Climb-Mountains Qualifications Page. Information on Qualifications and Professional Bodies for Rock Climbing and Mountaineering Courses in the UK.

Climb-Mountains

employs only fully qualified instructors who are also active and dedicated climbers and mountaineers themselves. All instructors hold the Mountaineering Instructor Award (MIA) as a minimum. In the UK there is no legal requirement for anyone to hold any qualifications for them to work as a climbing or mountaineering instructor. However making sure that you employ someone with the appropriate qualification and relevant up to date experience is the best and easiest way to ensure they have been assessed as competent to teach the activity in question. In the UK there is a range of national awards that are designed to cover different activities at different levels. The information of this page aims to give a simple explanation of the remit of these awards. When employing the services of an instructor you should have no issue with asking to confirm that they hold the relevant award and have current up to date experience.

UK Specific Awards

Single Pitch Award - SPA

Enables the holder to to supervise novices on single pitch crags and climbing walls.

Walking Group Leader - WGL

Enables the holder to lead walking groups in summer conditions in non-mountainous hilly terrain, known variously as upland, moor, bog, hill, fell or down.

Mountain Leader, Summer - ML(Summer)

Enables the holder to lead walking groups in summer conditions in all mountainous terrain in the UK

Mountain Leader, Winter - ML(Winter)

Enables the holder to to supervise novices on single pitch crags and climbing walls.

Mountaineering Instructor Award - MIA

Enables the holder to instruct all elements of rock climbing and mountaineering in summer conditions anywhere in the UK.

Mountaineering Instructor Certificate - MIC

Covers the same remit as the MIA but also enables the holder to instruct all elements of snow and ice climbing and winter mountaineering anywhere in the UK.

For more information about the UK Awards please visit Mountain Leader Training UK at www.mltuk.org or this useful article on the British Mountaineering Council Website at www.thebmc.co.uk/safety.htm.

International awards

International Mountain Leader - IML

Enables the holder to lead walking groups in non-glacial terrain throughout the world.

International Mountain Guide

The highest available award. Enables the holder to cover all elements of climbing, mountaineering and off-piste skiing and ski touring, in all types of terrain including glacial, worldwide.

Professional Organisations

Association Mountaineering Instructors - AMI. (www.ami.org.uk)

The representative body for professionally qualified Mountaineering Instructors (MIA’s and MIC’s) in the British Isles. Membership is voluntary so not all qualified MIA’s and MIC’s are members of AMI.

British Mountain Guides - BMG. (www.bmg.org.uk)

Formed in 1975 as an autonomous body to develop and enhance the training, skills and reputation of the increasing number of skilled mountaineers who wished to qualify as guides and follow this profession in the world's mountains. All British Guides who have successfully completed all elements of training and assessment become full members of BMG.

International Federation of Mountain Guide Associations - IFMGA (www.ifmga.info/en/)

The International federation of member countries who agree to adopt the same high standards of training assessment and delivery of guiding services. The BMG is a full member of the IFMGA. Previously known as the UIAGM.