Make a Mini-Mountaineer.
- Nick Stone: Hill Skills
- Dec 9, 2021
- 7 min read
Updated: Dec 17, 2021
Tips for getting kids to the top of a mountain - which, if done in the right way could be the start of a lifetime of adventure. What a thought.
Lets make a Mini-Mountaineer!
Q. What is a mountaineer? A. Someone who climbs mountains.
Q. What is a mountain? A. A large natural elevation of the earth's surface rising abruptly from the surrounding level.
In my view then, taking a little one up any of the mountains mentioned below, or any other, will make them a mountaineer. That's actually official (see paragraph above). How exciting!
Below are a couple of mountains I believe are a good starting point - achievable with a young family. I'll discuss the hills in question, and give an outline of the walks, but these are not detailed, step-by-step route descriptions designed to get you up and down. For that you'll need your own knowledge and judgement - or the help of a suitably qualified professional!
We'll look here at how to engage the trainee explorers, and keep spirits high while on the hill - soft skills and small tips that will help on any hill walk. We're not dragging anyone anywhere, that way lies trouble - this is a team effort and the more everyone is involved the better, something that needs to be considered even before you bundle the little blighters into the back of the car!
Get them excited!
The introduction talks about mountains and mountaineers, and this is how you should sell the idea. You're not going for a walk in the countryside, or even up a hill - how boring! No, you guys are climbing a mountain, all the way to the summit (sounds better than top), which will make you actual mountaineers! It's all about building some psyche and anticipation.
There will quite possibly be some cajoling needed later on in the walk, but if you set the day up as a big deal, and start with an enthusiastic summit team (that's what you will be on the day) then you may get further along the route before the real encouraging needs to start!
Kids like numbers and stats; Once you've decided on your objective, tell them all about the mountain. This will help build up the excitement, but you may also find they remember this stuff!
How high is it? Hint - 1500ft sounds higher than 457metres - Make a big deal of this, and compare that to other things like buildings or buses stacked up. For example, a double decker bus is 4.3m high, so Wansfell Pike is 113 buses high! Get them to name something really high or tall, and do the sums on whatever they come back with - 267 giraffes or whatever.
As with anything, they need to feel like they are doing something out of the ordinary and special, which by the way, they are.
So go heavy on the build up, and make it seem like it will be a massive achievement - they'll be waking you up on summit day, raring to go!
On the day
One of the best things about climbing mountains for me is all the stuff. I have a whole room in the house dedicated to mountain kit - well ok half a room, the rest is full of the laundry and an old chair, and some seed trays for the garden that have been there a year. The point is, we grown ups love our kit, and so will little walkers. If you get them a mountain hat, or gloves, or boots, or a little mountain rucksack, they will buy-in to the day that little bit more, it will make them feel part of something bigger, and add to the excitement of it all. For example, no matter how slow my lad goes at the end of the day some times, he'll never hand over his pack, it's part of his day in the hills and he feels like a hero carrying it all day!
Another tip here is to take trekking poles. These can be shortened to fit any child, and will be something novel for them to wonder along with for a bit, even if it doesn't really assist them. Make sure you have the same number of poles as children though - or an argument will no doubt ensue!
Don't rush everyone along too much. Yes, you need to keep moving and you need to get back to the car before dark, but these first walks are best done in summer with loads of time available, so just relax a bit. If you stride off out the front and tell our newbie hikers to hurry up every five minutes, they'll pretty soon get fed up and turn. Once they've turned on the side of a mountain, believe me, its game over!
Take plenty of food and treats. As well as a decent packed lunch, make sure you have some chocolate or sweets in your pockets, this saves faffing around with your pack every time they need a little pick-me-up. If things get a bit slow, especially on the return to the valley, a good trick is to offer a sweet every 200meters or, every 10 minutes or something, just to keep moving.
A water bladder with a hose is also good for drinks - if you squeeze the end it will squirt out, meaning they'll keep hydrated as its a bit of fun firing the water into their mouths - these little things add up.
