Our 2 day Winter Skills courses are personal skills courses, designed to teach the core skills and techniques to enable safe travel in the UK mountains in winter.
To operate safely in winter conditions requires a broad range of skills and the development of good judgement. This course is designed to give an introduction to these and to develop an awareness of the potential hazards that winter brings.
Each day you will take part in a mountain journey to introduce and practise the skills in context. Our aim is to help you to gain familiarity with these skills, giving you the confidence to get out into the mountains independently to further practise and consolidate.
Winter Skills courses cover:
- Choosing suitable equipment and clothing for winter
- Developing efficient footwork for winter
- Use of ice axe/ ice axe arrest
- Use of crampons/ movement techniques
- Avalanche awareness and avoidance
- Introduction to winter weather and winter navigation
- Managing safety on steep ground
- Planning a day out in winter
- Constructing emergency snow shelters and emergency procedures
What you can expect:
On the morning of day one we’ll meet, check equipment and the weather forecast before heading off to a suitable venue to start our adventure. To make the best use of the weather and snow conditions the delivery of winter skills is kept as flexible as possible.
You can expect to be out each day for around 6-7 hours. Much of the day during the course will involve learning opportunities and as such, the pace of the day is friendly and will include plenty of breaks.
Experience required:
This course is designed for people who have done some mountain walking and are fit enough to be out on the hill for 6-8 hours.
For participants with some prior experience, the course will refresh and build on any existing winter skills, but it is also suited to those with no previous winter experience.
The course is suitable for adults of all ages and we are happy to have participants as young as 16 (although under 18’s need to be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian).
What to bring:
It is VITAL that you come prepared for a full day in the winter mountains to ensure that you get the most out of the course.
You will need to be equipped for a full day in the hills in winter conditions with adequate warm and waterproof outdoor clothing. This includes:
- winter boots suitable for attaching crampons,
- ice axe and crampons (we can arrange hire of these if required)
A full kit list will be sent to you ahead of the course.
Course Dates:
Course dates coming soon or get in touch for bespoke dates!