Winter Mountaineering

Snow & Avalanche Awareness Training

Start your winter on the right foot whether you’ve got a little experience or none at all. These weekends are informative, fun and will increase your confidence in the mountains allowing you to get more out of your future trips.

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.

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.

This trip can also take place in the Cairngorms or Ben Nevis/Glencoe areas if you have a min. group size of three.

Skill Areas Covered:
Security on steep ground — rope use, knots & anchor set up
Micro Navigation — close contour work, pacing & compass use, night navigation
Snowcraft — ice axe arrest, crampon movement, snow anchors, avalanche safety

Schedule	Meet Fri night, mountain days Sat & Sun, night in pub Sun night, depart Mon morning ( or Sunday pm if required )
Suitable for	Anyone with good summer hillwalking experience wishing to learn skills for winter walking/mountaineering.
Cost - Course Only All instruction, guiding kit & course delivery. You pay your own accommodation & self cater throughout.	Nov - Xmas: £85, Xmas-end Mar: £110	Stay at the Applecross Campsite in cosy winter Wishbone Cabins or camp.
Cost - Full Board Accommodation, all meals at guest house & on overnight camps.	£225	Full Board inclusive of arrival & departure nights, Coal Mhor Guest House, Camusteel
Instructor:Client Ratio	1:6	Check Dates & Availability

Digging an Emergency shelter, Bealch na Ba, Applecross

Snow anchor & rope protection

Summitting on Spidean Coire nan Clach,
Bein Eighe main ridge, Torridon.

Duration 5 days ~ This itinerary is designed for those who wish to enjoy winter mountain walking at the most inspiring time of year.

The remoteness of these Munros means that winter wildlife is more abundant, and we'll have a greater chance of seeing Mountain Hares, Golden Eagles, and Red Deer. We'll kit you out in everything you need and ascend as many Munros as possible over the five days. This itinerary is suitable for experienced walkers and novices alike and will be tailored according to the aspirations of the group as a whole.The main aim each day will be to tackle a specific summit and along the way skills and safety input will allow a development of your abilities in the winter environment.

Typical Itinerary:

Day One - Ascent to Bein Eighe and the high peak of Spidean Coire nan Clach. Ice axe and crampon skills at 2500 feet before completing the peak

Day Two - Liathachs western summit of Mullach an Rathain ( or the main peak of Spidean a Coir Leith )

Day Three - Ascent of the Saddle, Kintail

Day Four - Ascent of Moal Chean Dearg in the Bein Damh forest group.

Day Five - The two summits of Beinn Alligin - Tom na Gruagaich & Sgurr Mhor

Please note: the above itinerary is a guide only as actual plans will be flexible to suit group & prevailing weather.

Schedule	Meet Sat night, mountain days Sun to Thur, final night in pub Thur night, depart Fri morning.
Suitable for	Anyone with summer hillwalking experience. Good fitness required.
Cost - Course Only All instruction, guiding kit & course delivery. You pay your own accommodation & self cater throughout.	£310	Stay at the Applecross Campsite in cosy winter Wishbone Cabins or camp.
Cost - Full Board Accommodation, all meals at guest house & on overnight camps.	£520	Full Board inclusive of arrival & departure nights, Coal Mhor Guest House, Camusteel
Instructor:Client Ratio	1:6	Check Dates & Availability

Negotiating one of the Am Fasarinen pinnacles, Torridon

Duration 5 days ~ Our most popular trip involves a more adventurous approach to the mountains in our local area. This week gives you an introduction to winter mountaincraft skills while exploring many of the grade one & two gullies, summits and ridges in the region.

By the end of the week you'll be well versed in ice axe and crampon use, snow and avalanche awareness, ropework and snow anchors, weather, emergency shelters and that most elusive of winter skills — winter mountain navigation. This will all be achieved while tackling the exciting ridges and gullies of Torridon & Kintail. If conditions allow we may well spend a night out in a snow hole or spend sometime honing your navigation skills at nightfall. At the very least you'll go away a far safer mountaineer, with more confidence in the winter environment.

Winter Navigation Exercise

Typical Itinerary:

Day One - Ascent of Fuar Tholl and its high, wild corrie where a first day snowcraft session will allow development of vital movement & safety skills, namely: Ice axe arrest, crampon use, rope safety and avalanche awareness. This day will finish with an ascent to the summit of Fuar Tholl by its central gully or SE ridge.

Day Two - Traverse of the Toll Ban pinnacles, East Bein Eighe Grade 1. Culminating on the summit of Sgurr nan Fhir Dubh.

