" Just wanted to thank you and the team for a fantastic week. Guy was excellent, I learnt a lot during the week and his style and tailoring of the course to meet our abilities and desires was spot on. Above all I really enjoyed the week, which is what it's all about. " JS Feb '05
The ideal course both for beginners and those keen to brush up on winter skills for hill walking and graded winter climbs. During our Scottish Winter Mountaineering course we teach all the skills necessary to travel safely through UK mountains in winter, focusing on giving you the confidence to venture out independently.
Each week is tailored to your personal requirements - so we can concentrate on navigation skills for winter hillwalking for instance, or practice lead skills if you are more of a climber etc. We run this course at a maximum ratio of 4:1 which is optimum for covering the various teaching areas, including ascents of classic snow gullies - but for those keen to push the grade, we suggest a maximum ratio of 2:1 or 3:1 in order progress onto steeper buttress climbs and ice routes up to grade II/III where the use of 2 tools may be required.(see: winter mountaineering photos, more scotland photos)
Sample Itinerary Subject to weather and conditions, we follow the general format below:
Day 1
Mon
AM meet in Fort William - discuss plans, kit check and sort equipment before heading on the hill for a day of:
Ice axe and crampon training
Ice axe self arrest drills
A short climb or summit
Further skills training as appropriate
Days 2-5
Tue - Fri
Ascents of classic winter munros, gullies and buttresses. Skills training to include:
winter navigation
weather and conditions
avalanche avoidance
emergency shelters
ropework
moving together
winter belays etc
Every day includes a genuine mountaineering objective, to allow you to practice new found skills for real under expert guidance.
Fri PM - course debrief and advice for the future.
Fitness As with most mountain activities, scottish winter mountaineering can be hard work (see fitness levels 2+3) so we advise you to prepare well in advance with regular cardiovascular exercise, as each day on the hill can involve 6-8 hours carrying a 10kg rucsac in mountain terrain (keeping this up for 5 days straight requires some background fitness!)
Experience Good basic fitness but no previous winter experience is neccesary. Some rope work or belay skills are useful if you aspire to climb at the higher grades. (see: scottish course suitability)
EquipmentWe will supply you with a full kit list. All communal safety equipment (ropes etc) is provided by us. You are responsible for bringing all personal clothing and equipment. For the more specialist items including crampons, ice axe, harness, helmet, boots - local hire is available. Good mountain boots are also essential (local hire available).
