Winter Skills

Itinerary

We offer both two day winter skills courses and five day winter skills courses.

Our two day courses (day 1 and day 2 of the itinerary below), will give you an excellent starting point for your own journey in learning to keep safe in winter. You will still learn the essential skills and techniques needed for preventing slips, navigation and understanding the winter environment. With this foundation of knowledge you will be able to practice in your own time or come back to us to undertake a five day course in the future.

Our five day courses offer the complete package, increasing your skills and ability throughout the week. Starting right from the basics of what to carry and why, by the end of the week you will be helping to plan and lead a mountain journey. For those who have time constraints or less confidence to jump straight into our 5 day course, then a 2 day course is the perfect alternative.

Day One:

Today we look at being well prepared for the winter mountain environment. We will be discussing clothing, equipment, weather forecasts and avalanche forecasts. Having a good understanding of what you need to do before you even step foot outside can greatly increase your enjoyment and safety in the mountains. Once on the hill we will be learning safe and efficient movement. Focusing on good footwork and the use of crampons, ice axes and self arrest.

Day Two:

Today we will continue to progress and refine our movement skills. Taking a more in-depth look at negotiating awkward and steep terrain. We will also learn and practice navigation techniques using a map and compass, such as identifying features, taking bearings, timings and pacing. Avalanche awareness will be an ongoing topic and we may even look at snowpack to help increase your understanding.

Day Three:

Today is a navigation day. We will use the basic navigation skills that we covered yesterday to plan and undertake a journey. This will give you plenty of opportunity to practice and refine the skills we have developed in the last two days.

Day Four:

Today we will build on our skills in decision making and route choice and further practice what we have learnt so far on movement and steep ground. We will also cover emergency situations as well as undertake some shelter building, such as snow holes.

Day Five:

This is the last day of the course and we will put everything we have learnt so far into practice. With your instructor carefully watching and able to provide any advice or assistance, you will get the opportunity to plan and lead a mountain journey. We will review as we go, looking at what we have done well or could do better. But the goal of the day is to allow you to undertake a journey safely and confidently, with your instructor on hand as needed.

Accommodation

We offer courses with and without accommodation. For courses where we offer it with accommodation you will see this in our pricing table on our dates and price tab.

The accommodation included with this course is on a self catering, twin sharing basis in Kinlochewe at Kinlochewe Mountain Chalets situated at the head of Glen Torridon. This location provides the perfect base for our winter skills courses, being close to the hills and in a beautiful little hamlet that resides next to the Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve.

The accommodation includes shared cooking facilities and lounge for you to relax in after your hill days. There is also a private carpark onsite so travel is simple.

Dates and Pricing

In order to provide the highest level of learning and safety we maintain low ratios for our courses. For our Winter Skills courses we never go beyond a ratio of 1 guide to 6 clients. These small numbers allow us to make sure you get the tuition you need and the course is tailored around your aspirations whether you’re booked onto an open or private course.

• Open Courses
• Private Courses