A little bit of knowledge and experience can open up a world of opportunities
in the mountains. Daily instruction or courses can be arranged to help
you enjoy the hills at any level, from adventurous walking to winter
mountaineering.
winter skills there are certain
mountain skills in the UK that are unique to winter and essential
to walkers and climbers alike. There are the essential basic winter skills
of using an axe and crampons and how to self arrest if you
blow it. It's also important that everyone venturing above the
snowline knows
what to do in an emergency, including how
to build snow
shelters and ways of staying warm. There are safety skills for on the
move, such as recognising avalanche danger through to avoiding (and
even negotiating) cornices.
Then there are more advanced skills, such as using a rope and constructing
snow anchors for the safe ascent (or descent) of steep slopes.
All these things can only be learnt
in a true winter environment
which to be realistic, means Scotland. The Cairngorm mountains,
with their high arctic plateau, steep corrie headwalls and often ferocious
winter weather, provide the perfect location for winter skills training.
A short skills course is the easiest and quickest way to get you started
safely in the winter mountains and can be arranged for yourself, with
a partner or with
a group of
friends. There's also the option of including a day in your course
to explore the mountains of the far North West, Torridon, or Lochaber.
Winter skills instruction and guiding in the winter mountains are available
on a daily basis. Prices, booking info and further details
can be found on the bookings page.
Whether it's winter walking, winter mountaineering, or snatching Munros
at their snowy best, just email
or call with your requirements and we'll take it from there.
Take
a look at the winter gallery
page or read the winter
07 and winter
06 reviews to see some of the things that went on in the last
few winter seasons.
navigation for some of us,
simply avoiding getting lost is all that's required and that's fine.
Finding your way around in poor visibility can be far
easier and more fun to learn than you think. In just a couple of days
you can have the whole map and compass thing de-mystified and be comfortable
navigating around the hills. You'll learn about walking on a bearing,
pacing, timing and basically how to follow the easiest route to your
destination. If you think your adventures might land you in more demanding
situations, you can be trained how to get safely across the trickiest
of terrain in whiteout
conditions.
scrambling no pastime better
typifies the true amateur spirit of adventure. At one end it's the
big booted (and often ropeless) approach
to exploring the more rocky and secluded parts of our mountains. At the
other end, it's traditional mountaineering. You can grab the basic skills
of route finding and hazard awarness which is all that's needed for
easy scrambles. Or learn rope and belay techniques to help you tackle
steeper sections on grade 3 outings. Snowdonia has some of the most accessible
and varied scrambling in the UK and is an ideal area to literally clamber
around and learn. For the total scrambling hit, trips can be arranged
to the wonderful Cuillin ridge on Skye.
alpine preparation make life in the bigger
mountains that much easier with a bit of pre trip training. Learn the
art of safe glacier travel and
make sure you can haul a partner from a crevasse. If your objective is
alpine rock, the ability to 'move together' quickly and fluidly can be
practised on the numerous mountain crags in Snowdonia... and if you still
think 'fast and light' is a washing machine cycle, then you'll probably
need some
advice on what equipment to take with you.
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