Day Three - Ascent of ‘Way Up’ gully, grade 1, in Coire Dubh Mhor - thereafter arriving at the high summit of Spidean a Choire Leith on the main Liathach ridge. If time, energy and weather allow then a traverse of the Am Fasarinen pinnacles, grade II, will be possible. This is one of the great west coast mountaineering trips.

Day Four & Five - an overnight snowholing expedition to the Saddle, Kintail — ( See our snowhole site pics on this page) A great experience, spending the night at 1000 metres surrounded by Kintail and the Knoydart wilderness.

Please note: the above itinerary is a guide only as actual plans will be flexible to suit group & prevailing weather.

Schedule	Meet Sat night, mountain days Sun to Thur, final night in pub Thur night, depart Fri morning.
Suitable for	Anyone with good winter walking experience.
Cost - Course Only All instruction, guiding kit & course delivery. You pay your own accommodation & self cater throughout.	£350	Stay at the Applecross Campsite in cosy winter Wishbone Cabins or camp.
Cost - Full Board Accommodation, all meals at guest house & on overnight camps.	£560	Full Board inclusive of arrival & departure nights, Coal Mhor Guest House, Camusteel
Instructor:Client Ratio	1:4	Check Dates & Availability

Gearing up for a grade II traverse

'Topping Out'
Access Gully grade II on Fuar Tholl

Great conditions on the Corrag Bhuidhe Pinnacles,
An Teallach Dec 2008

Half way along the
Am Fasarinen pinnacles on Liathach, Torridon

High above the Fisherfield range
during the Traverse of An Teallach Dec 2008

Cavernous snowhole during the
Cairngorm Plateau Expedition - March 2008

Duration 4 days ~ For four days and three nights this trip allows you to really live in the mountains.

A traverse of the cairngorm plateau summits and corries will allow us the best mountaincraft training environment possible. Night navigation, avalanche awareness, emergency shelters, ice axe and crampon training feature heavily throughout the trip. We’ll cover basic ropework and snow anchors to improve your security on steep ground. At least two nights may be in a snowhole which we’ll spend time digging out into a luxurious palace! If you want to improve your winter mountain safety skills then this is quite simply the best way to do it.

Typical Itinerary:

Crossing the rim of Coire an t-sneachda
Cairngorm Plateau Expedition

Day One - meet Aviemore for planning and packing session before transferring to Cairngorm ski car park and ascent onto the plateau aiming to traverse the rim of Coire an t-sneachda to snowhole site.

Day Two - a day of snowcraft skills with a late micro navigation session taking us into the darkness for a night nav session. 2nd night in snowhole.

Day Three - crossing of the plateau via Ben MacDui practising navigation skills en route and locating a site for the last night bivvy.

Day Four - Walk out with security on steep ground session en route.

Please note: the above itinerary is a guide only as actual plans will be flexible to suit group & prevailing weather.

Schedule	Meet Sun morning 10am Aviemore at rail station entrance, mountain days Sun to Wed to finish and depart Aviemore late Wed afternoon.
Suitable for	Anyone with good summer hillwalking experience wishing to learn core safety skills for winter walking/mountaineering.
Cost - Course Only All instruction, guiding kit & course delivery. You pay your own accommodation & self cater throughout.	£295	Stay at the Applecross Campsite in cosy winter Wishbone Cabins or camp.
Instructor:Client Ratio	1:6	Check Dates & Availability

Heading into the Cairngorms for a few days - Cairngorm Plateau Expedition

Steep ice on Meall Gorm,
Applecross Peninsula

Duration 5 days ~ At grade II/III this trip increase the technical level of the mountaineering course allowing a steeper more technical environment in which to learn about multi-pitch winter climbing.

In the great corries of Liathach, Bein Eighe or Kintail you’ll explore remote gully & buttress climbing with a focus on rescue ropework, anchor placements & climbing techniques all of which feature heavily over the course of this trip.

Schedule	Duration 5 days ~ At grade II/III this trip increase the technical level of the mountaineering course allowing a steeper more technical environment in which to learn about multi-pitch winter climbing.
Suitable for	Anyone with winter grade I/II experience.
Cost - Course Only All instruction, guiding kit & course delivery. You pay your own accommodation & self cater throughout.	£440	Stay at the Applecross Campsite in cosy winter Wishbone Cabins or camp.
Cost - Full Board Accommodation, all meals at guest house & on overnight camps.	£595	Full Board inclusive of arrival & departure nights, Coal Mhor Guest House, Camusteel
Instructor:Client Ratio	1:3	Check Dates & Availability