Winter Skills Course

First 2 Days Winter Skills

The 2 day winter skills course in Scotland will be in the Cairngorm hills near Aviemore and covers all aspects of winter hillwalking in the UK. These courses run every weekend from January to April, because we like to give you as many options as possible. Most of all we focus on practical skills. We will practice ice axe arresting while wearing a rucksack and fit crampons on steeper ground. In order to learn the ice axe arrests easier, we stagger the training and make sure everyone has a great time. So we are not just going through the motions, but offer a course worth every penny. The winter skills course also covers avalanche awareness. How to plan a day walking in the hills and prevent being caught out. Furthermore, we have a look at detecting unstable snow. If necessary we also cover some winter navigation and map reading.

We will meet in the morning in Aviemore and drive to the hills after an introduction. The main locations we use for the winter mountaineering course are near Cairngorm where fewer groups tend to be. However, when the weather blocks us from getting to the Ski area we drive to Drumochter Summit area, which is also suitable for any winter skills course. All our instructors are qualified Winter Mountain Leaders or Mountain Instructors and have years of experience in running winter courses.

We provide more kit for free than anyone else, so you don’t have to buy or borrow it. In our winter skills courses we offer the free use of ice axe, crampon, helmet, mountaineering rucksacks, goggles and warm hats. Finally after this winter mountaineering course, participants should be self reliant walkers in the Scottish hills.

5 Day Winter Mountaineering Course

The third day is kind of a flexible day where the course can either focus more on already covered skills or it could include some rope work.

Finally, the highlight of the course is a 2-day expedition with navigation and staying in s snowhole. You will build a snowhole from scratch in a remote area in the Cairngorms and then stay in it for a night.

We offer group discounts for groups of 3 and over. Just click on book now at the date you want to book, increase the number of participants in the basket and update to see how much you can safe.