Several members of Ormskirk Scouts, including two Explorer Scouts, were on the International Trip to the Italian Alps (the Dolomites) this Summer.

Run over two weeks, the participants enjoyed climbing at single pitch and multi pitch venues on fantastic rock, took part in mountaineering trips around the area and experienced the rather mad (but REALLY fun) sport of Via Ferrata.

One of the members of Ormkirk Network (Matt Forshaw) managed to notch up over 50 pitches of climbing in the trip, and instructued novice climbers on most of these.  It has been a heartening experience to see how young members learn new skills, put them into practise and then get permits and qualifications to take younger members out themselves.

 Six of the members from Ormskirk managed to summit Marmolada – the highest peak in the Dolomites, by several routes involving Via Ferrata and Glacier crossings. 

The trip was run by West Lancs Scouts Mountaineering Group, a collection of people dedicated to offering all aspects of mountaineering (including walking and climbing) to Scouters throughout the County.  Past events have included two trips to Greenland (http://greenland.westlancashirescouts.org.uk ), Norway, the Swiss Alps and many places besides.  The group also run the Snow and Ice scheme each year, and two climbing meets.  These are open to any member of the County aged over 14, and full details are on http://mountain.westlancashirescouts.org.uk