The purpose of this guide is to make the leader/co-ordinator role more clearly defined and thus easier to undertake. As a result it is hoped to improve the standard of coordination/leadership of CUTC trips. It incorporates CUTC procedures and policies where appropriate.
The New Zealand Mountain Safety Council, Mountain Safety Manual 31, Bushcraft: Outdoor Skills for the NZ Bush, 3rd edition, 1995 is a valuable complimentary read. It is available for loan from the CUTC gearlocker, or buy it from Outdoor retailers or the Federated Mountain Clubs (FMC).
On trips when many people are going away things like the cost of the trip, organisation of transport , and printing of information for the trip participants may have been arranged by the Trips Officer.
BEFORE MEETING
If you know that you will be leading a trip prior to the meeting then attempt to do the following: (If you don’t find out before the meeting that you will be a leader, the Trips Officer and Safety Officer should be able to provide most this information for you.)
Know your own limitations
If a leader extends themselves too much on a trip their role as a leader may be compromised. Once someone told Rob Hall that they were thinking of guiding on Everest without O2 - Hall said "You’ve got a climber’s hat and a guide’s hat - don’t get them mixed up."
Find information about the route
Know your route and possible alternatives-LOOK AT THE MAP. The gearlocker has 1:50,000 maps for most South Island areas. These have been lightly laminated and can be taken on club trips (or hired for private trips). There are also some planning maps that are covered with a heavy lamination. Find any information you can from route guides and from other trampers. The Trips Officer will have various route guides. Find out as much as you can about the terrain and the current conditions (ie is the track open, are huts still there, where are rivers crossable, do you need permission to cross private land). Talk to the Trips Officer and the relevant DoC field centre.
Find out what the weather is up to
Ring the Press Info Line for a long range forecast Ph 366 6644.
Look in the paper - in the Main Library.
Listen to National Radio for a long range forecast at 12.30 pm.
Identify hazards and possible consequences
The route information and weather information will contribute to the identification of
hazards. Hazards may include:
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Identify the equipment/medication, experience of the people, trip plan options necessary to keep risk at reasonable levels
The people, their equipment and the conditions affect the risks. Assess the equipment you need, helmets? ice axes and crampons? Mountain radio? Water Filter? How many people are you prepared to take and how much experience do you require them to have? For Mountain Radios contact the Mountain Radio Service Inc, Ph 366 5241 or 352 4472.
Establish the cost of the trip with the Trips Officer or Treasurer
Contact the Gear Locker Officer to book equipment
Write up information about the trip for the participants
Do this if you have time. Check that the Trips Officer has not already done so.
Information could include:
DURING MEETING
Obtain a copy of the relevant map from the Trips Officer or Gear Locker Officer. After the main activity for the meeting, ie slide show, instruction etc, the Trips Officer will tell people what trips are going and their grades, and where to meet with the leader.
Have the map laid out and when people approach show them where the trip is going. Discuss the difficulty of the trip, the cost (including probable camping and hut fees) and any specific skills they need (eg must have been on a snowcraft course). This will allow people to make a rough assessment of their suitability for the trip.
The more difficult the trip the more carefully you will need to assess the suitability of people for the trip. To assess someone’s suitability you may need to know their:
Then ask yourself, will this person cope and enjoy this trip without compromising the others’ enjoyment and safety? If the answer is no then you must either explain that the trip is not suitable and the person can't come, or change the trip.
Trip form
Get the participants to fill out the trip form available from the Trips Officer. Point out that medical conditions such as asthma, allergies, haemophilia, ankles prone to spraining, etc should be known to the leader. If they don’t want to write down their conditions on the form they should tell the leader in private. If you as the Leader have any medical conditions make sure at least one person in your group knows about it.
While the form is being filled in organise the following:
Transport
Use members’ cars or hired transport. Make sure that everyone knows the transport arrangements. No transport, no trip. The Safety Officer should give the drivers a CUTC Drivers Guide.
Party Gear
Group gear for club trips from the gear locker has no hire charge. Group gear may
include:
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Food
Vegetarian or not? Gourmet?
Plan the menu. Evening meals should all be communal
Stress the importance of lots of high energy food.
Arrange who will buy what for the evening meal.
Personal gear
Personal gear hired from the gear locker will have a deposit plus hire charge. Direct people to this website, their first newsletter, mountain safety (www.mountainsafety.org.nz), or a senior member for a guide to what they will require.
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Information
Arrange the time and place of leaving and expected time of return.
Make sure all members know the base contact name and phone number.
Give everyone your name and number in case they need to contact you.
Reinforce that payment of hut and camping fees is their own responsibility.
Discuss hazards and how they will be managed. (Be realistic but try not to frighten people. Stress that the trip plan will be adapted to the conditions and how people are feeling at the time.)
Tear the trip form into its 2 sections.
Payment
Write the cost of the trip on the Treasurers section and give it to the Treasurer.
You can now direct the participants to pay the Treasurer. Don’t forget to pay yourself.
Base contact
Fill out the route description in the base contact section and give this to the Trips Officer to pass on to the Base Contact.
Information for the Leader
Keep the leader’s section for yourself!
Gear Locker
Help participants to get gear from the gear locker. Remember to get out the group gear - or arrange to do it on Friday night.
Common problems:
People don’t know if they want to/can come or not
This can cause big problems in organising transport (and making sure it is economical), group gear and food. If it suits you arrange for them to contact you as soon as they know whether they can come. If you can’t be bothered with the hassle tell them to make up their mind at the meeting. Not being sure if they will finish their essay in time is not a good excuse.
