Adult Summer Outdoor Activities Part 2 Aug - Nov 2018

Adult Summer Outdoor Activities Part 2 Aug - Nov 2018

1

Welcome

Equipment

Welcome to our summer 2018 community programme. This year we are splitting the programme in two.

The first one covered up to the school holidays at the end of June. Part two covers the latter half of August until the end of November. As usual we are running all the usual activities expected from Scotland’s leading mountain sports community programme, bringing the wonderful Scottish mountain environment to all those with a sense of adventure.

Our modern and comprehensive stores have a full range of equipment for all of our courses. The stores will be open on the morning of your course for you to borrow anything you need. All this is included in the course fee. Of course you are welcome to use any of your own equipment on our courses if agreed with the instructor on the day.

From gentle walks to steep climbs, brushing up on basic outdoor skills to being assessed on a Mountain Training Association verified leadership course our outdoor instructors are dedicated, experienced and highly qualified in their sport and will provide an outdoor adventure that you won’t forget.

Contents

Equipment list available from: www. falkirkcommunitytrust.org/outdoors/ kit-lists.aspx

Transport and Venues

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Activity

Page

Welcome & Introduction

2-3

Walking

4-5

High Tops

6-7

Mountain Navigation

8

Mountain Scrambling

9

outings, le day the most of them. run sing We make ls multi-day trips and linked skil ing eth som courses. In fact we have r for everyone whatever you aspirations and ability.

All photographs by Craig McLaren

Rock Climbing / Mountaineering 10-11

2

Training & Qualifications

12-15

Trips

16-17

Rock & Water

18

Planner - At a Glance

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Falkirk Outdoors

Adult Summer Outdoor Activities Part 2 Aug - Nov 2018

Information & Bookings Our office hours are; Tuesday to Thursday 09:00 – 17:00 | Friday 09:00 – 13:00 Outdoor Activities Base Victoria Building Annexe Queen Street Falkirk FK2 7AF Tel: 01324 506846 Email: outdooractivities@falkirkcommunitytrust.org Web: www.falkirkcommunitytrust.org/outdoors For information and to book a course please contact the Outdoor team using the above details.

Before you join us on a course we will need a medical consent form completed and returned to us via post or email. You can download a medical consent form from our webpage: www.falkirkcommunitytrust.org/outdoors/bookings Payment can be made by card (in person or over the phone), cash or cheque (payable to Falkirk Community Trust). Full payment must be made before a course can be booked. Details of prices can be found alongside our list of course dates.

Please call us if you require information about any of our courses.

All bookings are to be made through the Outdoor Base

By Phone (Card payments) Please call : 01324 506846 Our office hours are; Tuesday to Thursday 09:00 – 17:00 Friday 09:00 – 13:00

Please Note:

By Post – (Cheque) Please send payment to: Outdoor Activities Base Victoria Building Annexe Queen Street Falkirk FK2 7AF

• You will only hear further from us if your course has to be altered or cancelled.

* Please enclose details of the course you wish to book In Person Please call in and see us at our Victoria Buildings

• We only take bookings on receipt of payment, we cannot accept provisional bookings.

• We require an original medical form at the centre before the activity takes place. Please ensure this is either sent in to Victoria Buildings prior to the activity date or brought with you on the morning of the course.

• In the event you have to cancel a course within the cancellation period you are strongly advised to take out insurance to recover the cost of the course fees.

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Walking

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Senior Rambles All Senior Rambles cost ÂŁ15.00 Our long established Stravaiger and Tryst rambles are for folk who like easy walking in groups. The majority of our rambles are no more than 7 miles long on easy paths with no significant height gain.

We try and walk local when we can but we’ll always chase the dry weather.

The Stravaiger rambles leave from Victoria Buildings car park in Falkirk at 09:15 every second Tuesday with the Tryst rambles departing from Foundry Loan car park in Larbert at 09:30 on the alternate Tuesdays.

Stravaiger Ramble dates 21/08/18

04/09/18

18/09/18

30/10/18

13/11/18

27/11/18

02/10/18

Tryst Ramble dates 28/08/18

11/09/18

25/09/18

23/10/18

06/11/18

20/11/18

09/10/18

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High Tops All High Tops days begin at 07:00 and cost £33.00 Our days out on the mountains are justly renowned for getting to the summits by interesting means whatever the weather.

On a High Tops day you will tick either a Munro or one of our finer Corbetts, so you will need to have previous walking experience From the biggest Munro days to the most out of the way Corbetts we can take you there.

Our days out on the mountains are justly famous for getting to the summits by interesting means whatever the weather. On the harder to reach hills we can take bikes if appropriate.

