Behind the Scenes: Filming the Scrambling Course in North Wales

Creating our new Scrambling Course for Mountain Skills Online meant heading into one of the best natural classrooms in the UK — the mountains of North Wales. With its rugged ridges, exposed terrain, and endless variety of routes, it provided the perfect backdrop for demonstrating the skills, techniques, and decision-making that make scrambling such a rewarding mountain activity.

Working alongside experienced instructors Dave Rudkin and Libby Peters, our aim was to create a course that went beyond simply explaining techniques. We wanted to capture scrambling as it really happens — in the mountains, on real terrain, and in the environments where these skills are needed.

Filming in the mountains always brings its own challenges, and scrambling terrain adds another level of complexity. Many of the locations we chose involved steep ground, exposed sections, and technical terrain where safety had to come first. In some situations, we needed to rope up to ensure that the filming process could be carried out safely. This allowed us to capture authentic examples of movement, protection, and decision-making without compromising on good mountain practice.

One of the biggest challenges was finding ways to film the less obvious but equally important parts of scrambling — things like route choice, assessing terrain, and making decisions about the safest way through a section. These are skills that experienced mountain users often do instinctively, but capturing them clearly on camera required careful thought and planning.

As always in North Wales, the weather played a major role. We faced strong winds, changing conditions, and days where the forecast and reality didn’t quite match up. There were times when we had to turn back and rethink our plans, making sure that we only filmed content in conditions that reflected the kind of environments people should realistically be attempting themselves.

That process was actually a valuable part of creating the course. Scrambling is not just about moving over rocky ground — it’s about understanding the environment, managing risk, adapting to conditions, and knowing when to continue and when to make a different decision.

Despite the challenges, it was a fantastic experience working with Dave and Libby to bring this course together. Their knowledge, experience, and passion for the mountains helped shape a course that we hope will give people the confidence to explore scrambling safely and enjoyably.

From exposed ridges to rocky steps and everything in between, we’re excited to share the finished course and help more people develop the skills to get the most from their time in the mountains.