This Winter Mountaineering course looks at the skills needed for the middle ground between winter walking and winter climbing, essentially winter scrambling. Many of Scotlands mountains have steep ground, sharp ridges and deep gullies that make amazing days out and offer a little more challenge than the walking routes.
During the two days we will look at the movement skills and technical skills needed to safely travel over this more challenging terrain, equipping you to go and have your own mountaineering adventure in the future.
Winter Mountaineering Course Programme
You will meet your instructor at 9am on the first day and discuss your aspirations for the course, followed by a quick equipment check.
After this is will be two days of journeying in the winter mountains taking in as much different mountaineering terrain as is appropriate.
During the course we will look to cover the following skills:
- Personal Movement Skills on steeper mountaineering terrain (snow, rock, ice and frozen turf)
- Mountaineering rope work
- Rock Anchor selection and construction
- Snow Anchor construction
- Route choice through mountaineering terrain
- Problem solving and retreat from mountaineering routes
- Avalanche Awareness
- Winter Navigation
NB. Programme can change to suit weather
Accommodation
Badaguish – Lodges and Wigwams, a wilde variate of accommodation options just outside Aviemore.
Aviemore Youth Hostel – Well located and with a range of dorm rooms and private rooms.
Old Bridge Inn Bunkhouse – Bunkhouse in Aviemore attached to a pub!
Newtonmore Hostel – A small hotel in Newtonmore close to the shops.
Oakwood Caravan and Camping Park – A campsite on the edge of Aviemore but with in walking distance of the the shops, restaurants and pub.
Glenmore Campsite – Campsite next to Loch Morlich
There are also many Hotels, B&B’s and AirBnB’s in and around Aviemore, Kingussie and Newtonmore, in fact too many to list here!
Winter Mountaineering Course Dates
Dates by arrangement
Price and Ratio
Cost – £210 per person non residential
Ratio 1:3
Winter Mountaineering Experience
You should have experience winter walking and the use of crampons and ice axe. There is no need for any climbing experience or rope work experience.
Whilst the days are focused on coaching and teaching skills we will still aim to travel around the mountains so you should be happy completing full days in the winter mountains covering around 15km and 800m of ascent.
If you have any questions about this please just get in touch.
Accommodation
You will need to provide your own hill walking clothing. We can provide helmet, axe, crampons, harness and any specific group kit. If you don’t have winter boots then these can be hired from Tiso in Aviemore. Once you have booked on the course you will be able to access a detailed kit list from the client resource page on