New Hiking Leaders

	New Hiking Leaders

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Hike Leadership Workshop

Upcoming Leader workshops in 2010:

March 18
April 22
May 18

All Hike Leadership Workshops are held from 7-9 PM

at the mountaineer clubhouse in Magnesson Park

7700 Sand Point Way NE
Seattle, WA 98115

If you haven't been to the clubhouse, highly recommend you mapquest or check clubhouse website for directions. It's a big park!

The Mountaineers Hiking Group is always looking for new leaders. If you have the following skills or would like to develop these skills, you may be interested in becoming a Hiking Leader for the Mountaineers:

· Enthusiasm for hiking and sharing the experience with others

· Personal preparation and good judgment

· Group awareness

· Knowledge of and adherence to Mountaineers principles

· Ability to make decisions

· Willingness to accept responsibility for decisions

· Concern for safety appropriate to the nature of the activity

· Knowledge of hiking and wilderness skills

In general, an aspiring leader must be at least 18 years old, be a member of the Mountaineers, attend the Hike Leadership Workshop, co-lead one mentored hike, and be approved by the Hiking Committee. It is also recommended, but not required, that all hiking leaders have at least basic knowledge of navigation and first aid. The Basic Navigation Course is offered by the Navigation Committee several times each year. Mountaineer Oriented First Aid (MOFA) is offered by the First Aid Committee several times a year.

The Hike Leadership program has 3 components.

1. The Hiking Leaders Guide. This guide was written to introduce new hiking leaders to the policies and procedures associated with leading Mountaineer hikes. It also contains a good deal of practical information on leading outdoor activities. A copy of the guide is given to everyone attending the Leadership Workshop, or download the PDF version .

2. The Hike Leadership Workshop. Every aspiring new leader must attend a Hike Leadership Workshop. The workshop emphasizes the practical aspects of leading: signing up to lead hikes, what to do about unprepared hikers, scouting the trail, emergency procedures, etc. Hiking Leadership Workshops are held throughout the year (see schedule at the top of this page).

3. Mentored hikes . Every new leader must go on a minimum of one mentored hike with an established leader before they can be added to the hike leader's list and lead hikes on their own. The purpose of these mentoring trips is twofold. First, it will give the new leader first-hand experience with a typical group of mountaineer hikers and give the new leader a chance to learn from our best leaders. Second, it gives the Hiking Committee a chance to examine the effectiveness of the Leadership Workshop by having our best hiking leaders evaluate the skills and knowledge of our new leaders.

There is no advance sign up required for Hiking Leadership Workshops – just show up if you are interested!

Revised: 6/6/10