowadays, scraping caked on noodle flavouring off my Jetboil in the pouring rain in the mountains isnt very attractive. Tins of beans, curry, and soup really are a thing of the past; aside from the weight, the empty tins need to be removed! And i dont really want a bag of dirty tins in with my kit. 

It was a simple revalation by my lecturer that has kept everyone I know from my University Outdoor Degree happy in the hills. The "Pour & Store" food bag has been the staple of our adventures for the past 3 years and we never go away without them. Theyre re-usable and they allow you to make your own boil in the bag meals as they fit perfectly in a Jetboil. 

Its this stuff (right) that has been a new venture for me and I dont know why. My friend Tom suggested using Gravy granules and Smash in a bag as you'd only hvae to add boiling water and you've got a tasty filling meal. It really is fantastic, a bag of hot stodgy, gravy flouvoured heaven. And its super light so you dont have to worry about how much you take. 

The theme of powdered foods is the order of the day now. Instant Porridge for breakfast with added cinnamon or choc chips provides those added calories and energy for long days on the hill. The morning Coffee is paramount too, maybe spiked with a drop from my trusty hip flask.

My friend Arran also found one of those tins of treacle pudding that you steam. It contains around 900 calories and when combined with custard, gives you a fantastic winter warming pudding. You just need to empty the tin in a pour and stour and you're good. Its slightly heavier, but worth it. Its stuff like this that makes me love getting out and about; trying new ideas and playing around with food.

Jetboil Flash - update of a great piece of kit

Jetboil have had a lot of success with their Jetboil stoves, and now with several on the market and selling well they are looking for ways to improve designs, and lower the weight. The jetboil flash does 50% of that! 

First off in terms of weight it's no different to the original Jetboil PCS (now called Jetboil Classic). It's exactly the same weight, with exactly the same power output, and boil time. For those of you who aren't familiar with Jetboil, the concept of the system is a small, lightweight, efficient stove unit. It can boil water very efficiently and quickly (under 2 minutes). The stove unit attaches to the cup (called the companion mug), and makes a very stable unit. A number of accessories are available for the system including a hanging kit (which isn't brilliant), a coffee press, and a stabiliser set (included with the Jetboil Flash). The stabiliser consists of a small tripod type affair that attaches to the bottom of the gas canister to stop the stove from over balancing, the set also includes a metal attachment for the top of the stove that turns the Jetboil into a more traditional stove that can have a pan or mess tin on instead of the companion mug. 

Jetboil Flash (left) Vs PCS (right)

After you finish cooking you can pack everything away inside the companion mug which saves space, and means you aren't scrambling around for everything when you want to make a brew! 

So whats new with the Flash? The Flash has a couple of new features which I feel are a real improvement on the original PCS. The first change is the gas regulator valve on the side. On the PCS this was a small knob that could be really fiddly, especially in gloves. This has been changed to larger wire frame, glove friendly adjuster - a significant improvement on the original. The second (albiet minor) change is the lid and bottom cover - these have been adjusted to an opaque plastic, this is a useful change as you can look into the stove and see how you cooking is progressing. The third change is a good one - the igniter on the previous unit was quite far away from the burner, this meant that in wind you often had to result to the backup lighter to get it working, on the Flash the piezo igniter is closer to the burner which seems to provide a much more consistent ignition! The final change is the sleeve of the unit. The sleeve now features a heat indicator that turns yellow when the contents of the stove are hot, in practice this means you can keep the lid on the stove until the sleeve turns yellow, removing the lid then will reveal the boiling water, and because you had the lid on the whole time the efficiency is maximised. 

Jetboil Flash with stabiliser

Overall I'm happy with the Flash and glad I got one when my PCS needed replacing, don't go out and buy one if you have a working PCS, as the new features are that significant, but if you want a jetboil, definitely get this one over the Jetboil Classic! 

Jetboil really is one of my favorite pieces of kit, it's lightweight, it's efficient, and it does the job I want it to do quickly, no messing around! The flash is an improvement on the original and comes with the stabiliser (previously £15 with the PCS) so that's an extra bonus! Worth shopping around for too it can be found at prices between £60-£112 so a big difference between retailers! 

Jetboil PCS – The coolest stove out there?

Of this there is no doubt, but is it any good? I've had one of these for a while now, so I thought I might as well review it!

