| Duration: | 1 - 2 days |
| Cost: | £50 per person per day |
| Min - Max No. | 3 - 4 |
This short course is intended to give those who are already summer hill walkers/mountaineers some grounding in the techniques required to extend their sport into the more demanding conditions of winter.
We aim to cover planning a winter walk, winter clothing and equipment, weather information, ice axe arrest, step cutting, use of crampons, avalanche awareness, cold injuries, basic snow belaying, emergency shelter building and the demands of winter navigation.
In addition to basic personal equipment you will need: stiff soled four season boots which will take a crampon, ice axe, wind proof gloves/mitts, gaiters, head-torch and spare battery. (Ice axes and crampons can be supplied if you do not have these items as can advice on good equipment to buy).
These courses are usually held on mainland Scotland, because snow conditions on Skye are limited and unpredictable. Areas used on past courses include the Cairngorms, Creag Meagaidh and the Ben Nevis range. Aonach Mor is particularly useful for this course as the gondola allows a swift assent to areas where instruction can be conducted and thus allow more time for practicing skills taught. (Please note gondola charges are not included in the course fee).
| Duration: | 5 days + 1 rest day |
| Cost: | £250 per person per day |
| Min - Max No. | 3 - 4 |
This course covers the same skills and techniques covered on the two day Winter Skills course but goes onto applying them on real winter mountaineering days. Munro summits and tops will be tackled by suitable routes with time taken to test the new skills learnt. There will also be more opportunities to look in depth at the skills required for winter navigation and types of emergency shelter systems.
For those who would like an overnight experience on the mountains there may be the chance to do a snow-holing trip. (Extra equipment will obviously be needed for this activity and a full list can be supplied, otherwise the equipment needed is the same as that for the Winter Skills course).
(Due to the availability of suitable conditions these last two courses may be based in a variety of venues such as Fort William or Aviemore etc, contact me for details).