We’re happy to take novices out but if you’re unsure how you’ll do on the day please call our office before booking and chat to an instructor.

6/9/18 Sron a’ Choire Ghairbh & Meall na Teanga 18km with 1420 metres of ascent These two Lochay hills are usually ascended from Laggan. This is a boring out and back route. Our way is from the south, walking up the lovely Gleann Cai–iag to lonely Fedden, a ruin with a bit of history. From here it’s an easy pull up onto Sron a’ Choire Ghairbh. We then take the Munro ticker’s path to the bealach and then up to Meall na Teanga, followed by a superior route heading south west over the lovely bumps on the way back to our starting point.

27/9/18 Binnein Beag & Sgurr Eilde Mor 20.2km with 1580 metres of ascent The easternmost Mamore and its most remote pal make a nice, if long, outing which packs a punch due to the height gained. Starting in Kinlochleven, we take the rising path to the imaginatively named Lochan Coire an Lochain, then head out to Binnein Beag, a wilderness of sorts for these parts. After returning to the lochan we ascend Sgurr Eilde Mor by a nice path and descend by a not quite so nice path to the lochan and then return by our outward route.

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7/10/18 Beinn Odhair Bheag & Beinn Mhic Cedidh 13.8km with 1270 metres of ascent Ticking more than one Corbett usually involves a fair bit of effort. These two require a lot! – Rocky in places and pathless, but with amazing views down loch Shiel as just reward. This is a better walk than a lot of Munros.

11/10/18 Beinn na Lap & Leum Uilleim 17.8km with 1080 metres of ascent We’re getting the train for this one!

Rannoch Station to Corrour to be precise. It’s a Munro Corbett combo and both are achievable between the train times back to Rannoch. We’ll do the Munro first. Participants will need to pay their own train fare on the day.

15/11/18 25/10/18 Carn Bhac & Beinn Iutharn Mhor – Bike Access 17.2km + 300 metres of ascent on bikes – 14.6km +830 metres of ascent on foot Beginning at Inverey a track goes all the way up to the ruins of Altanour Lodge.

We’ll use bikes for quick access. After that it’s a ramble in the wilds to tick both Munros. Remote country.

4/11/18 Stob Choire Sgriodain & Chno Dearg 12.9km with 970 metres of ascent This good circuit by Loch Treig begins at Fersit and heads on to the long north ridge of Sgriodain, which is rough but direct. After heading over Chno Dearg, our second Munro, the descent is less rough but joyless bog awaits us if it’s wet underfoot.

Beinn Dearg – Bike Access 18.8 km + 490 metres of ascent on bikes - 11.3km + 560 metres of ascent on foot It’s quite a long way into the Atholl hinterland to tick Beinn Dearg. But the track from Old Blair is very rideable so that’s what we’ll do, all the way to Allt Scheicheachan Bothy. From the bothy it’s a nice plod up and back to tick the Munro. And you’ll appreciate the bikes on the way back!

25/11/18 Beinn Udlamain, Sgairneach Mhor & The Sow of Atholl 17km with 1000 metres of ascent Two easy Munros with a well seen Corbett tacked on, and with the high start in Drumochter it’s a relatively easy outing. It’s a nice round with good views into Ben Alder Forest from the first summit. We’ll do the Corbett last and it’ll only get binned if we’re wet to the pants or if early season snow makes progress too slow.

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Mountain Navigation Mountain Navigation Begins at 08:00 and cost ÂŁ35.00

14/10/18

31/10/18

Good navigation in the mountains is the key skill to learn and practise in order to enhance one’s experience on the hill. This course is for hill walkers who understand the basics of map work and would like to take their understanding of navigation to the next level. This will be a full day on the hill recapping on the basics like taking bearings and measuring timings and distances, moving on to navigation strategies and relocation techniques.

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Mountain Scrambles

Mountain Scrambles All Scrambles start at 07:00 and costs £45.00 From the Lochaber and Glen Coe classics to the wilds of Ardgour or Arrochar, all the way over to the northern Cairngorms, our mountain scramble days are for folk who enjoy moving fast over technical terrain in spectacular settings. The nature of these scrambles means the participant should have previous experience of steep ground.

12/09/18 Curved Ridge

21/10/18 Cobbler South Ridge

31/10/18 Pinnacle Ridge

(Grade 2/3)

(Grade 3)

(Grade 2/3)

One of the most popular scrambles in the Scottish Highlands, Curved Ridge on Buachaille Etive Mor has it all: great situations, lovely exposure on sound rock; all whilst following in the hand holds of many a great mountaineer. We’ll probably go for a wander up Crowberry Tower at the end if there’s any views to be had.

