Trip Description

In order to be safe in winter you need to get the correct training and winter skills. This two day course in the raw beauty of Scotland aims to cover the important stuff and raise your awareness levels so as to enable good decision making during future outings. 

Every weekend will be different according to the prevailing weather conditions and training areas identified within each group. We will focus on core skills such as micro navigation (at night too!), ice axe and crampon safety, snow and avalanche awareness and general preparation and kit usage. Our ethos on every weekend is to expose you to different learning scenarios and give you the confidence to explore the mountains independently with enjoyment and safety.

These weekends will take place in Applecross using our local hills and we’ll finish on the Sunday with a day on one of the Torridon ridges. Dates will also be allocated to Cairngorm and Glencoe weekends.

Skill Areas Covered:
Security on steep ground: rope use, knots & anchor set up - relevant to hillwalking safety in winter.
Micro Navigation: close contour work, pacing & compass use, night navigation. GPS relevance and back up use.
Snowcraft: ice axe arrest, crampon movement, snow anchors, avalanche safety & assessment.  Also: Equipment choice, route planning and day management, group management and incident scenarios.