Winter Climbing, Mountaineering, Instruction, Guiding Ben Nevis, Glen Coe, Cairngorms

Our winter courses are generally tailor-made and thus far more likely to meet your aspirations than booking on a pre-arranged course. So whether you want to learn how to use an ice axe and crampons, climb the famous Point Five gully on Ben Nevis or traverse Glen Coe’s Aonach Eagach you need look no further than Highland Guides.

With low ratios we are able to move at exactly your pace and progress through your own climbing apprenticeship at the rate most appropriate for you. In this way you will never feel held back by a less fit and able group member or alternatively never feel pressured into doing something that has your eyes on stalks! Similarly the venues chosen can revolve around your past experience, future aspirations and what 3 star routes you want to tick!

From our usual winter base in Fort William we are able to reach a wide variety of venues from Ben Udlaidh in the Southern Highlands to Glen Coe, Ben Nevis and Aonach Mor in Lochaber. We can also travel east to Creag Meagaidh and the Northern Cairngorms. That’s a lot of variety in a week’s climbing!

The courses below are some suggested itineraries. Private bookings, although a little more expensive, are better value for money as the course will revolve entirely around you, or your small group. We can put together a winter climbing package to suit your needs from a single day to a week long course. Please get in touch to discuss your requirements and previous experience.

Why not combine a winter mountaineering refresher with some climbing instruction and a couple of guided routes into a 5 day course?

Or come for a weekend of either instructed or guided climbing. Note that for new clients all courses may involve an introductory day where skills are refreshed and an easier or less committing route is undertaken to assess the client’s ability.

Winter Climbing back to the top

Instruction

If you have a basic level of rock climbing and, ideally, some winter mountaineering experience Highland Guides can help you make the difficult transition to winter climbing. We can teach you - how to select and use winter anchors – rock, ice and snow (in that order!); good winter mountaineering movement skills, climbing techniques on ice and mixed ground, how to retreat off a winter climb and the important skills of route selection, avalanche assessment and navigating your way back off the hill in bad conditions.

Our ethos means we will try and provide you with positive and educational experiences whilst ensuring we pass on the wisdom of our own hard won experience.

Guiding back to the top

Hire a ‘highland guide’ and actually get on those classic winter routes you have dreamed about. Tower Ridge, The Orion Face, Point Five Gully, Green Gully….The list goes on – it’s not difficult to be inspired, and that’s just Ben Nevis. We are able to offer guided winter climbing experiences up to Scottish grade V, or VI to suitably experienced clients in perfect conditions (rare!). That covers many of the routes in the brilliant and highly recommended coffee table winter climber’s book – “Cold Climbs”, if further inspiration was needed.

There is also a fantastic array of easier climbing and high quality mountaineering available. Routes such as Curved Ridge and Aonach Eagach, Glen Coe; Ledge Route on Ben Nevis, the West Ridge of Beinn a Chaorainn, or a long gully on Creag Meagaidh are alpine in scale and high in quality. The E. Face of Aonach Mor, Ben Udlaidh, Stob Coire Nan Lochain and the Northern Corries of Cairngorm can provide superb and more accessible winter climbing experiences.

Conditions back to the top

Many of the classic Scottish ice climbs are highly conditions dependent. Come with your tick list by all means but try and have an open mind to alternatives. Big ice routes are notoriously fickle both in terms of the quantity and quality of ice build-up and the invariably steep snowy approach and exit, which can be exposed to avalanche. Decisions as to whether they are safe on any given day of the winter can be tricky….better to hire a Highland Guide!

Don’t be disappointed if a safer alternative objective is offered. Snowed up rock buttresses, or mixed climbing can provide a superbly rewarding winter climbing experience and are often more likely to be both in condition and safe. Personally, Scottish winter mixed climbing is one of my favourite aspects of the wide spectrum of mountaineering we do – don’t knock it until you’ve tried it! (But your nice new axes and crampons may need sharpening afterwards!)

It has been said “there is no such thing as Scottish winter hillwalking….it’s all winter ‘mountaineering’”. There is some truth in this as ascents of even the more benign of Scottish Munros (independent Scottish Mountains over 3000 feet) in full winter conditions are likely to require the skilled use of an ice-axe and crampons. Not to mention a degree of fitness, personal mountain organisation and potentially exacting navigation. An ascent of some of the more difficult Munros in full winter conditions would, understandably, have most ‘hill walkers’ eyes on stalks and is certainly ‘mountaineering’ territory and in at least one case full winter climbing territory.

Highland Guides can cater for the complete spectrum of winter mountaineering aspirations from introducing complete beginners to tackling more advanced and committing routes with sections of easy climbing. Our instructors have spent much of their working lives in Scotland’s winter mountains and they are still highly enthusiastic about it – so they must be doing something right!

All our instructional courses focus on getting the basics right. This is achieved through incorporating skills sessions into a mountain journey where they are practised and applied in context. We try not to spend the day ‘talking about it’ in a static training environment but keep moving, finding new terrain, different snow conditions and, if possible, taking in a route or summit.

Introduction to Winter Mountaineering back to the top

This course is aimed at people with little or no winter mountaineering experience. Most accidents in Scotland’s Winter Mountains revolve around simple slips, getting lost or getting avalanched and this course reflects dealing with these 3 major hazards.

It will cover the essential techniques with particular emphasis on efficient movement skills – good cramponing and sound use of an ice axe, the cornerstones of winter mountaineering. Navigation, including GPS use, avalanche assessment and basic ropework will also be covered as required.

A 2-day course will concentrate largely on the movement skills training element and briefly look at snow-pack assessment and navigation. The second day will be a journey practising these and hopefully going over a summit or two.

A 5-day course gives the opportunity to practise and consolidate these skills and visit a greater range of venues and bag more summits! The ropework training can also progress further and take a more detailed look at anchor selection and using the rope for attempting more challenging routes rather than just in an emergency.

Like all our courses we offer tailor made winter mountaineering to suit your specific needs. Whether you want to be guided along the Aonach Eagach, go Snow holing, bag some winter Munros, climb Ben Nevis or are a larger group wanting winter skills training please get in touch to discuss your requirements. Contact us here.