Scotland
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" Just a quick note to say thanks to Rich for a great weekend on the Scottish winter skills course - I really enjoyed the route on the Ben and it has given me confidence for my up coming trekking trip to Nepal " KF Winter Skills Feb '05 Scotland's unique landscape and history of winter mountaineering make for an ideal place to learn the art of snow and ice climbing. Whether you seek new skills for winter hill walking, or have a hankering after the extreme - our expert and patient guiding team are on hand to fulfill your ambitions. (see - scottish winter climbing photos) Our Scottish winter mountaineering courses are based in the Highland centre of Fort William, under the shadow of Ben Nevis. This central location allows full access to shops and services during the week and the best choice of climbing venues each day (we regularly visit both the East and West coasts depending on conditions). From February through to mid March (the most reliable climbing season) we offer tailor made 2 and 5 day itineraries, plus private guiding. PLEASE NOTE: All Scottish winter courses are booked on a tailor made basis, as per private guiding rates and conditions, so you are assured of your own private guide at all times. If you would like to book a single place on a winter climbing course - we suggest you check out our excellent La Grave Ice Weeks across in France. Scottish Winter Course Suitability To help you select an appropriate trip, the table below shows fitness and experience levels needed for our various scottish winter mountaineering courses. We suggest you a look at what's on offer, then contact us if you have furthur questions or queries about particular itineraries, or whether you've got the neccesary experience - as a quick chat with one of our team will help confirm if it's the right one for you. Important: Please remember, you need both the required fitness level and mountain experience level in order to enjoy a particular course - as our guides have to judge your abilities before embarking on any serious ascent (current weather and mountain conditions are also taken into account). If they decide that a particular objective should not be attempted, then a good alternative will always be offered. (If your fitness or skills are in doubt however, we may have to exclude you from certain activities. It is very unusual for us to do this, but it can occur if you are not realistic about your current experience or fitness levels - or you do not prepare sufficiently beforehand.) Food and Accommodation We run all of our courses on a guiding & instruction only basis to allow you maximum flexibility with accomodation options. ie you must arrange this locally as they are not included in the course fee. Details for local accommodation options are included in your joining instructions - however, suggested examples to cater for different budgets include: the comfortable Alexandra Hotel in the middle town (with a good on site restaurant and range of en suite rooms) and the clean and tidy Bank Street Lodge (with a range of twin + family rooms as well as good value dormitory accommodation). Travel Fort William has rail links and regular buses from Glasgow and Inverness, both of which are served by rail and air. By road it lies on the A82, 2 hours North of Glasgow and 1 1/2 hours SW of Inverness. Like like most British mountaineers, we too first cut our teeth in the Scottish hills. Driving up each weekend in overloaded cars or standing at the roadside on Friday nights thumbing for a lift. The adventures we had and the lessons we learned in those early days continue to stand us in good stead on trips throughout the globe and still we climb in Scotland every year. Our guides are all leading activists in the sport and feature frequently in the climbing press - all have lead Grade 8 and made major first ascents in Scotland. Their total enthusiasm for the sport is our greatest asset. |
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Our Scottish Climbing Background
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