This weekend I (select one)
a) partied till dawn
b) went cragging
OR
c) ran round a dark and rain lashed quarry trying to locate elusive "casualties" to practice first aid on
Yup, it was the weekend of the Outdoor and Mountain First Aid Course! Run at Woodhead Mountain Rescue Team HQ (with proceeds helping raise funds for the team) this was an intensive weekend of classroom lectures (and rather gory slideshows) and practical sessions held outdoors – the pelting rain and wind certainly helped give the exercises an authentic feel. Although it was very hard work – we carried working till 10 pm friday and saturday night – we also had quite a lot of fun – specially hamming it up with the accident scenarios and rubber stick-on 'injuries'. The high point was probably the night exercise, held out on the hill (howling wind, rain, pitch black, bla bla) where we were dropped into a mystery accident scenario and told to deal with it as a group. Each session was assessed and at the end we had to demonstrate we hadnt been sleeping through the whole thing by doing individual practical assessments. I didnt enjoy that bit – assessments terrify me – but it did give me confidence to know that I had taken in enough to pass an assessment.
The reason I signed up for the course was simple. I found myself earlier this year staring up at a buddy as he led the E1 pitch of a multi pitch route in the lakes for me to dutifully hangdog after, and realised that although he was a much better climber than me, if it all went wrong and his gear ripped, it could be down to me to look after him – and I had very little idea what to do. We all spend time out on the hills away from the crowds – its one of the reasons we go there – and there wont always be someone more experienced on hand to take charge if it goes a bit Pete Tong. So the next time one of these courses comes up, I'd thoroughly recommend it -better to sweat and gibber over an assessment than find yourself in the real situation without a clue.
Peri (waving shiny new certificate but hoping not to have to use it)