Alpine & Expedition Training

If you are heading off to the Alps or Greater Ranges consider enhancing your enjoyment, efficiency and summit chances on that trip with some UK based mountaineering and fitness training before you go.

Highland Guides are able to offer tailor made alpine and expedition preparation programmes according to your own trip requirements. Alongside our comprehensive package of skills training we are able to present you with a series of tough mountain challenges. Together these two elements should see you heading off on your trip better prepared both from a mountaineering point of view and being physically and mentally stronger. We can’t re-create the effects of altitude (unless you want to have a particularly big night out beforehand!) but we can provide you with physically demanding mountain experiences similar to, or in some cases in excess of, what you will encounter on your trip.

So whether you are off to try Mont Blanc, Mera Peak or Everest the confidence and experience gained from this extra preparation can go along way to help getting you there. We can offer 1-5 day winter and spring courses based in the Scottish Highlands or summer courses based in Snowdonia.

Scotland is a far better place to improve your winter mountaineering skills than on an expedition in the Himalaya. One look at the UK’s star alpinists over the last 5 decades will confirm the significance of a Scottish element in their mountaineering apprenticeships. Bonnington, Haston, Brown, Patey, Boardman, Rouse, Mcyntire, Fowler, Cave have all excelled in the big mountains after cutting their teeth in Scotland’s small, but tough, hills. Most big mountains throughout the world have a lot of steep snow slopes on them – often about Scottish grade 1. The best place to get plenty of mileage and thus efficiency and confidence on this type of ground is in winter in the Scottish Highlands.

Snowdonia was the training venue chosen by Sir John Hunt’s Everest team prior to their successful first ascent in 1953. They realised that despite its lack of reliable winter conditions here was a place where a variety of steep rocky mountains and brilliant crags could be easily accessed. Unsurprisingly this is still the case and in terms of the volume of mountaineering possible over just a few days it’s hard to replicate. There are endless possibilities for long and high quality days of alpine style movement along ridges, up scrambles and easy climbs and quality outcrops perfect for practising ropework. If you want the full authentic experience why not follow in the footsteps of the early Everest pioneers and stay in the famous Pen-y-Gwryd Hotel?

 

Expedition Training

Perhaps you are off to climb Mount Elbrus or Mera Peak and want to improve your ropework for glacier travel and crevasse rescue. Acconcagua and Everest clients may wish to improve their overall fitness and ‘enjoy’ some tough days mountaineering in the UK hills before going. If you are off to Ama Dablam or Khan Tengrhi consider improving your technical ability and confidence on steep ground. We have also worked with experienced mountaineers bound for K2 who just wanted to improve their harder technical climbing skills.

Here are some suggestions as to subjects that will be worth covering in preparing a course syllabus suitable for your particular expedition:

Frequently some of these important skills are overlooked in the fascination about altitude related illness and acclimatisation schedules. These are undoubtedly important too and will be discussed during any expedition training. However it doesn’t matter how well you acclimatise if you are tiringly inefficient in crampons, using a jumar, looking after yourself in camp or just aren’t very fit. These things however can all be tackled in the UK prior to departure.

Alpine Training

If you are heading out to the Alps for the first time or are aiming to climb a different style of route to that normally attempted in the UK you may benefit from some specific alpine mountaineering training. Although Brits are often quite experienced at technical rock climbing or even longer multi-pitch routes, taking coils and moving together are sometimes seen as a ‘black art’ – perhaps that’s why so many UK teams get benighted on everything from Tower Ridge to the Cosmiques Arête! Many alpine accidents occur on crevassed glaciers and a lot of these are entirely avoidable with a bit of glacier travel and crevasse rescue training.

Here are some suggestions as to subjects that may be worth covering in preparing a course syllabus suitable for your particular alpine trip:

Getting up to speed in some or all of these alpine essentials is very likely to improve your efficiency and enjoyment as an alpinist. It could well prevent a few alpine style epics too….. although that is another way of learning! (As the saying goes – “experience is the sum of the cock-ups you survive!”)

Please get in touch to discuss your current experience, alpine or expedition itinerary and training requirements. Contact us here.