People haven’t brought any money to pay for the trip
Sometimes this means they haven’t made up their mind whether to come or not. If they are adamant that they will come then arrange for them to pay before the trip leaves.
People want to know if they can be refunded their money if they discover they cannot come
Get 75% to 100% back provided they contact the leader or Trips Officer asap (ie before the trip leaves!). Decided by Treasurer, Trips Officer and Club Captain.
People want to know if they have to be a member of the club to attend the trip
Only in exceptional circumstances can a non member attend a club trip. Examples might be that no transport is available unless a nonmember with a car comes on the trip, or dependants of the leader. Issues are the use of club group gear free of charge, club not having emergency contacts for the members, nonmembers not receiving advice from the yellow card, etc. Some events such as bushball may be open to non members. Participants in instruction courses (excluding instructors) MUST be CUTC members as they are usually subsidised.
People don’t have the relevant clothing or equipment
The gear locker has useful stuff. Point out the existence of outdoor retail shops. Many people manage to beg or borrow gear from friends and family.
Be aware of weather prospects.
Be aware of current and expected conditions , eg snow, river levels etc
Check car drivers know where to go.
Make sure that all party gear and food has been obtained.
Leave intentions with:
Include: name and phone number, planned route and possible variations, expected time of return.
The leader’s responsibility is to facilitate/ensure that the group achieves its objectives.
The objectives are likely to include:
The objectives may change during the trip. Sometimes one objective will have to be altered due to another. (eg getting from A to B, due to safety concerns).
It is also the Leader’s responsibility to follow the club procedures to aid the smooth running of the club.
Decision making and communication
To fulfil the above responsibilities the leader must make sure that relevant decisions are made. Everyone should be informed as to what the decisions are. Involve the whole group in as many decisions as possible.
At the start of the trip
Make the group aware of their surroundings.
Make sure everyone knows each other’s name.
Ensure that each person’s pack weight is appropriate for their strength, fitness and how they are feeling. Be prepared to adjust this throughout the day. (Women who have their period or are ovulating may have significantly less energy than normal.)
Check that packs are adjusted to fit well.
Be aware of the people in your group
Be watching for:
Use your observation skills and be as approachable as possible. Do not assume that problems will be obvious.
Be aware of your route situation.
Assess the group's speed in relation to the trip plan, and the time of day. Are conditions and the group’s speed as expected? If not then you may need to change your route. Do you expect the rest of the route will be as expected? Be flexible.
Remember:
Weather
Be aware of the weather. Be constantly evaluating any changes in the weather and how fast it is changing. Be aware of the wind direction and speed.
Do the weather conditions pose any problems?
How long do you expect the present conditions to last and could any changes cause a problem? Be extra certain to make sure you are prepared for weather changes on daytrips.
Pace Setting
Set a steady pace. The pace should suit the slowest members of the party, with consideration given to the time needed to get the next destination. Remember rough or tricky ground can slow people down considerably especially if not experienced or confident.
Allow time for rests. Regular rests are important for morale and to keep people from becoming exhausted. Stops to change clothing are important to stop over heating and getting too cold. Rests may need to be enforced by the leader, people who need rests often won't decide for themselves. A stop to eat and drink should occur at least every hour. Try to rest in safe and sheltered places.
If travelling on rough or scary ground in cold/wet/windy conditions people can get tired faster and rests are more important.
Make sure that people are consuming sufficient food and drink during the day, especially if conditions are bad.
Make sure you get the group up and moving early enough in the morning to realistically get to your destination before dark.
Keep the group together
Make sure that the same person is not always at the back, since this can be very demoralising for that person. You may have to put someone slow in the lead to help keep the group together.
Make sure that you are in communication with the people at the front. It is totally useless having people ahead finding the way if you can’t see them or speak to them.
If it is decided to split the group ensure that a competent leader is delegated for each group and everyone knows who this is and what is planned
Resolve any group conflict in an open and amicable way.
INSTRUCTION
Navigation
Pass the map around to everyone and point out what features you can see. Involve the whole group in route finding decisions. If you make a decision for the group then explain why.
Weather
Make the people in the group evaluate the weather during the day and discuss your interpretation of the situation.
General skills
If any special skills are required, such as rivercrossing or choosing a campsite, teach as much as you can about what you are doing and encourage feedback.
Encourage the whole group to take part in and learn about general skills such as primus use/fire lighting or pitching tent.
Practise any skills that are appropriate if there is the time and enthusiasm.
Conservation
Encourage the minimum impact code. This is on the Yellow card.
History/General Knowledge/Issues
Any information about the area may be of interest to the group members.
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AT END OF TRIP
TROG
Delegate the honour of writing a report for TROG. Encourage people who have taken photos to show them to the TROG editors for including in TROG.
Group Gear
Arrange for all club group gear to be returned to the gear locker, by the next meeting. Make sure you know who has what gear. Tents and flys should be dried out first. Any damage to gear should be pointed out to the Gear Locker Officer.
Contact the Base Contact
Ensure you contact the Base Contact when you get home.
Debrief
Talk about any problems that occurred and also about the high points of the trip. Get the members to give you an evaluation of how they felt about your performance as leader. It is up to you to get honest answers from them. A suggested way is to get everyone to say something good and also something that you can improve on.
Self assessment
Ask yourself how you could have improved your performance as leader. Do you agree with what everyone said about you?
Assessment of members.
If there are any concerns about group members or if there are any potential leaders in the group discuss this with the Safety Officer.