Scottish Winter Skills Courses & Instructors

Our Scottish winter skills courses pack in a huge amount of learning into a small amount of time. You will get to grips with:

An Ice Axe 

The Alpine Ice Axe is the tool of the trade for a Winter Mountaineer. Learn to use it in a variety of ways: to cut steps, for support on steep snow, to dig snow pits to examine the snow, as an anchor to prevent a slip and much more.

Boots & Crampons

Mountain boots are tools too. Learn to use the edge like a saw in hard snow, try heel plunges while descending soft-snow, kick steps with the front of the boot on steeper ground. On neve or ice crampons are best - learn to use them in a variety of ways from 'French technique' to 'front pointing'.

Navigation

In Scotland's winter mountains a 'white out' is a regular occurrence. Being able to find your way in poor visibility and to avoid hazards such as cornices is an essential skill to learn.

Learn how to use a map, compass, timing and pacing to navigate accurately. 

Self Arrest

Learn how to use your body and your ice-axe to prevent a slip on a snow slope turning into a slide. Also learn how to stop a slide once it has begun.

 

 

 

Weather Evaluation and Avalanche Avoidance

Use a weather forecast and Avalanche Forecast while planning your day and also learn to interpret nature's signals as the day progresses. This is covered in greater detail on a winter mountaineering course.

The course places emphasis on learning lots of new winter skills in just a couple of days. If you would like a longer course with more emphasis on the whole mountain experience please look at our winter mountaineering courses.

Our Scottish Winter Skills Courses can be based from Fort William or Aviemore in the highlands of Scotland. These areas have easy access to some of Scotland's most classic mountains.

A popular choice of course is 2 days of winter skills at the start of a course followed by 2 days of winter mountaineering where you can put your skills into practice.

Contact us if you would like to discuss your course.