Rock Climbing & Mountaineering Courses

Ryan Glass Mountaineering provides rock climbing coaching and mountaineering holidays,  winter mountaineering, winter skills and winter climbing courses, summer mountain craft and mountain skills instruction, guiding on ridge traverses, scrambles and via ferrata and much more.

Instructors and Courses in Spain, Scotland & Wales

We offer courses in a variety of locations including:

Sella in the Costa Blanca, Spain

Aberfeldy, the Isle of Skye, Fort William, Glencoe and Aviemore in Scotland

Snowdonia in North Wales.

 

Tailor Made Climbing & Mountaineering Courses

The content of your course is entirely up to you and can be arranged for your preferred dates and location: whether you want to be introduced to rock climbing, complete a particular winter climb that you’ve always wanted to do, receive performance coaching, traverse the Skye Ridge or spend a day on a via ferrata, we can arrange the perfect course for you.

If you have any questions about the information on our website or would like to book a course please do not hesitate to contact us.

Rock Climbing in Scotland, Spain & Wales

Our rock climbing courses are specifically targeted to be relevant to your level of climbing ability; from complete beginner to performance coaching we can cater for your needs.

On all the courses you will have plenty of time climbing and trying out new skills. Examples of courses are below but these are not set in stone - we can combine aspects from several courses to create the ideal course for you.

Intro To Rock - movement skills on rock, sport climbing (bolted), trad climbing (not bolted), ropework and knots, choice and use of equipment, belaying, seconding routes, lots of climbing.

Anchors and Top Ropes - gain the skills needed to set up top-ropes and climb outdoors independently; placing protection, setting top-ropes at sport climbing and trad climbing venues, rigging skills, judgement calls and route choice.

Performance Coaching - learn how to climb better and harder, gain an understanding of what is required to improve your climbing independently, improvements will continue long after the course has finished; tactics, technique, redpointing, headpointing, risk evaluation and assessment.

Intro to multi-pitch - bigger cliffs, judgment and decision making; crag choice, route choice and evaluation, multi-pitch belays, anchors and ropework, retreat from multi-pitch routes, lots of climbing.

Learn to lead - risk evaluation and assessment, trad climbing, sport climbing, gear placement and anchors, ropework, belays, judgement calls, route finding and selection, analyzing guidebooks.

Winter Mountaineering & Climbing in Scotland

Winter in Scotland can be a magical experience - mountains and cliffs storm-lashed and frost-bound. Many climbers and mountaineers wait the rest of the year until it is time to don crampons and ice axes and seek adventures in one of the most challenging environments in the world.

Due to the unique challenges and perils which Scotland’s winter mountains hold it is wise to gain the correct skills for climbing, walking and mountaineering in this magnificent place.

During the winter months we offer instruction and guiding in winter skills, winter mountaineering and winter climbing. All our courses are tailor made to your needs so it is possible to combine elements from more than one course.

For example you may wish to begin a course with some winter skills, then undertake some quality mountain days while consolidating these skills and finish with some winter climbing.

Winter skills courses in Scotland

Our winter skills courses pack in a huge amount of learning into a small amount of time. You will get to grips with ice axes and crampons, navigation, travel on snow and ice, arresting slips and slides, travel on steep ground, weather and snow evaluation and more.

Spanish Ridge Scrambling & Via Ferrata Holidays

Our Spanish climbing holidays and courses run through the winter months and are based in the area around Sella. This area of Spain enjoys Europe’s warmest and sunniest weather and is a great place to enjoy a rock climbing holiday during the UK’s darker and wetter months.

Sella is very easy to get to - only 40 minutes from Alicante airport. This means that you can be climbing within a few hours of leaving the UK!

Via Ferrata - Learn all you need to know to tackle Via Ferrata independently and safely: lanyard systems, movement techniques using rungs and rock, assessing the quality of fixed equipment, techniques for retreat and more.

The Bernia Ridge offers a unique mountaineering experience comparable to, but shorter than, the Skye Ridge. It is an excellent place to learn scrambling techniques and ropework while enjoying the breathtaking exposure and grand panoramas.

It is also good preparation for those who wish to undertake greater challenges. The Bernia Ridge is usually completed in stages over 2 separate days - this allows time for learning skills along the way. It is possible to complete a full traverse in a day for those with a suitable level of fitness and experience.

Mountain Craft and Summer Mountain Skills

A mountain skills course will take you high into the mountains of Scotland or Wales where you can learn to travel safely and effectively in the mountain environment.

A popular choice is to combine some mountain skills days with some scrambling or rock climbing days. Some of the themes that a mountain craft course can cover include: route selection, weather assessment, navigation skills, security on steep ground, emergency ropework, and wilderness camp craft (sleeping bags required!)