Winter Mountain Skills and Weather Awareness

Learn winter walking skills and about winter weather from £340

Three days in the winter hills with Climb Torridon and MWIS, building the movement, navigation and weather skills you need to plan and enjoy winter mountain days with confidence.

Run jointly by Garry from MWIS (Mountain Weather Information Service) and Ollie from Climb Torridon, this course brings together two areas of expertise that are usually taught separately. Garry’s forecasting background means you’ll learn to read weather systems and understand how they translate into conditions underfoot, while Ollie’s guiding experience covers the movement, navigation and emergency skills that keep you safe and confident in the winter environment.

This course is aimed at hillwalkers and scramblers taking their first steps into winter conditions, or those looking to refresh and consolidate existing skills. No prior winter experience is required, but a reasonable level of hillwalking fitness and experience in summer conditions is expected.

Find out more about the pricing of this course

At a Glance – Winter Mountain Skills + Weather Awareness

Duration 3 days
When 7-9 Feb 2027
Location Torridon & North West Highlands
Max Ratio 2:6 With Ollie and Garry
Price from £340 pp (3-day course)
View dates & pricing …
Accommodation & Food
Accommodation with dinner, bed and breakfast (optional)
Perfect for:
Those starting out in winter who want to learn how to be safe and understand conditions.

Who this course is for:

Hillwalkers and scramblers new to winter conditions
Those wanting to refresh existing winter skills
Anyone looking to plan their own winter mountain days with more confidence

Course Itinerary

Day 1

We start with introductions, a full weather brief, and a kit check before heading into the hills. The day focuses on core movement skills in winter terrain, ice axe use and self-arrest, step cutting, and general self-management and kit handling in cold, snowy conditions. We’ll also cover a quick navigation overview and introduce the concept of aspect of slope, alongside an overview of winter weather conditions and the key influences on the Scottish mountain climate, with hands-on observation of the day’s weather. There will be an emphasis throughout on what equipment is needed to deal with the predicted weather and how to manage it.

Day 2

The day begins with a weather brief and an avalanche awareness talk, before moving into a full journey day that builds on the previous day’s movement skills, taking in steeper terrain. We’ll cover route planning for winter conditions and work on more complex navigation across challenging ground, along with further weather observation and how to use it to anticipate what’s coming. We’ll aim to tackle a spectacular summit on this day.

Day 3

A final weather brief leads into a session on identifying changing weather through observation, and the judgement calls around when conditions are simply too bad to continue. The day covers emergency procedures and building snow shelters, along with the practical skills needed to deal with challenging winter weather and manage an effective escape from difficult terrain. This day equips you with all the skills needed to feel confident venturing out and to be able to have your own winter adventures.

Practical information

Location: The Old Inn, Gairloch
Group size: 1:6
Price: From £340 (see pricing )
What’s included: Ice Axe, Crampons, helmet, snow shovel, expert instruction
Required Kit: Warm and waterproof clothing including hat and gloves, B2 or B3 boots, rucksack, lunch and drink. a full kit list is provided with each booking.
Prerequisites: Good hillwalking fitness; no prior winter experience necessary

Accommodation

This course offers the option to book with our special discounted accommodation package at The Old Inn in Gairloch. Read more about these details below:

The Old Inn, Gairloch – January to March 2027

We are working in partnership with The Old Inn in Gairloch for our winter courses. This well established, traditional inn provides a comfortable and convenient base for your Guided Winter Mountaineering course.

Pricing (which includes dinner, bed and breakfast):

£89 per person per night (twin or double room, shared occupancy)
£130 per night (single occupancy)

All prices include a full cooked breakfast and a three-course evening meal.

Booking is handled directly through us – please confirm availability when making your course enquiry.

Further details on our Winter at The Old Inn Package

Alternative accommodation

We recommend staying in or near Gairloch, which offers shops, a petrol station, electric vehicle charging, and some dining options. Villages such as Torridon, Kinlochewe, or Poolewe are quieter and have very limited facilities during winter.

Meet Your Instructors

This courses in run by two top experts in their fields. As well as being experts they’re also both used to delivering courses in a fun and educational manner so you know that you’re going to have a great time and learn loads. You can find out more about them both below:

Garry Nicholson — MWIS

Garry has been forecasting for MWIS since 2013 and is now one of the service’s most active forecasters, as well as leading on MWIS’s ongoing projects, video forecasts and social media output. He holds an MSc in Applied Meteorology and Climatology and a BA (Hons) in Geography and Broadcast Media, and brings a genuine enthusiasm for weather history and pattern analysis to his forecasting work.

Raised on the edge of the Peak District, Garry’s outdoor life has taken him from the gritstone edges of the Dark Peak and the open fells of the Yorkshire Dales to regular trips to the Lake District and the Scottish Highlands. That combination of technical meteorological training and genuine time spent in the hills is what makes his forecasting — and his teaching — so practical: he doesn’t just explain the science, he explains what it actually means for the day you’re planning.

Ollie — Climb Torridon

Ollie is the lead guide and founder of Climb Torridon, running the business from its base in the North West Highlands and Skye. He’s a qualified Winter Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor (WMCI) — the highest winter qualification awarded by Mountain Training UK & Ireland, and one held by relatively few instructors in the country. It qualifies him to guide and instruct across the full range of winter climbing, mountaineering and winter hillwalking, on top of the summer rock climbing, scrambling and hillwalking covered by the Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor (MCI) award that sits beneath it.

Ollie is a member of the Association of Mountaineering Instructors (AMI), the representative body for professionally qualified instructors in the UK and Ireland — membership that reflects a rigorous ongoing process of training and assessment. His own mountain experience spans climbing across the world from Greenland and Morrocco to Chile as well as all over the Scottish Highlands. He runs Climb Torridon’s course programme and draws directly on his experience to build people’s confidence and independence in the mountains, summer and winter alike.

Ratios and Pricing

We believe in small ratios and practical experiences with experts so you get the most from the course. With this in mind we have a maximum of six places on this course.