The Cobbler is a gem of a hill for the scrambler. The traverse of the South and Central peaks is arguably the finest on the mountain. The rock is sound yet polished by the generations of heavy booted adventurers. The South Peak is climbed first before abseiling off and onto the Central Peak, which is the summit of the mountain.

This is an excellent scramble which finishes near the summit or Garbh Bheinn in Ardgour. It’s a fine exposed route through some impressive scenery.

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Rock Climbing We have structured our Rock Climbing courses so everyone gets a course that suits their needs from total beginners to the seasoned climber. If you are in any doubt please call the office and speak to one of our instructors.

13/09/18

04/10/18

Introduction to Rock Climbing

Supervised/Instructed day - ratio 1:6 Starts at 08:00 and costs ÂŁ35.00 This is a course for beginners who want to experience climbing outdoors on real rock.

The course will take place at one of our local single pitch crags and cover all the basics such as tying in, belaying and movement on rock. The course is suitable for complete novices or folk who have recently begun climbing indoors.

22/09/18

04/10/18

Rock Climbing Development

Supervised/Instructed day - ratio 1:6 Starts at 08:00 and costs ÂŁ35.00 This is a course for folk who have begun to climb outdoors and would like to get some experience of seconding single pitch rock routes. The day will be split between seconding and top roping so that vertical mileage can be maximised. This is the ideal progression course for anyone to gain the relevant experience to participate on our Classic or Hard climbing days in the mountains.

Photo by Euan Whittaker

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23/09/18 Classic Climbs

(Mod – Hard Severe) Guided Day - ratio 1:2 Starts at 07:00 and costs £70.00 Our Classic Climbs, rock climbing days, involve clients being guided up a classic (occasionally esoteric) route. We don’t plan to climb above the grade of hard severe; it’s all about a great climb in an amazing place.

Venues are not specified because we will go where the weather is best. Example routes could include; Ardverikie Wall, Agag’s Groove, Savage Slit and Crypt Route. If the weather isn’t suitable to get into the mountains then we will head to a crag venue.

Because of the nature of multi-pitch climbing we require participants to have previous rock climbing experience

23/09/18 Hard climbs (VS – E1) Guided Day - ratio 1:2

Starts at 07:00 and costs £70.00 Our Hard Climb days, like our Classic days are guided, however the climbing is that bit harder. Example routes could include; Spartan Slab, Bludger’s Revelation, King Bee and The Clean Sweep. If the weather isn’t suitable to get into the mountains then we will head to a crag venue.

Because of the nature of multi-pitch climbing we require participants to have previous rock climbing experience

13/09/18

04/10/18

Learn to Lead Climb

Instructed day - ratio 1:4 Starts at 09:00 and costs £45 Following on from our beginners rock climbing course, these days are aimed at folk who have seconded climbs and would like to progress to leading a climb. Skills covered include selecting suitable equipment, placing protection and bringing up a second.

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Mountain Training Scotland Courses Mountain Training offers programmes of training and assessment for walkers interested in leading groups as well as skills awards that teach individuals how to look after themselves in the hills and mountains. The UK and Ireland are home to a great many stunning locations and our work is dedicated to helping more people get out there and enjoy them.

Falkirk Community Trust deliver these courses on behalf of the Mountain Training Scheme.

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Mountain Skills Mountain Training Scotland Courses The Mountain Training course aims to equip participants with the basic knowledge and essential safety skills required to start pursuing their own participation in mountain walking as a leisure time activity. Falkirk Community Trust is an approved provider of these awards.

27 & 28/10/18 Mountain Skills Cost £95 per two day course – Courses begin at 07:00 The Mountain Skills course is an ideal choice for walkers interested in applying their countryside walking skills to the mountain environment. Ideally, participants would have done some basic hill walking and have a reasonable level of fitness.

Skills in map and compass, mountain weather forecasting, movement through steep ground, planning and preparation, emergency procedures, seasonal effects and the mountain environment all form the syllabus of this course. The course is run in the main high mountain areas of the UK and Ireland. Our courses will be based in the Scottish mountains.

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Qualifications Lowland Leader Award The Lowland Leader Award is ideal for teachers, community workers; those involved with the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme – in fact anyone who wants to lead summer walking groups in lowland countryside and woodland. As with all Mountain Training Schemes there is no altitude limit to the remit of the award, “lowland” refers to the sort of landscape you will be operating in, i.e. fields and woodlands where there are clear paths on the map and on the ground.

