Program Summary

If it's your first visit to the brochure, we suggest you take a look at the overview page for the activity you are interested in before exploring the individual courses. Each description includes a sample itinerary, typical grades and the fitness and experience levels required.

Note:  Private Guiding is available in any activity to any standard, by arrangement.

What Should I Do Next?

This is a question we hear very often! Below we've noted down a few common scenarios, together with personal recomendations from our guides. If you don't see yourself in any of the descriptions below, then get in touch for a chat - that's what we're here for!

• "I really enjoy climbing in the Alps, but because of my current job/home commitments I invariably struggle to get fit enough for the bigger days out. Which trips offer most good quality technical climbing without too much slogging!"

In the summer: big alpine rock routes are the way forward - the southern French Alps, Chamonix, central Switzerland, the Bregaglia in Eastern Switzerland and the Dolomites in Italy are all areas with huge amounts of stunning rock and great huts and valley bases to stay in.

For snow and ice: try ice fall climbing in the winter. La Grave, Cogne, Chamonix, Kandersteg and many other venues around the Alps offer a huge variety of reliable ice climbing. If you want a truly unique adventure, then try Canada or the Lofoten Islands.

• "I've done a winter course in Scotland and really enjoyed the ice climbing. What's the best way to do some more - another Scottish course, a summer alpine course, or an icefall climbing week?"

For purely getting more ice climbing done, an ice fall week wins every time - as the walk ins are much shorter and the conditions more reliable. If you enjoy reaching summits and big mountain days however, then Scotland and the Alps offer the mountaineering dimension that you may also be looking for.

• "What's the best bet for doing some good climbing in the autumn?"

Rock climbing is your best bet. For a weekend hit, North Wales or Pembroke take some beating and for a week long trip, Sardinia is brilliant.

• "I fancy going on an expedition - any suggestions?"

First off - do a couple of alpine trips before thinking about climbing in the Greater Ranges. We are well aware that big expedition companies don't say this - but to climb in alpine style (as we do on all our trips) you really need this experience and crucially, you also need to know how quickly you acclimatise before embarking on a high altitude trip to a remote part of the world.

In our experience, the most enjoyable and productive places to visit are Peru, Nepal and India. We run bespoke trips to all these areas, both for the regular intineraries on our website as well as new routes and unclimbed peaks (we don't publish a lot of this info on line - so get in touch if you want to find out more!)

If you've climbed in the Alps and know you don't acclimatise especially quickly, then we recommmend you go on an expedition to Greenland, which doesn't have altitude issues and is also an amazing (and super reliable) place to go climbing.