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Junior Mountaineers

With our Junior Mountaineers group, we want to give kids in Accra the opportunity to be active and learn about outdoor living and hiking.

We teach the children various skills for living outside – fire skills, shelter building, water purification, first aid – etc. –  and we take them on hikes and adventures outside Accra.

They enjoy the opportunity to be out and to explore, to be active and to meet friends and other children. 

Our aim is to show them the beauty of nature and make them value the need to protect the environment. And – almost as a side effect – they learn to watch out for each other and to take care of each other.

The Junior Mountaineers are truly our pride and joy.

Organisation

The activities for the Junior Mountaineers are organized in semesters and based on the school year. One semester runs from September to January, the other semester runs from February to June.

Each semester we have four hikes and one camping weekend. The camping weekend in the dry season is deep in the bush, but in the rainy season, we usually stay close to a guest house or other kind of shelter.

The activities are mostly on Saturdays and we usually meet once a month. 

For the hikes, we usually meet at 05:45 at our meeting point in Accra and then drive by bus to the hiking destination. Normally we are back in Accra at 15:00. During the hike, the Juniors will prepare a simple lunch on an open fire.

Skills Training

Each skills training starts with a short warm-up and sports session.

We then introduce the Juniors to various outdoor topics and survival skills like

  • equipment basics
  • fire skills
  • shelter building
  • water purification
  • maps & compass skills
  • basic knot
  • etc.

Each skills training includes one First Aid topic.

Junior Hikes

When hiking with the Junior Mountaineers we have a guide ratio of max. 1:8. Depending on the destination, the Juniors are sometimes split into age groups and the older mountaineers hike a more difficult or longer route, while the younger ones hike at a slower pace or shorter distance to the meeting point. In any case, we make sure that the youngest ones are not overloaded and can still enjoy the activity.

Once we meet up, we practice the skills learned and build shelter, cook food, do some first aid exercises, or simply explore the surroundings.

Around noon it is usually time to return to the buses and head back to Accra.

Camping

Time to prove your skills and absolutely the greatest adventure for the Junior Mountaineers.

We head out in groups and hike to the campsite. Once the camp is set-up, we cook on an open fire and after dinner and some ghost stories, we go for night hikes. The next morning, breakfast from open fire (tastes just fantastic).

Or we drive to the campsite and climb one of the higher mountains of Ghana: Afadjato, Adaklu, Gemi, and many more are on the list.

Certainly, a great way to end the semester.

Registration

Age range

8 – 12 years

Registration dry season semester

01st – 31st August

Registration rainy season semester

01st – 31st January

To register, download and fill out the registration form and send it with the semester fee to 

jmc@ghana-mountaineers.com

Junior Mountaineer Rules

  • Always listen and follow instructions from the guides.  
  • We start as a team, work and hike as a team, and return as a team.
  • Watch over each other and take care of each other.
  • Do not leave the group without informing a guide.
  • Do not make fire without permission from a guide.
  • Do not walk with open knives.
  • No fighting.
  • Do not eat or drink anything you find in the bush.
  • Talk to a guide if you do not feel well.
  • No fire in the tents. No open knives in the tents.
  • Always listen and follow instructions from the guides