The training course looks at route-finding skills, an understanding of hazards and risk management, leadership techniques and an appreciation of equipment needs and the impact of the weather. There is an optional Expedition Skills module available for candidates who wish to move on to leading camping trips and supervising groups on backpacking expeditions.

Like other National Governing Body Awards the pathway to certification involves getting some personal experience, attending a training course, consolidating your learning, completing an assessment, and then continuing to develop these skills as a Lowland Leader. The length of time it takes to become a Lowland Leader depends on how much experience you already have. We recommend at least three months between training and assessment, and if it takes you a few years to feel ready, that’s fine too.

The Lowland Leader Award can be used anywhere in the UK when you are in appropriate terrain.

More information about the award please visit the Mountain Training website.

Candidates must register direct with Mountain Training prior to training Fee - £44.

LLA Training Dates - Lowland leader award | PRICE: £125 1/9/18 - Saturday 08:30 until 18:30

13/10/18 - Saturday 08:30 until 18:30

2/9/18 - Sunday 08:30 until 17:00

14/10/18 - Sunday 08:30 until 17:00

1/12/18 - Saturday 08:30 until 18:30 2/12/18 - Sunday 08:30 until 17:00

LLA Assessment Dates | PRICE: £135 15/9/18 - Saturday 09:00 until 18:00

27/10/18 - Saturday 09:00 until 18:00

16/9/18 - Sunday 09:00 until 18:00

28/10/18 - Sunday 09:00 until 18:00

Mountain Training Expedition Skills Module Mountain Training Expedition Skills Module | PRICE: £125 29/9/18 - Day 1 09:00 – overnight

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30/9/18 - Day 2 finish 12:00

Other course dates are available. Please contact our office for details.

Qualifications Hill & Moorland Leader Award The Hill and Moorland Leader award is designed for people who want to lead groups in the hill and moorland areas of the UK and Ireland. This award is a wonderful opportunity to learn the leadership skills required to feel confident about taking people out walking. As you may have guessed from the descriptive title of this award, it focuses on non-mountainous terrain.

In a previous life this award was called the Walking Group Leader, and we think the new name better describes the award and makes more sense.

This way, everyone knows where they (can) stand. The ‘overnight experience’ element of the WGL has been removed and we’ve created a separate Expedition Skills Module which can be ‘bolted on’ to the Hill and Moorland Leader (or indeed the Lowland Leader) if you want to increase the scope of your award to include multi-day expeditions.

More information about the award please visit the Mountain Training website.

Candidates must register direct with Mountain Training prior to training - Fee- £44.

HML Training Dates | PRICE: £195 21/09/18 - Friday 09:00 - 18:00

02/11/18 - Friday 09:00 - 18:00

22/09/18 - Saturday 09:00 - 21:30

03/11/18 - Saturday 09:00 - 21:30

23/09/18 - Sunday 09:00 - 18:00

04/11/18 - Sunday 09:00 - 18:00

HML Assessment Dates | PRICE: £225 16/11/18 - Friday 09:00 - 18:00 17/11/18 - Saturday 09:00 - 21:30 18/11/18 - Sunday 09:00 - 18:00 15

Trips Not all venues are accessible in a single day, so we base ourselves in the local area to maximise our time out on the mountains. The accommodation can range from tents, to bothies, to hostels, to bivvying out high on the hill.

14 – 16/09/18 An Teallach & Fisherfield Camping Trip Departs Falkirk 06:00 and costs £130 It’s been a while since we’ve been up this way. Fisherfield, or the Great Wilderness, needs no introduction to most hill walkers.

Suffice to say it’s on many folks tick list.

We thought we’d throw in another couple of Munros on the way to make the walk in to the area a bit more interesting, so we’ll be heading in over An Teallach.

Folk doing this epic trip need to be fit enough to carry camping equipment for three days over a distance of almost 50km with 4000 metres of ascent. We’ll issue a kit list to participants before the trip to ensure we’re fast and light enough to complete this strenuous adventure.

Day One - 14.6km with 1330 metres of ascent The walk begins at Dundonnell, taking the good path up to An Teallach’s Munro summits. Bidean a’ Ghlas Thuill then Sgurr Fiona are ticked before we head off the mountain by descending Coir a’ Ghamhna down to Loch na Sealga. From the loch we follow the Abhainn Strath na Sealga upstream to camp where the river bends under Beinn a’ Chlaidheimh.

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Day Two – 17.5km with 2150 metres of ascent After striking camp we’ll carry on up and over the Fisherfield Six, one Corbett and five Munros. After Chlaidheimh, the Corbett, we’ll tick Sgurr Bhan, Mullach Choire Mhic Fhearchair, Beinn Tarsuinn, A’ Mhaighdean and Ruadh Stac Mor; gratefully pitching our tents by Lochain a’ Bhradhad.