A few games can get you out of trouble if moral slumps! This will depend on the ages in the team, but if you have a spell where they look like their heads are dropping, a simple word game can get you over the ridge, or down to the stile, without anyone really noticing. 20 questions works - i.e. someone thinks of a person, place, animal, mountain, anything really, and the others ask questions to which the person can only answer yes or no. Who ever guesses right has the next turn. I spy - absolute bloody classic! We also have a set of cards with descriptive words on, such "sticky" "bendy" "spikey" "red" "tiny" etc. The cards get given out one at a time and the kids run off to find something that suits the card. Watch out for handfuls of sheep poo being offered up to you though!
Make them the leader. When the terrain is appropriate you can send the kids out in front, maybe put a cap on them and call them "expedition leader" for a bit? They'll love the fact that everyone else is following them up a mountain. When you get to a fork in the path, let them decide which way to go (as long as they decide the right way, of course). You can take this one step further if you come to a slightly rocky step or a little scramble section, by having them "help daddy over this tricky bit".
The mountains
Now we now how to deal with the little ones, lets look at where to go. Below are a few ideas, but once you have a couple of trips behind you, you'll be much better placed to judge what is appropriate.
These walks, and the rest of the advice in the blog assume that you are heading out on a fine day in summer with plenty of daylight hours, and the group is suitably equipped. If you're not sure what that really means, look out for future blogs, or seek some further advice from someone in the know - like a Mountain Leader, for example.
1. Sugar Loaf
The black mountains are really accessible, generally quieter than the Lake District and Snowdonia (if you avoid Pen-y-Fan that is) and a great place to start the kids off as Mini Mountaineers - especially if you're a southern softy like me and don't want a big drive north.
5km
3-4 hours (depending on group)
596m elevation (or 5 football pitches and 1 Big Ben)
Sugar loaf looks like a mountain. Its a pointy little number from a distance, but a straightforward walk underfoot.
Paths are obvious on the route shown here, but plenty of other routes are possible - this is about the shortest way up.
Map required is OL13.
Other potential first trips nearby include;
The Skirrid
Hay Bluff
Crug Maer
2. Silver How
The central Lakes has a few good options for family walks, with Silver How right up there for the best options involving an actual summit. Grasmere is busy at peak times, but has plenty of parking on all but the most busy days.
This route heads out of town through the grounds of Allan bank, former home to both Wordsworth and Coleridge.
Then head on to the fell following some lovely outgate stone wall systems, before heading through the beautiful juniper trees towards Wray Gill. This is crossed, and the route meanders uphill passing many potential resting spots among the knolls and small crags around Brigstone moss.
The route up is great, quite a pull for little legs, but things ease up as you get higher. The summit area is a great place to explore and let the kids have a scramble practice if the weather is on side.
The stats
6km
4-5 hours (depending on group)
395m elevation (or 7.7 Nelson's Columns)
After the summit is visited and the views admired, there are a few options to get back down. A visit to the pools west of the summit is worthwhile, as is the descent around the back of Lang How.
Map required is OL6 & OL7
Other similar expeditions include;
Loughrigg Fell
Wansfell Pike
Rannerdale knotts
What next?
Assuming things went well, you'll need to build on this success if you want it to be a regular thing. As with anything you want the kids to engage with, praise is really important. Make sure you get a summit photo, and maybe frame it and hang it somewhere - or send it to the grandparents. Make them proud of their achievements and they'll be up for more of the same.
A list is a really good idea too, we all love ticking off hills, so why would it be different for them - there are loads of maps available of the Lakes and other areas with boxes you can fill in once a mountain has been conquered. Before long they'll be coming to you with a wish list of objectives!
There are also companies now producing cool little badges with great designs for each of the more popular hills. You can sew these onto a hat or a pack. These would be good to start to collecting.
So, there are a few things to think about if you want to get out in the hills with the kids. I've done it countless times and its honestly a great day more often than not.
No matter what age we are, the pressures of modern life are real, and one sure fire way to forget all this and reconnect with reality is to climb to the top of a mountain.
Go and do it.
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