Now for those are you who aren't familiar with the Jetboil, let me explain;

The Jetboil is an ultra efficient, lightweight, cooking system. The stove is designed to take up as little space as possible in a rucksack by storage for all the components (including the gas canister) being inside the cooking pot. At the moment there are 3 Jetboil systems on the market;

Jetboil PCS (Personal Cooking System)
Jetboil GCS (Group Cooking System)
Jetboil Helios

The PCS and GCS are designed to be modular, by this I mean if you purchase a PCS, you can buy additional components to have a GCS as well. The main difference between the GCS and PCS is the type of pot used for cooking. The PCS uses a 1 litre companion mug, where as the GCS uses a 1.5 litre cooking pot. Both systems uses the same burner self igniting burner system which is compatible with screw top canisters. The GCS also features a stabiliser kit so that the unit can be a standalone stove and will have additional stability on the floor rather than just the base of the gas canister. Essentially though if you buy a Jetboil PCS, you can buy a stabiliser kit and a 1.5 litre pot and have a GCS as an additional option.

On to the review. . .

I bought this stove to use when I am short expeditions. It appealed to me because it was efficient, light and easy to use. My stove combination consists of the Jetboil PCS and the stabiliser set, along with a gas canister this weights in at 670g. The addition of the stabiliser kit means my stove is more "team friendly". Without the stabiliser the Jetboil can only be used the jetboil accessories, by carrying the stabiliser kit I can share cooking with other team members as the kit converts the stove into a more universal setup (see pic)





I did a quick test to check the units specs listed on the website:
The stove should be able to boil water in 2minutes (0.5L), and boil around 12 litres per 100g canister. I bought a new canister and boiled as many 0.5L cups as possible, whilst averaging out the time taken on each. The average time taken to boil 0.5L of water was 1min 53.4secs, and I got 17 Litres of water from a single canister. Personally I think this is excellent for a small canister. All Jetboil pans use Jetboils patented Fluxring technology to increase efficiency, it functions in the same way a radiator works, by providing a larger surface area to heat up while cooking, as a pose to the flat bottom of a pan or mess tin. The same system is used on the 1.5L pot, 1L mug, and Frying pan.

In terms of cooking with the Jetboil a lot of people have said you are fairly limited in what you can cook. You can cook any kind of ration pack style meals. This just involves rolling the meal up and cramming it into the cup! Other than that anything that you would cook on a hob you can cook on the PCS. Which is ideal for short term expeditions.

The Jetboil is very well thought out, after you have finished cooking there is a plastic cover to protect you from burns while you are eating. There is also a sewn handle on the companion cup so you can move around while the stove is cooking.

In additional to being quite stable when fitted with the stabiliser kit, the stove is also fairly windproof, and is fitted with a small piezo electric igniter meaning there is no need to fiddle with matches in poor conditions.

Drawbacks? Well I'm yet to find one, however I have enjoyed shooting down some common Jetboil gripes lately which I thought I'd share....




Moan: "You can't cook big meals like you can with other stoves"
Owning: Purchase the 1.5 Pot, or purchase the stabiliser kit and a mess tin so that you can switch to that when you are out for longer

Moan: "The cartridges are so small"
Owning: Purchase a bigger screw seal canister....Idiot

Moan: "You have to hold it while it's cooking"
Owning: Put it down? Or better still buy the stabiliser kit and put it down


. . . You get the idea, any other gripes feel free to email me for an owning...


In addition to the various components in the GCS and PCS, there are a number of other accessories to customise your Jetboil kit:

Coffee press (£17.50)- turn you Jetboil into a coffee brewer
Frying pan (£44.99)- Fluxring frying pan, for efficient frying of tasty goodness
Hanging kit (£27.50)- a kit for handing your jetboil when big wall climbing, snow holing or whatever other use you could think of!
Jetboil cutlery (£13.50)- Highly temperature resistant nylon cutlery, light and tough, personally I'll stick with my titanium spork!
Additional coloured sleeves for companion mug are also available for further customising of your set (£5.99)


All in all you can't go wrong with a Jetboil, brilliant, customisable, efficient, not overly cheap but consider it an investment! RRP is £85, but browse around and you can get one for around £60! Stabiliser kit around £17.50 is also a must have!