CHMAS Training

13/09/2026

What's Happening At CHMAS Training This Week

Wed - Pioneer Centre
Thu - CHMAS First Aid Course
Fri - CHMAS First Aid Course
Sat - CHMAS First Aid Course

A rather relaxed week of activity & first aid training.

12/09/2026

I am not sure what the answer is here but this number of callouts is totally unsustainable for a volunteer organisation.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1EPR6W3sYb/

After 59 callouts in August, the busiest month in our history, we think it is time for a serious conversation about what is happening in our mountains.

Our volunteers carried out prolonged rescues in darkness and poor weather, dealt with serious injuries, heat-related issues, assisted people stuck in serious terrain and, sadly, attended incidents where people and animals lost their lives.

What concerns us most is the increasing number of people taking on difficult terrain while completely unprepared for what they are facing.

The mountains have not suddenly become more dangerous. More people are visiting them, and the way routes are discovered and accessed has changed.

Routes once mainly attempted by experienced hillwalkers and mountaineers are increasingly attracting people with little or no experience.

A photograph or video of Crib Goch can make an exposed Grade 1 scramble look like just another route to the summit. What it doesn’t show is how intimidating that ridge can be in cloud, rain or strong winds or how quickly a manageable situation can become a serious emergency.

We want people to enjoy Eryri. We understand the physical and mental health benefits of spending time in the mountains but accidents happen, even to experienced, well-prepared people. That is why we volunteer.

But enjoying the mountains also comes with personal responsibility. Too often, people simply don’t know that a route may require specific skills, equipment, fitness, experience and judgement and how quickly conditions can change.

Our callout numbers tell the story:

147 in 2020
237 in 2021
233 in 2022
308 in 2023
327 in 2024
359 in 2025
Around 440 projected in 2026.

This trend is not sustainable.

The answer cannot simply be more Mountain Rescue. There has to be greater focus on prevention and personal responsibility.

We will always respond when someone genuinely needs our help. The bigger question now is: how do we stop so many people from needing help in the first place?

Enjoy the mountains but please try to understand the environment you are entering and if the terrain or conditions don’t feel right, turn around.

11/09/2026

What a blast working with a Year 6 Group for Arthog Outdoor Education Centre. We did team challenges, gorge walking, underground exploration and canoeing.

06/09/2026

What's Happening At CHMAS Training This Week

Tue - Outdoor First Aid course
Wed - Arthog Wales
Thu - Arthog Wales
Fri - Arthog Wales

Work is ramping up nicely after the August Shutdown but have I have caught up with all the admin tasks yet 🤔.

06/09/2026

A lovely little resource on the uses of the Nettle.

In the medieval world, nettles were far more than an annoying w**d — they were one of the countryside’s most useful plants.

In early spring, after a long winter with very little fresh food available, young nettle leaves were among the first greens to appear. Rich in nutrients such as iron and vitamin C, they could be cooked into soups and pottages or brewed into drinks.

But nettles weren’t just eaten.

Their long, fibrous stems could be processed in much the same way as flax. The tough fibres were spun into thread and woven into a strong, practical cloth sometimes described as a kind of “poor man’s linen”. Nettle textiles continued to be produced in parts of Europe for centuries.

They also had an important place in traditional medicine. Nettles were used in teas, poultices and other remedies for everything from aching joints to skin and digestive complaints. One particularly uncomfortable treatment involved deliberately stinging painful joints with fresh nettles — a practice known as urtication.

Farmers could make use of them too. Dried nettles provided nutritious animal fodder, while nettles soaked in water produced a natural liquid feed for crops.

So the next time you spot a patch of nettles beside a hedgerow, it’s worth remembering that to our ancestors they weren’t w**ds at all.

They were food, medicine, clothing and fertiliser — all growing for free.

05/09/2026

I often get asked what are the best and least liked parts of being an Outdoor Instructor.

The best bits for me are working with some fantastic people in truly amazing settings and helping them to have the skills and confidence to go on their own adventures.

My least favourite part of the job is keeping up with the kit cleaning and maintenance so that it does its job on the hill when I need it the most. It's not hard work but it is quite time consuming.

Currently, the list stands at:

a) I have three items that are in for repair.

b) Several items of kit that have been or are currently being reproofed.

c) Two pairs of boots that have been cleaned and will need to be reproofed.

d) Some items need to be replaced as they have come to the end of their working life.

e) Two group tents that need cleaning.

f) 4 caving ropes that need a wash and inspection.

g) Some items of kit that need to be logged before being brought into use so that I have PPE records.

04/09/2026

The Mountain Leader Training expedition became wet and wild last night for the night navigation and continued into the early hours.

That said, I was particularly pleased by the resilience of the candidates as they got stuck into the night navigation, dealt with a damaged tent, standing water and wet kit. Which prsented some great discussions on leadership and coping with unplanned events.

The next morning they were smiling and talking about the challenges they overcome. On the way out from the camp which looked at dynamic leadership, river crossings, land use and how to engage groups with the environment.

I would like to wish the candidates all to he best as they prepare glfir their assessment and enjoying the mountains as they gather the required number if QMD's.

I just hope that Paul Poole Mountaineering sorts out the weather for my next ML expedition.

04/09/2026

Works for me 🤣🤣🤣

03/09/2026

Another wet and wild ML expedition in progress. Let's hope the weather improves as predicted through the night.

Picture before the wind and rain arrived.

02/09/2026

I am supposed to be packing for a Mountain Leader Training expedition.

Went out to the garage to get dry bags but got distracted 🤦 and ended up looking for a caving bag and my missing second petzil rig which I found 😁.

Now to resume packing .........