Mountain Training qualifications explained

Mountain Training’s aim is to educate and train people in walking, climbing and mountaineering. They have a range of nationally-recognised mountain leadership, instruction and coaching schemes, as well as skills courses. This article gives an overview of the qualifications administered by Mountain Training:

Indoor Climbing Assistant

This scheme is designed for people who want to support qualified instructors with climbing sessions on artificial structures. People interested in this scheme might be parents, youth workers, young leaders or teachers and the focus is on assisting with core tasks within a session.

Find out more and download the handbook

Climbing Wall Instructor

This qualification trains and assesses candidates in the skills required to supervise climbers on purpose-built artificial climbing walls and boulders. The scheme does not include the skills and techniques required to teach lead climbing.

Find out more and download the handbook

Climbing Wall Instructor Abseil module

This qualification is an optional additional module for Climbing Wall Instructor, training and assessing candidates in the skills and techniques of supervising abseiling at climbing walls.

Climbing Wall Development Instructor

This qualification trains and assesses candidates in the skills required to teach lead climbing skills on indoor or outdoor artificial climbing walls and structures with fixed protection. It builds on the skills acquired in either the Climbing Wall Instructor or Rock Climbing Instructor schemes, one of which candidates must hold to access this scheme.

Find out more and download the handbook

Rock Climbing Instructor

This qualification trains and assesses candidates in the skills required to supervise climbers on single pitch crags and climbing walls. Common activities undertaken by a Rock Climbing Instructor will be roped climbing and bouldering. The scheme does not include the skills and techniques required to teach lead climbing.

Find out more and download handbook

Rock Climbing Development Instructor

This qualification trains and assesses candidates in the skills required to develop rock climbers including teaching lead climbing skills on natural crags. It builds on the skills acquired in either the Rock Climbing Instructor which candidates must hold to access this scheme.

Find out more and download the handbook

Foundation Coach

This qualification is designed to enable coaches to be more effective in coaching the fundamental movement skills of climbing. Foundation Coaches will usually be concerned with the stimulating delivery of a single session to a group of individuals. They will often be assisting a Development Coach who will set the learning outcomes for the session, as part of a longer term progression, course, or scheme.
Find out more and download the coaching scheme handbook

Development Coach

This qualification supports the development of climbers over a series of sessions. Development Coaches will deliver 'Climber Centred Coaching’ . It is ideal for independent autonomous coaches who prepare for, and deliver, structured progression to climbers involved in regular participation, such as climbing clubs, schools and youth groups. Often working with Foundation Coaches,  a Development Coach  will take a mentoring role, and lead in the review process to promote reflective coaching practice.

Find out more and download the coaching scheme handbook.

Lowland Leader

This qualification trains and assesses candidates in the skills required to lead groups on day walks in lowland countryside and woodland in summer conditions. The majority of Britain and Ireland is made up of this type of terrain so you'll never be short of places to go walking.

Find out more about the Lowland Leader qualification

Hill and Moorland Leader

This qualification trains and assesses candidates in the skills required to lead groups in non-mountainous terrain known as upland, moor, fell and down. The Peak District, Dartmoor and the Pentland Hills are typical areas where award holders lead groups.

Find out more about the Hill and Moorland Leader qualification

Camping Leader

The Camping Leader qualification is for people who wish to supervise a camping group and develop participants’ camping proficiency by teaching campcraft activities. A qualified Camping Leader can operate in a variety of campsites, all with vehicle access, including land with no facilities and commercial campsites offering a range of facilities.

The qualification can be completed on its own or as an addition to extend the scope of the Lowland Leader or Hill and Moorland Leader qualifications.

Find out more about the Camping Leader qualification

Mountain Leader

This qualification trains and assesses candidates in the skills required to lead hill walking groups in summer conditions on routes not requiring the planned use of a rope.

To get started on the Mountain Leader qualification you need to be at least 18 years old and have at least a year’s worth of experience of mountain walking. Candidates need to log at least 20 ‘Quality Mountain Days’ before training and a further 20 before they can go for assessment and become qualified as a Mountain Leader.

Find out more about the Mountain Leader qualification

Winter Mountain Leader

This qualification trains and assesses candidates in the skills required to lead walking groups in winter conditions in the mountains. The use of crampons and axes is covered in the scheme. It builds on the summer Mountain Leader qualification , which candidates must hold to access this scheme.

Find out more about the Winter Mountain Leader qualification

International Mountain Leader

This international qualification trains and assesses candidates in the skills required to lead parties in mountain areas, including snow covered Nordic type terrain of the “middle” mountains. Via ferratas, glaciers and terrain requiring alpine techniques are excluded from the scheme. It builds on the skills acquired in the ML qualification, which candidates must hold to access the IML scheme. To operate outside the UK, qualification holders must be a member of a professional association called BAIML. The International Mountain Leader is an extensively used professional qualification.

Find out more about the International Mountain Leader qualification

Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor

This qualification trains and assesses candidates in the skills required for instructing mountaineering, including all aspects of summer rock climbing, including the coaching of lead climbing, and scrambling. It builds on the skills acquired in the Mountain Leader scheme, which candidates must hold to access this scheme. This qualification is used extensively by lots of mountain professionals.

Find out more and download the handbook

Winter Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor

This qualification trains and assesses candidates in the skills required for instruction of mountaineering, both summer and winter, including snow, ice and rock climbing. It builds on the skills acquired in both the Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor and Winter Mountain Leader schemes, both of which candidates must hold to access this scheme. This qualification is used extensively by lots of mountain professionals.

Find out more and download the handbook

There is another qualification, not administered by Mountain Training:

IFMGA Mountain Guide

This international award trains and assesses candidates in the skills required to guide climbing (including the coaching of lead climbing) skiing and mountaineering on rock, snow and ice, and in alpine terrain. Within the UK it is administered to the standards set by British Mountain Guides (BMG) and the International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations (IFMGA). The Guide’s carnet is an extensively used professional award.

Find out more on the BMG website

Professional Associations

There are four professional associations in the UK for holders of the awards listed above. They run continual professional development workshops for their members to keep up to date with current good practice, and their websites provide useful information outlining the type of work their members undertake.

• Mountain Training Association: for trainee and qualified candidates across all schemes
• Association of Mountaineering Instructors: for trainee and qualified Mountaineering and Climbing Instructors
• British Association of International Mountain Leaders: for trainee and qualified International Mountain Leaders
• British Mountain Guides: for holders of the IFMGA Guides carnet.

Their websites include lists of members holding qualifications, so are a good place to start if you're looking for an instructor.

Visit the Mountain Training website to find out more about the awards and qualifications they offer, or find out Which Scheme Is Right For Me.