MountainPlan winter mountaineering courses are all based on the west coast in the Fort William area which is ideally situated under the UK’s highest mountain Ben Nevis with the Aonachs close by and Glen Coe just down the road. I have a range of accommodation options from bunkhouses to nice hotels check out the links page for some ideas. Once here all the instruction and transport is covered so you can just enjoy the experience.
Intro Winter SkillsThese are the core skills that you require to travel safely in the winter mountains be it in Scotland the alps or the greater ranges they are a collection of skills that are vital in your safe keeping. This course is designed to cover ice axe skills such as ice axe and crampons technique, avalanche awareness, navigation and emergency procedures. This course can be carried out in a weekend or over a 5 day period.
Winter MountaineerThis course is designed to cover the winter skills and then take them forward onto more challenging ground up to grade one gullies and ridges. All the core skills in the intro course will be covered and then we shall look at simple rope work, with just a few rope teqniques it opens a whole host of more challenging route up the Scottish Munro.
The Ben Nevis ExperienceThis is a 2 day course aimed at beginners but can be arranged to different levels of ability. The ‘Ben’ is the UK’s highest mountain. In the winter it becomes a Mecca for mountaineers and climbers with its huge array of ice and mixed climbing it attracts crowds from all over the world. This course would aim to walk in on the first day and set up camp either with tents or snow holes (snow dependant). Once set up we would look at the basic winter skills, ice axe and crampon skills, avalanche awareness, Navigation and some basic rope work. The 2nd day would consist of ascending the Ben to the summit via one of its classic gullies before heading back to strike camp and head down. It will make for a fantastic weekend break from the city; you can head back to the office having had a proper adventure!
Ski mountaineeringWe offer a two or five day ski mountaineering course in Scotland aimed at developing peoples ski ability, specific ski mountaineering skills and winter mountaineering skills. We will look at the essential winter mountaineering skills such as ice axe and crampons work. We shall also look in depth during the course at avalanche awareness and navigation skills. We will be looking at the technique for skinning and climbing with skis on and also at people's off piste technique and look at coaching peoples general skiing. We shall also look at how to use avalanche transceivers and the pros and cons of different types. This course will be ideal for people wishing to use skis to search out great tours and good descents in the Scottish Highlands. It will also serve as a good prelude to getting ready for Alpine ski touring. Dan Goodwin shall be running the course. He has 17 years ski experience having been on many alpine tours, a huge amount of Scottish tours and he has also spent 15 years as a seeded ski racer competing in Slalom and Super G events. Please contact us for further details.
High Performance Winter ClimbingThis is a course that is aimed at those people looking to get their winter climbing above grade 6 and head for the 7s and 8s. The course is designed to coach and develop your technique and also look at belays and gear placements. The course will take place on grade 6 routes and above. To get the most from the experience you should be leading grade 5 already. This course is available as a two day intensive or spread out over five days. This course will be run by Andy Turner. He has a huge wealth of experience at the top end of the winter game with first winter ascents of Sioux Wall VIII,8 Ben Nevis, Stalkin Horse VI,7 Aonach Beag and repeats of routes like Cornucopia VII,9 Ben Nevis, Unicorn VIII,8 Stob Coire Nan Lochain, Neanderthal VII,7 Lost Valley Buttress and White Magic VII,7 Northern Corries. The cost is £180 per day and then a further £20 per head a day for a second person.
Winter Navigation CoursesThese are weekend courses that are designed to help coach and develop people's navigation. The most common cause of accidents in the hills are due to navigation errors. Topping out on the summit plateau of Ben Nevis or Cairngorm in a winter whiteout requires a very good level of navigation to get you back to your car. This course is winter specific and will help build that confidence and build the skills you need to get you down safe during a winter storm. We will focuses on map interpretation, bearings, pacing and timings and also winter specific tactics. This course can also be used as a refresher for those taking the Winter Mountain Leader course or assesment.
For all bookings and prices please go to the contact page.
Get amongst it and enjoy!
