Winter walking skills course in Scotland
| country: | Scotland, UK |
| location: | Cairngorms |
| departures: | Please contact us for departure details |
| price: | From £285 (3 days) excluding flights. Includes full weekend's instruction. 2 nights full board accommodation. Transport from and return to Edinburgh. Single supplement for £50 |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
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introduction to Winter walking skills course in Scotland
Many seasoned hill walkers believe that you have missed the best of Scottish hill walking if you haven’t experienced the mountains in winter – here is your opportunity to find out if they are right! If you already have some winter walking experience, you already know the answer – welcome back!
If you are a strong summer walker looking to extend into winter walking, or still new to winter walking and simply looking to refresh those skills and build up some more experience under expert guidance, then one of our winter skills trips could be for you.
The programme is based in the Cairngorms – a true wilderness area and an ideal venue for developing and honing your skills. During the course you’ll learn the essential skills required for moving around the Scottish hills in winter conditions while experiencing the challenge and incredible beauty of these magnificent mountains. Topics covered include safe movement on snow, through the correct use of ice axe and crampons, winter navigation and avalanche awareness – all taught in a fun and informative manner by one of our expert qualified guides.
At the end of the weekend you can expect to be able to:Know how to fit crampons correctly Apply different techniques and steps for moving safely over snow or ice covered terrain “Self arrest” using an ice axe (stop yourself slipping down snow slopes) Assess snow conditions and avalanche risk through digging snow pits Build a snow hole (basic survival) Understand winter navigation essentials and route selection in winter conditions
Your weekend will include 2 full days of instruction and guiding and 2 nights full board accommodation in the Cairngorms area. Departure for the weekend will be from Edinburgh 4 pm on Friday afternoon, however for those with their own transport you may wish to rendezvous with us on the Friday evening at our accommodation. We can also arrange for pick up from Aviemore train station or Inverness airport if required.
Equipment: Winter weather can be changeable! Your guide will ensure that each day’s walk makes the best of whatever conditions prevail – overhead and underfoot – but the equipment you bring with you will contribute greatly to your safety, and to your comfort.
If you are unable to bring your own ice axe and crampons then these can be hired from us for a small charge of £10 per item for the weekend. Please arrange with us when you book.
Your own boots, if they are suitable for crampons, will be the most comfortable option. If you don’t have suitable boots, you may be able to hire them from an outdoor shop local to you. Alternatively, we can arrange for boots to be hired in Edinburgh but we do recommend you arrive early on the Friday afternoon to arrange for a pair to fit. Contact us for details and prices, and a list of other recommended equipment.
If you are a strong summer walker looking to extend into winter walking, or still new to winter walking and simply looking to refresh those skills and build up some more experience under expert guidance, then one of our winter skills trips could be for you.
The programme is based in the Cairngorms – a true wilderness area and an ideal venue for developing and honing your skills. During the course you’ll learn the essential skills required for moving around the Scottish hills in winter conditions while experiencing the challenge and incredible beauty of these magnificent mountains. Topics covered include safe movement on snow, through the correct use of ice axe and crampons, winter navigation and avalanche awareness – all taught in a fun and informative manner by one of our expert qualified guides.
At the end of the weekend you can expect to be able to:
Your weekend will include 2 full days of instruction and guiding and 2 nights full board accommodation in the Cairngorms area. Departure for the weekend will be from Edinburgh 4 pm on Friday afternoon, however for those with their own transport you may wish to rendezvous with us on the Friday evening at our accommodation. We can also arrange for pick up from Aviemore train station or Inverness airport if required.
Equipment: Winter weather can be changeable! Your guide will ensure that each day’s walk makes the best of whatever conditions prevail – overhead and underfoot – but the equipment you bring with you will contribute greatly to your safety, and to your comfort.
If you are unable to bring your own ice axe and crampons then these can be hired from us for a small charge of £10 per item for the weekend. Please arrange with us when you book.
Your own boots, if they are suitable for crampons, will be the most comfortable option. If you don’t have suitable boots, you may be able to hire them from an outdoor shop local to you. Alternatively, we can arrange for boots to be hired in Edinburgh but we do recommend you arrive early on the Friday afternoon to arrange for a pair to fit. Contact us for details and prices, and a list of other recommended equipment.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Depart Edinburgh for the Cairngorms: Depart Edinburgh at 4.00pm and head north towards the Cairngorms. The journey takes around 2.5 hours. After dinner your guide will spend some time running through the programme for the weekend and making sure everyone is properly fitted out with boots, crampons and ice axes. |
| Day 2: | Winter Skills Day 1: Today we focus on ice axe and crampon skills, including ice axe and self arrest training. This will include a morning spent in one of the Cairngorms many snow filled corries, learning and improving skills, before continuing higher up the mountain and perhaps gaining a summit if time and conditions permit. As well as learning some seriously essential skills, this is also a lot of fun! |
| Day 3: | Winter Skills Day 2: With the theme today on more of a mountain “journey”, a full days mountain walking will give us an ideal opportunity to practice skills gained the previous day. Additional topics also covered throughout the day will include avalanche awareness, route selection and winter navigation. Depending on weather conditions, we’ll be looking for at least one summit and some of those classic winter views for which these mountains are famous. |
how this holiday makes a difference
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All our guides have a minimum of the Summer Mountain Leader Award and have an extensive knowledge of the history, culture and wildlife of the Scottish Highlands. The guides are paid a professional wage and in addition, have their accommodation, food and travel expenses covered.
Accommodation is provided by a small family-run guest house in the village of Killin, where our winter skills guides are based. Meals are at the local pub - with stocks generally sourced locally. The travel time between accommodation and the winter skills venue is circa 20 minutes by car as no alternative is available. No other courses use this area so there is a reduced visual and noise impact compared to other operators. The group size is deliberately kept small to aid teaching and to keep our impact to a minimum. Our guides are either from Edinburgh area or Aviemore, Glencoe, Oban or the Borders. We take guests to local restaurants such as Café Arriba in Portree on Skye, Creelers on Skye – both have a menu dependent on local catch, Rivendell in Shieldaig likewise, The Glen in Newtonmore and Firhall in Grantown on Spey have locally shot pheasants and venison. A big part of our trips is the local history. The highland clearances are a visible backdrop to a lot of the walks, we also tale people to local ceilidhs if on. We have a 'no litter on hill policy' (impromptu beach and mountain path clean ups where possible). We encourage guests to recycle their waste. We buy new bottles at the start of each trip end then refill in the week. Old bottles are turned into white-water rafts for another long term project – bottleraft adventures. |
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