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Contour Masterclasses in the Lake District
This is a great opportunity for all walkers and mountaineers to take their navigation skills to the next level, and it is perfect as a refresher before an assessment. Learn how to navigate using only the shape of the ground with contour-only maps, and then transfer this knowledge back to normal maps, again focusing primarily on the shape of the ground. This will really sharpen your navigation skills so that you no longer rely on line features, such as streams, walls and paths, which can all change over time.
The course is open to trainees and award holders of the following awards, and anyone with comparable personal experience:
Venue: meet at the Stickle Ghyll car park, Langdale valley, Lake District
Dates: see the Masterclasses section on our online calendar
Times: 9.30am to 5pm approx
Cost:
2024: £68 Mountain Training Association, BAIML and AMI members, £74 non-members
2025: £70 Mountain Training Association, BAIML and AMI members, £76 non-members
Equipment: we’ll send you a kit list when you book.
Counts as 1 CPD point for Mountain Training Association members
Useful blog posts
How to Navigate Like a Pro
So What Do You Actually Do On A Contour Masterclass?
What's The Future For Maps?
5 Reasons Why You Should Learn To Navigate Using Contours
What do our clients say about us?
For older testimonials, please see the Testimonials Archive page.
Chris delivers a good mix of mountain walking and leading skills, including movement on rock and/or steep ground, flora and fauna, as well as those important skills relating to micro-navigation. His easy going manner and positive approach to our thoughts, ideas and responses engendered lots of confidence and made the day a pleasure.
Linda Skelton, March 2020
It was a really interesting and useful day, and I came away feeling very refreshed and fine-tuned navigation wise. It was good to revisit some concepts that I already knew, and helpful to learn a number of new and complementary ones too. I also like the fact that Chris wove in some movement skills and flora and fauna too.
Rachel Sheldrake, March 2020
Always super speedy replies to emails and all the right info sent before the course. Booking process and payment straight forward. All great! Really good that lots of other elements are included, for example, the movement on steep ground and pointing out of wildflowers etc. along the way. The right mix of letting you work things out for yourself and providing help when you need it. The other people in the group were all lovely, which always helps, and it's good to have a mix of experience and ability. Learnt loads from Chris and the other people in the group. Been on quite a few courses with Chris now and like how he does things. Bit of encouragement and help when needed but also lets you work stuff out for yourself, and will tell you if you've got it completely wrong :-)) He's also got some great stories!
Sharon Bianchi, June 2021
I knew it would be good having attended other Masterclasses by Chris but once again I was very impressed by the amount of information Chris provided. Always ensuring each attendee had an equal share of his attention he made it fun and memorable with lots learned in an easy to remember format. He made sure everyone understood what he was trying to convey and there was lots of valuable experience gained. Chris is very easy to get on with and delivers his courses in a professional, fun, relaxed way whilst still ensuring each person gets as much out of the day as humanly possible. A great instructor! I would not hesitate to recommend him to anyone looking to improve their mountain skills.
Sharon Leedell, September 2021
I had a change of plan for which course I wanted to do and Chris and Anne were very accommodating with letting me book onto a different course. The learning started straight from leaving the car park - including things I had never considered before. I could see that Chris was assessing us and our suitability for the terrain he was planning to cover. The pace was just right and the programme content full with enough time to work on skills and let information sink in. Both instructors were friendly, approachable, considerate and, of course extremely knowledgeable. I have been on courses with other organisations and know that this is not always the case with other instructors so could really appreciate the difference. I really enjoyed the course and will probably book another with Chris at some time in the future. Anne was excellent with the booking and admin etc and Christ was professional, knowledgeable and friendly in his delivery of the course. I liked the dog too!
Pam Drower, July 2022
Although we didn't cover much ground on foot, we certainly covered a lot of ground on techniques for improving mountain walking techniques and reading a contour only map! Who knew after 57 years I didn't know how to walk, may explain why I fall over so much! I knew I lacked technique but Chris was very patient and gave me some great tips, which should make me safer in the mountains and hopefully let me relax and enjoy the mountains more without a fear of slipping, I need to practise and will be booking specifically onto a Movement Masterclass.
Judi Barham, November 2022
Chris very cleverly weaved all sorts of information into the day - not just navigation, but getting us to think about movement as well, particularly on steep ground. He was really friendly and immediately put everyone at ease - he is really good at offering gentle encouragement that boosts your confidence, all the while imparting so much knowledge!
Sarah Sigsworth, March 2023
Really easy booking and Anne was really helpful in answering a couple of questions and connecting me with another participant from Kendal for a liftshare. The skills explored were great; a more specific approach to using contours to navigate and much more in depth as a technique than in more general navigation training/ course. I appreciated exploring movement and steep ground as part of the day too, particularly with the rough weather as this was a good reminder of our capabilities as walkers and leaders - Chris quickly judged that we were all fairly capable on the hill so pushed what we did further so we could get the most out of the day.
Jess Emsley, March 2023
Found the day content to be pitched just right, and was pleased (overall) with my level of competence, but even more pleased to see improvemnets during the day...except nearer the end when the brain went on holiday. Just keep doing what you're doing...it seems to be a good format, well pitched...but with the ability to adapt to the group in hand at the time. Good atmosphere throughout the day, and great that you can control the weather to suit....not sure about the dodgy jokes though! ;-)
Adrian Swift, June 2023
Thank you Chris for being so patient as I was nervous before attending given my knowledge/experience base would probably be lower than others. The occasional focus on flora and fauna was great - broke up the day and was something that everyone seemed to hook on to. Loved the intro to walking techniques - I'm probably going to do the Movement Masterclass when diary allows as the tips are really useful.
Chris Shrimpton, September 2023
I really appreciated the variety of things covered on the course. Not just navigating using contour only maps but also the additional information about flora and how to move more efficiently and safely on steep ground. Chris was very personable and attentive. He gave everyone the attention they required and was sensitive when giving feedback. I never felt intimidated. The course covered a lot of things and I really felt I improved my navigation: attention to detail, interpreting contours, navigating without a compass and all the trappings we are taught in nav courses. I really enjoyed using the Harvey’s map - much easier to work with on such a busy terrain than the equivalent OS map. The Lake District, which I don’t know well at all as this was only my second visit to the area, is very beautiful.
Emmanuelle Tulle, March 2024
Chris has a wealth of knowledge which is great to pick up tips and things outside of contour navigation over the day. For example the bonus material on movement skills he talked and coached about in between navigation legs was really useful.
Jonny Stubbs, March 2024
The day covered everything I needed to be able to get out there and work things through. The progression during the day was just right and allowed my brain the time to work through the information and teaching given. Alex was perfect for me. I learnt a lot from him, but at the same time he was blunt when needed - which was exactly what I needed. In our introductory chat when we sat down and went through the day I did tell Alex that he could say whatever he needed to to me, it was important to me that anything that I was doing which could be improved, or if I was doing something wrong, was picked up on. I had a great day with him and learnt a lot, which hopefuly will sink in and improve my overall navigation skills and confidence.
Alan Kitchen, 1:1 Contour Masterclass, August 2024
