Top tips: consolidating for RCDI and MCI
I’ve been involved recently in helping candidates on the higher level climbing instructional schemes prepare for assessment. In the last five years the first time pass rate for MCI has been extremely low, while I don’t wish to speculate on why this is, I can offer the advice that the better prepared you are, the more likely you are to pass. As part of the debrief after your training course you are likely to have thought about which areas of the syllabus you had strengths or weaknesses in and put together an action plan. Mountain Training provide consolidation requirements before you can proceed to assessment; these however should be taken as absolute minimums and in order to succeed it is likely you will be vastly in excess of these minimums and in addition are well practised in the skills on the syllabus and have additional experiences which are much wider than these requirements. With this in mind I will now offer some suggestions for making the most of your consolidation period…
1. Go climbing - it’s easy to try and use every climbing session to practise something. While this is important remember these qualifications are based on your experience so have some days where you push yourself, go to new crags and try and just have fun!
2. Watch/work with as many different active instructors as you can - observe/shadow/assist, we all do things slightly differently and what works for me won’t necessarily work for you but it will give you ideas on developing your tone, amount of input and emphasis on different elements of teaching climbing. Ultimately wherever you are in your development curve as we so often work in isolation, it’s valuable watching other professionals do the job.
3. Consider going on refresher workshops - these are run by a variety of providers but make sure they are involved in some way in the scheme you are on (trainer/assessor/course director etc). The Association of Mountaineering Instructors has a training team which offers dedicated workshops throughout the year in the Lakes, Snowdonia and Scotland and are excellent value. In addition you may be able to access relevant CPD.
4. Consider getting a mentor - this could be informally or formally. AMI has a list of approved mentors but any qualified MCI could theoretically offer this. Decide what sort of support you would like which could vary from once a week progress chats, to formal observation of you out ‘working’ with mock clients. This is likely to incur some sort of cost but remember you are paying for the benefit and insight of their considerable experience. Do some research on their background as we all do different types of work and also have strengths and weaknesses. As this is likely to be a personal relationship, it is probably best to meet up over a coffee and discuss how and what this could be as well as deciding if this is the right person for you.
5. MCI only - go mountaineering - use your Mountain Leader to get on to easy scrambling terrain with clients, go scrambling with other trainees or friends on higher grade scrambles which require a rope and practise being safe and efficient. A trip away to an unfamiliar area especially the bigger challenges offered in Scotland by areas like Torridon, the Cuillin and Ben Nevis and Glencoe would help (you Scots come south!). Practise your navigation; remember this is the same standard of features at ML but you must be faster and more efficient in your decision making and route choice.
6. Practise your teaching - RCDI and MCI are qualifications in which you must be an exemplary leader, teacher and coach, so these skills should be practised. As an RCI you can practise many of the skills required whilst working so seek out varied work. Remember you need to work with lots of different clients too from novices to experienced. This work doesn’t (and in many cases shouldn’t) need to be with paying clients, instead recruit family and friends or club members. Your teaching needs to be structured and progressive so think about writing both a spectrum of skills a climber needs to go from novice to leading and some sample lesson plans. Reflect on any teaching you do and critique your delivery. Remember that working (with ‘real clients’) without critical feedback from a qualified observer is likely to limited in value (anyone getting it for free will be grateful and give skewed feedback) so don’t just ‘sell’ free days.
7. Be honest about your weaknesses and go and practice these skills - lots of folk only practise with one person; the job is often managing two clients so make sure you have a plan and are practised for this. Think about differentiation and individualised teaching as well as stance management. For MCI think careful about descending as well as climbing on both climbing and mountaineering ground. Time spent with other trainees can be useful but it does have potential pitfalls such as skills incorrectly practised and this not being picked up by your peers.
8. Book an assessment - a date to work toward can focus your practise but be realistic, do you have enough time with the other parts of your life to give adequate and thorough preparation. Most people will require in excess of 12 months to prep for RCDI and likely 2-5 years for MCI! It is far better for your career, your pocket and the overall time taken to take a little longer. Remember we can all make mistakes on the day but we should be aiming for a pass, deferrals cannot be completed for 3 months and the time of year (season) may have a bearing on your completion time too.
9. Regularly check your progress against the syllabus and your action plan – firstly make sure you have a realistic action plan (this might be something a mentor can help with). Both the Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor and Rock Climbing Development Instructor have good resources on the Mountain Training website (links above); these include the handbooks (syllabus) and a skills checklist which is well worth printing out so you can jot notes onto.
10. Do some reading before your assessment - think about as many different diverse subjects as you can that might offer opportunities to educate your clients; geography, geology, flora and fauna, local history, climbing history, equipment, access. This makes us more rounded and adds value to any teaching. The clients see us as experts so make sure you are!