Sionnach - Mountain Pursuit Challenge

Sionnachs and MPC’s are adventures for Scouts that take place in the wild places of Ireland. Both follow a similar format, with 20 teams of Scouts and one Scouter participating in weekend long expeditions in mountain locations all around the island of Ireland. The events are staffed by teams of Scouters with a great deal of experience in hillwalking and mountaineering who provide safety checkpoints along the length of the route covered by the teams. Events start on Friday evening and teams usually hike a couple of km’s to arrive in a wild camp location in the dark. On Saturday a route is hiked through the mountains to reach a second wild camp location in the late afternoon. Teams complete the event on Sunday morning by hiking back to the start point.

The structure of the events differ slightly in that Sionnach Adventures tend to have shorter hike routes and involve training sessions at checkpoints, while MPC’s have slightly longer routes and involve only navigation checks at checkpoints. While the events cater for just 4 Scouts from a Troop, they are seen as a focal point for a hillwalking and lightweight camping programme which can involve the whole Scout Troop.

For many Troops that take part in these events they are seen as a testing ground for skills developed in that programme. Three Sionnachs take place in the Autumn each year, while four MPC’s take place each year, one in each province with two taking place in the Autumn and two taking place in the Spring.