Scotland - winter skills courses  these can range from a single day's instruction through to a comprehensive five day long itinerary. It's possible to learn everything from the basics, such as how to use a walking axe and crampons, through to mountaineering skills to help you tackle grade I/II gullies and ridges. Courses are tailor made and arranged on request, the duration depending on what you'd like to learn and how much time you have available.

Skills covered  if you've little or no winter experience, all the essential skills for travelling through Scotland's winter mountains can be covered. These basic but important skills would include:

- choosing the right equipment

- winter mountain familiarisation (basically getting out in it !)

- using an axe and crampons for winter walking

- ice axe arrest (self arrest)

- winter navigation and route planning

- spotting avalanche risk and understanding winter weather

- emergency procedures

If you already have some winter experience, there are further skills that can be covered which will get you sorted for more adventurous winter excursions:

- winter scrambling with one axe

- simple ropework for grade I/II terrain

- techniques for desending icy/steep ground

The Cairngorms  most winter skills training takes place in and around the Northern Corries of the Cairngorms national park. This is a high mountain area of outstanding natural beauty with the most reliable snow conditions in Scotland. There are numerous snow slopes, of all aspects and steepness, providing ideal terrain for learning how to move around the mountains using an axe and crampons ...it's also ideal terrain to learn how to avoid being avalanched. Mountaineering skills can be practised in the long snow gullies that split the area's huge mountain crags. And a journey across the vast expanse of the arctic plateau will definitely sharpen your navigational ability.

Valley base  this is the Aviemore area and surrounding villages, where there are a wide range of places to stay and good rail and road connections with the rest of the UK. There's help in choosing the right accommodation to match your budget, where you'll be picked up and dropped off each day (accommodation PDF). Aviemore has a good selection of climbing/outdoor shops, a supermarket and some excellent cafes as an end of day objective.

Other mountain areas  if conditions are looking favourable, there's always an option of a day venturing further afield. It's an opportunity to put any new found skills into practice on a mountain journey that will open your eyes to what Scottish winter walking/mountaineering is all about. With an early start, Aviemore is within a day's striking distance of Torridon, the Lochcarron hills and even the far North West. In the past few years we've made day trips to some of Scotland's most stunningly beautiful winter locations. Some of which are well known and others which are little off the beaten track. The objectives on these day trips have included -

Hayfork's Gully (I) and Constabulary Couloir (II) on An Teallach
the East Ridge of Fuar Tholl
Post Box Gully on Sgorr Ruadh (I/II)
the Forcan ridge on the Saddle (I)
the South Glen Shiel Ridge
traverses of Cul Mhor and Quinag in Assynt
the East Ridge of Beinn a Chaorainn (I)
Deep South (I) and Deep North (II) gullies on Beinn Alligan
Morrison's (I) and Fuselage (I) gullies on Beinn Eighe
traverses of Liathach (II), Beinn Alligin (1) and Beinn Eighe
exploring the northern corries and easy gullies of Liathach
Castlegates Gully on Carn Etchachan (I)
the Cioch Nose on Beinn Bhan (II)
the East Buttress of Ben Damph

If you'd like to arrange some winter skills training in the 2012 season, just call or email with your preferred dates and we'll take it from there. Prices can be found on the bookings page. All winter walking/mountaineering equipment is provided, including crampons, an axe and a helmet, if you don't have your own.

Click on any of the pictures on the left to see a bigger image.