2019 Entry test announcement for IFMGA guide’s training

IFMGA Announcement of November 2018

Entry Test for IFMGA Guides’ Training from Central and Eastern Europe February 2019

The International Federation of Mountain Guide Associations (IFMGA – UIAGM – IVBV) is organising a new entry test for the Central and Eastern European Guides’ Training Programme in Slovenia. Exact locations will be made publicly available closer to the start date. Follow the EEMGA Facebook page for latest news.

The dates for the entry test: arrival on 27 February – departure on 4 March 2019

To apply for the Entry test you need to fill in the application form below. Please note that you can only submit 1 (one) application and you must have all the information available as you will not be able to edit your application later!

APPLICATION FORM HERE: https://goo.gl/forms/Pm6Rlq4JxtNsgDUW2

Eligible for the 2019 entry test are the following individuals fulfilling all the conditions below:

1) Must be a national (passport/ID card holder) or legal resident of one of the following countries: Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey, Ukraine.

2) Must be over 18 years of age

3) Has a good command of English language. Interviews, exams and courses will be held in English language. Proficiency at the level of being able to accurately understand and follow instructions and assimilate theoretical knowledge is essential.

4) For admission to the entry test you will need to have completed and provide details regarding:

(a) general mountaineering, snow and ice: a minimum of 15 routes of which five must be of difficulty D+ and with a vertical height gain of at least 800 metres
(b) rock: a minimum of 15 routes with a vertical height gain of at least 300 metres (or at least 15 pitches), of minimum difficulty 5c (VI – UIAA) – bolted routes are not acceptable.
(c) 10 multi-pitch routes (minimum 4 pitches each) bolted or trad of grade 6a (VI) or harder.
(d) 10 steep ice climbs of grade WI4 minimum
(e) ski touring: a minimum of 25 tours, each tour having at least 1000 metres ascent. At least 10 of these days must be on glacier terrain and have at least 1400 metres elevation gain in ascent.

Remember that on all the climbs you need to have led it (single pitch routes) or shared leads (on multi-pitch routes). Routes that appear twice in the route report will be counted only once.

Other Experience: the applicant must provide any other relevant experience, for example via ferrata of difficulty degree TD/ED or K5/K6, expeditions or climbs abroad/overseas, and training undertaken in Alpine type terrain

The practical exams schedule is the following:

Wednesday 27 February: Arrival, registration, welcome address and briefing
Thursday 28 February: Ice climbing test, Mountaineering experience interview
Friday 1 March: Ski test (ascent and descent)
Saturday 2 March: Rock climbing test
Sunday 3 March: Rock climbing test, results and personal feedback
Monday 4 March: Departure in the morning

(The exact schedule may suffer modifications based on weather conditions.)

The practical tests will consist of:

– rock climbing on-sight grade 5a minimum in mountaineering boots
– rock climbing on-sight grade 6b minimum in rock shoes
– ice climbing with ice axe and 10 point crampons, using classical techniques
– steep ice grade WI4 climbing with two ice axes
– ski down and skin up on varied terrain, regardless of snow conditions and with a 10Kg rucsack
– a general ability test in mountain terrain

The entry test fee for 2019 is 150 EURO per person.

The examination fee covers exclusively the examination costs. Any personal expenses associated with but not limited to: travel, accommodation, meals, equipment, visa fees, insurance fees etc have to be organised and borne by yourself. Details about accommodation options in location will be made available closer to the date.

General information regarding the entry test and training can be found here: https://www.eemga.org/guides-training-programme/

Please follow www.eemga.org and the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/eemga.org/ for further details on this. You can ask questions about the test at admissions@eemga.org

A ski preparation course for the entry test is organised in December 2018. Bookings close end of November and limited availability! Details here: https://www.eemga.org/2018-ski-improvement-course-iv/

Those who are successful at the entry test will begin the training in September 2019 with Rock 1.

The course fees will be paid in advance of each module and not all in one payment. The total cost for the 3 years  of training (100 group training and examination days) will be around 13 000 EUR including tuition, lift/ski passes and huts (half board) but excluding personal expenses and travel to and from locations.

We (EEMGA and IFMGA) we will try to find means of co-financing a part of these expenses for the candidates through sponsorships, grants or scholarships and will inform candidates of such opportunities in due course. However each candidate should be aware that such financial support is not guaranteed for everyone and be ready to commit to support entirely from own funds the  financial burden associated with their training.