Established in 1964, the Mountain Leader (ML) qualification was designed to promote safe and competent enjoyment of the mountains, hills and moors in the UK and Ireland. With interest in the outdoors, the hills, mountains and outdoor adventure on the rise, more and more people are heading outdoors and looking for competent and knowledgeable leaders to help them enjoy a safe day out. So, if you want to be able to lead groups outdoors then the Mountain Leader qualification might be just what you need to enjoy a career in the outdoors (sounds perfect to me). Plus, even if you end up not going into leading groups, imagine all the personal skills and development you’ll have made along the way.

Why have I chosen to complete the Mountain Leader qualification?

 After growing up in the Scottish Highlands and spending all my childhood outdoors, the mountains and doing anything outdoorsy is where I feel most at peace. As an adult, like a lot of us, the outdoors is where I go to relax and have fun; I couldn’t imagine my life without the mountains and hills. What would I do with my spare time!? 

More recently, I’ve noticed a shift in women wanting to get outdoors more but not having the confidence or knowledge to do it and this is something which I feel so passionate about. Id love nothing more than to be able to lead groups of women up mountains, on wild camps and just have a grand old time in the outdoors building their confidence and skills. So, after almost three years of “should I?”, “shouldn’t I?”, I finally decided to sign up) and I can’t wait to share the journey with you.

So, if this is something you think you might be interested in too, then read on for an overview of the Mountain Leader qualification, how to sign up and what it involves. I’ll be sharing more in depth information about the course and my own experiences as I progress through this journey. 

What is a Mountain Leader? 

Essentially, and probably not surprisingly, a Mountain Leader can lead groups of people in the mountains… I know, shock! However, there is a bit more to it than that. As a mountain leader, you can guide groups in mountain environments as well as in the hills and moors in the UK and Ireland but this is only during summer conditions. That doesn’t mean you can only lead groups during the summer months but more so when conditions aren’t wintery and where the use of a rope is not planned. So, if there’s snow on the ground and you want to lead groups, you’ll need a whole different qualification for that. As a Mountain Leader, you also won’t be able to lead groups on rock climbing routes; again, there’s a whole other qualification for that too.

Who is the Mountain Leader Qualification for? 

If you’re someone who loves the outdoors and wants to start leading groups in the mountains, hills and moorland of the UK and Ireland, then this could be the course for you. The training and assessment is intense and there’s a lot to learn so you need a genuine passion for leading groups and for working outdoors to make this really worthwhile. 

There are also some requirements from Mountain Training, the awarding body for the ML course, that you need to meet before signing up for the scheme including;

• Candidates must be 18.
• Candidates must have a year’s personal experience of mountain walking.
• Candidates must have a genuine interest in mountain walking and leading groups in this terrain.
• Candidates must be a member of a mountaineering council (British Mountaineering Council, Mountaineering Ireland, Mountaineering Scotland)

What does the Mountain Leader Qualification involve? 

Everyone I’ve spoken to about the Mountain Leader course and everything I’ve read online says the same thing; it’s time consuming, eye opening and hard work but incredibly rewarding. 

The qualification is broken down into three sections; completing your DLOG of a minimum of 40 Quality Mountain Days (more on that to come), training and then assessment. 

What are Quality Mountain Days (QMD’s)

As soon as I shared that I was signing up for the Mountain Leader course over on Instagram, I immediately had people messaging me saying “welcome to the dreaded world of QMD’s” and “get ready to lose your life to the DLOG.” Now, safe to say this immediately made me feel just a tad concerned but actually, it’s not too bad once you get your head around it. 

So, what is a QMD? Well, on the Mountain Training website it’s classed as a day in the mountains which has some of these elements. 

• the individual takes part in the planning and leadership
• navigation skills are required away from marked paths
• experience must be in terrain and weather comparable to that found in UK and Irish hills
• knowledge is increased and skills practised
• attention is paid to safety
• five hours or more journey time
• adverse conditions may be encountered
• ascent of a substantial peak would normally be included in the day

What is involved in the Mountain Leader Training?

Before you can book onto a training course, you need to log a minimum (the more the better) of 20 QMD’s onto your digital log book (the DLOG) to show your experience and so that trainers can look over it when you arrive for the training. Just think of it like this, the more experience you have in the mountains the better because if you want to lead groups and be responsible for their safety then prior experience and building your own confidence is a no brainer. 

The training itself is a minimum of 60 hours of training which can be spread over a 6 day course or 2 x 3 days/ 3 x 2 days. There are a whole host of training providers to book with and you can use the Mountain Training website to search for a course here. The cost of the training course varies depending on what’s included (such as food and accommodation) so it’s best to search and find the one that’s right for you. 

During the training course you will cover these areas;

• Group management
• Navigation
• Access and the environment
• Hazards (including steep ground and rivers) and emergency procedures
• Equipment
• Expedition skills
• Weather
• Background knowledge

At the end of the training, it then becomes your responsibility to practise and become confident in these areas before the assessment – the consolidation phase.  

But, don’t worry – there’s also refresher days and some helpful checklists available to download on the Mountain Training website too. Use all the support you can get is what I’ve been advised. 

What happens during the Mountain Leader Assessment?

We’re going to circle back to the DLog now because before you can book onto the ML assessment, you need to log a minimum (the more the better) of 40 QMD’s in THREE different regions of the UK and Ireland onto your digital log book (the DLog)

You also need to meet this criteria before booking an assessment;

• Candidates must have attended a Mountain training course (or have been granted exemption)
• Candidates must have physically attended and completed (i.e. not online) a first aid course which involved at least two full days or sixteen hours of instruction and included an element of assessment.
• You must have logged at least 8 nights camping, including at least 4 nights wild camping

The assessment is 5 days long and includes a 2-night expedition wild camping. 

Once again, you need to book onto an approved assessment course and the cost varies. You can find assessment providers here. 

How do you sign up to become a Mountain Leader? 

OK, so you’ve made it this far and you’re at the point where you want to sign up. Fortunately, this part is easy! 

To sign up, head to the Mountain Training website here where you can register for the scheme. You’ll need to create an account, make an initial registration payment of £49 and then make sure you are registered as a member of a mountaineering council (this will incur another small fee if you aren’t already registered with one).

*2025 update – since writing this, I’ve now completed the UK Mountain Leader training – read about it here.