MountainPlan Winter Mountaineering courses start on the 1st of December and run through to the 1st of April.
Winter mountaineering in the highlands offers a huge wealth of gully’s and ridges to explore. Mountain Plan classes mountaineering ground to be up to grade 2 climbing ground. By this we mean that you will use a rope in places but be climbing with one axe typically it will be grade 1 type ground. Routes such as Ledge route on Ben Nevis or some of the Ben’s easier gully’s such as number 3 or 4 in the Cairngorms it might be routes such as the Fiacaill ridge, Aladdins Couloir or Jacobs Ladder. It’s a grey areas going from general winter walking to more technical ground the summer comparison may be the difference between hill walking and scrambling where you find yourself on steeper more technical ground where you may wish to employ the rope. We aim to give people the skills to do this with some rope skills and also some technique coaching and route finding skills. All our courses are staffed by members of the Association of Mountaineering Instructors or British Mountain Guides.
This course will be ideal for those with experience of winter hill walking and who would like to experience some more adventurous ground. During this course we will look at some simple rope systems such as building snow anchors and rock belays. We shall also look at refreshing peoples basic winter skills, navigation and avalanche awareness. We shall cover ground like number 4 gully on Ben Nevis the Fiacaill ridge in the Cairngorms or Dorsal Arête in Glen Coe. Course costs £170 per day for one and £20 per day on top per head up to a maximum of 1 Instructor to 3 clients.
This course will be aimed at those who have plenty of summer and winter hill walking experience and who have perhaps attended a winter skills course. We aim to spend a lot of time on the hill on different types of ground from gully’s to ridges and steep exposed open ground. We shall look at a wide range of rope work such as belaying, building belays and using snow anchors. We will also be looking at navigation and avalanche awareness. We will aim to climb routes such as Ledge route on Ben Nevis, Curved Ridge on the Buchaille Etive Mor and Aladdins Couloir in the Cairngorms. Course costs £170 per day for one and £20 per day on top per head up to a maximum of 1 Instructor to 3 clients.
We offer private guiding on routes and areas of your choice. If you have always wanted to climb classic routes like Ledge route on Ben Nevis or Central Gully on Ben Lui and Afterthought Arête in the Cairngorms then this would be the style of course for you. We would aim to guide you safely and give you a great experience on the routes of your choosing or we are happy to give our suggestions on the best routes to tackle. Course cost is £170 per day adding a further £20 per head on top to maximum ratio of 1 instructor to 2 clients.
