Expedition Skills Course
Our expedition skills course is designed to provide the training you need to get out into the Kiwi bush and mountains comfortably and with confidence.
For many people, getting out onto the trails and disappearing into the wilderness provides a lifetime of adventures. But the committing nature of getting into remote areas and the self reliance this necessitates, can be intimidating to some people. This course is designed to teach you the fundamental skills needed for remote backcountry travel at any level. It might be that you're planning a particular mission that might involve off track travel, or maybe you're looking to build up confidence and skills in order to undertake your first overnight tramp to a hut. This course will have you covered.
Your instructors are well versed in backcountry travel, working for years in the wilderness, pioneering their own adventures and dedicating most of their adult lives to the outdoors. Their teaching isn't just based on their own vast personal experience, but also from seeing how their less experienced clients encounter the back country. Some are involved in emergency response such as Search and Rescue too and as such have further in-sites to offer. Above all, though, our guides and instructors are selected for their ability to create a comfortable learning environment in which to gain skills and confidence.
As part of the course, you will also have the opportunity to gain your Outdoor Risk Management qualification through Rescue 3 International. This is recognised globally for 3 years and is great asset for anyone looking to take these skills into the careers or volunteer organisations.
Course Contents
- Navigation
- Weather for remote environments
- Personal Equipment and clothing
- Risk Management and Emergency situations
- Camp craft skills
Rescue 3 Certificate Details
- Qualification name: Outdoor Risk Management
- Minimum Contact Time: 12 hours (2 days)
- Pre-Requisits: None
- Qualification Valid for: 3 Years
- Taught by: Outdoor Risk Management Instructors
Contents
The course is split over 2 sessions, one theory and one practical. For practicalities sake, if you have a group interested, it is possible to run the theory over a couple of zoom sessions prior to the practical assessment.
Areas Covered Include:
- Interpreting weather forecasts and relating it to topography.
- Identification of the strengths and weaknesses of various pieces of personal equipment for the back country
- An exploration of layering system and clothing
- Group equipment and it's function (group shelters, first aid kits etc)
- Exposure and Hypothermia in the backcountry.
- Navigation (Basic uses of maps and compass, orientation, 6 figure grid references, brings, magnetic variation, pacing, hand railing etc)
- Route Choices
- Assessing Risk
- Identification of objective hazards
- Emergency situation management
The Assessed Skills Include:
- Foundational Knowledge
- Navigation
Who is this for?
This is an awesome course to provide the foundational skills for anyone looking to start their career travelling through the backcountry.
The hard skills we cover here are relatable for all users of the backcountry such as trampers or aspiring mountaineers, but are also extremely beneficial for packrafters looking to sharpen their terrestrial travel skills.
The navigation element in particular is incredibly useful. Maybe you're a keen trail runner and have never had to concentrate on navigation more complicated that simply following a path, perhaps you're looking to start a career in the outdoors and work towards guiding, maybe you want to sharpen your nav skills for adventure racing. Perhaps you're looking to be more useful in your work or volunteer organisations such as Search and Rescue teams.
This course is deliberately wide in it's scope but extremely useful for anybody and everybody who recreates, any time of the year in the outdoors.