Day Three – 15km with 380 metres of ascent Tired legs will appreciate there are no more Munros to cross. They might even appreciate the two river crossings we have to undertake to get on the path back to Corrie Hallie where we meet the road.

NB – if the forecast is for heavy rain we won’t be able to ford the rivers and this trip will have to be abandoned. If this is the case we will run an alternative camping trip to all nine of The Fannichs instead.

20 – 21/10/18 Western Cairngorms Camping Trip Departs Falkirk 06:00 and costs £85 We’ve got our eyes on the western Munros of the Cairngorms on this camping trip.

There are four in the group, two of which are remote even by Cairngorm standards.

We thought we’d chuck in The Devil’s Point as well as we’ve been meaning to tick this for ages. We plan to head over to Loch nan Stuirteag and camp there, via a Munro on the way in and another on the way back. The rest of the summits will be achievable without carrying camping equipment.

Day One – 20.8km with 1280 metres of ascent We begin in Glen Feshie on the path up to Sgor Gaoith, which we will ascend with full packs. From there it’s a fairly easy, but pathless, long walk over to Loch nan Stuirteag. We’ll pitch the tents there and then light-footedly skip up Bod an Deamhain, known in politer circles as The Devil’s Point.

Day Two – 26.8km with 1020 metres of ascent Our remote camp will allow us to tick Monadh Mor and Beinn Bhrotain without carrying all of our kit. Once this is done we’ll strike camp and head over to Mullach Clach a’ Bhlair, picking up the track to this outlier Munro on the way. From here it’s a long way back to the bus. But the going is easy underfoot.

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Rock & Water 01/10/18 Canyoning Start at 09:00 and costs ÂŁ42 From the dryer technical gorges, to the full on big canyon descents, we will get you up or down safely. All our canyon days are staffed by appropriately trained instructors who have a passion for exploring the hidden away gorge systems. It is essential for participants to have a good level of water confidence for this activity.

22/10/18 Coasteering Starts at 09:00 and costs ÂŁ42 The rapidly growing sport of Coasteering is justly popular around the sea cliffs of Scotland and beyond.

If you enjoy exploring our inshore waters we offer enough thrills like scrambling, swimming and jumping in to keep the enthusiast happy.

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At a Glance September

Lowland Leader Award Training 2 Lowland Leader Award Training 1

3 4

Senior Rambles - Stravaigers

5 6

High Tops

7 8 9 10 11 Senior Rambles - Tryst 12 Scramble 13

Intro Climb Learn to Lead Climb

14 Fisherfield Trip

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16 17 18 19 20 21 22

October

Senior Rambles - Tryst High Tops Senior Rambles - Tryst High Tops Lowland Leader Award Training Lowland Leader Award Training Mountain Navigation

Lowland Leader Award Assessment Falkirk School Holidays Fisherfield Trip Lowland Leader Award Assessment Falkirk School Holidays Fisherfield Trip Falkirk School Holidays Senior Rambles - Stravaigers Falkirk School Holidays Falkirk School Holidays Cairngorm Trip Cairngorm Trip Hill & Moorland Leader Training Scramble Hill & Moorland Leader Training Development Climbing Hill & Moorland Leader Training

Senior Rambles - Tryst

24 25 Senior Rambles - Tryst 26

High Tops

27 High Tops

28

Senior Rambles - Stravaigers

High Tops Hill & Moorland Leader Assessment Hill & Moorland Leader Assessment Hill & Moorland Leader Assessment Senior Rambles - Tryst

Coasteering

23 Classic Climbs

Hard Climbs

November

Canyoning Senior Rambles - Stravaigers Hill & Moorland Leader Training Hill & Moorland Leader Training Intro Climb Hill & Moorland Leader Training Development Climbing High Tops Learn to Lead Climb

Lowland Leader Award Assessment MTS - Mountain Skills Lowland Leader Award Assessment MTS - Mountain Skills

High Tops Senior Rambles - Stravaigers

29 Expedition Skills Module 30 Expedition Skills Module

Senior Rambles - Stravaigers

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Mountain Navigation Scramble 19

OUTDOOR ACTIVITY BASE Victoria Buildings, Queen Street, Falkirk.

Tel: 01324 506846

outdooractivities@falkirkcommunitytrust.org www.falkirkcommunitytrust.org/outdoors falkirkoutdoors

Falkirk Community Trust gratefully acknowledges the support of Falkirk Council