A Quality Mountain Day
As part of their training and their continuous professional development after qualification Mountain Leaders in the UK are required to complete and log a certain number of quality mountain days ("QMD") a year. What makes a QMD? Mountain Training who are responsible for ensuring that mountain leaders are properly qualified and experienced basically defines a QMD as a day in one of the mountainous areas of the UK that lasts at least 5 hours, takes in a top, includes some off path walking and includes elements of navigation skills. So it was that me and my friend Dan set off from Capel Curig on 9 September 2023 aiming to bag a QMD on Moel Siabod following the route shown above. This blog gives a summary of the day and I will leave it to you to decide whether Mountain Training would consider it a QMD. This blog will also give you a flavour of what a day's guided walking with Open Gates might be like - except for the emergency rope work bit! The first 2km of the route was on m