FROM £165

WINTER SKILLS

WINTER SKILLS 2 DAY

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Our two day weekend winter skills courses, based in the Cairngorms, Aviemore, Scotland are designed to give you the fundamental techniques for safe travel in the mountains in winter conditions. We focus on prevention more than cure, looking at suitable personal kit, organisation and appropriate use of what we carry. How to safely plan a day using avalanche and weather forecasts and how to implement them into a safe journey. On snow, we focus on movement skills with solid footwork in ascent and descent, self-belay, step cutting, self-arrest and crampon techniques.

COURSE HIGHLIGHTS

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Any technical equipment, crampons, ice axe and helmet is included in price

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Avalanche awareness/avoidance and its implications for safe route choice

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Effectively planning your days in the mountains, using weather and avalanche forecasts

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Appropriate choice and use of equipment and clothing suitable for winter hillwalking

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How to be efficient with your snow craft; focusing on efficient footwork; use of the ice axe for self-belay, step cutting and self arrest

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Emergency procedures, digging shelters

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Core, fundamental navigation techniques for winter travel

What's included?

✓ Highly experienced & qualified guide

✓ On-course transport

✓ Crampons

✓ Mountaineering axe

✓ Shovels

✓ Group shelter

✓ First Aid kit

✓ Photos from your course

✓ Overview of the course content

What's not included?

✗ Course Insurance

✗ Winter Boots (we can arrange rental)

What do I need to bring?

Quality waterproofs i.e. Gore-tex or similar
B2-B3 style boots
Hat, waterproof gloves plus spares x 2 minimum
Winter walking socks
We advise wearing 2-3 thinner layers rather than one thick layer so you can adjust your temperature during the activity
'Belay' type jacket
Wicking base layers, top & bottoms
Goggles, double clear lens recommended
Head torch, plus spare batteries
Balaclava and neck gaiter
Lunch & warm drink
Rucksack 30-40ltr

What else can we provide?

Reservation for boot hire
Pick up & drop-offs
Accommodation

DATES & PRICES

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Can't find a date that suits? We regularly organise bespoke dates for people.

Email or call +44(0)1540 368138 us and we will do our best to get you on your adventure!

GALLERY

We understand that getting a quality nights sleep and being able to dry your equipment can make all the difference to the comfort and enjoyment of your course, so we have used some of the local youth hostels due to the fact they provide what we need well. The rooms are priced on a sharing basis, but we can also arrange private rooms and/or different accommodation if you wish. If you would like to book your own accommodation a few options in Aviemore are:

Airbnb

Ardlogie Guest Hourse

Ravenscraig Guest House

Aviemore YHA

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Due to the variety of weather conditions encountered in Scotland this course is run with a conditions based approach, meaning that your instructor/guide will use the best of conditions to maximise safety, your learning and overall experience throughout your course. Below is a sample itinerary.

Day 1

We meet and chat through the obectives for the day and what people want to get from the course. Then a little workshop on how to plan your winter days using the Be Avalanche Aware model, discussing where to find and how to interpret the weather and avalanche forecast for a safe mountain journey. Your Instructor will check kit, chat through their thought process to maximise learning of the decisions made throughout the day. On the hill, we concentrate on footwork, efficient movement, and basic use of the ice axe; balance, cutting steps and what to do if we do take a slide.

Day 2

On day two we will put into action our learning from day one on a little journey, with some input of some navigation on how to cope with adverse weather, how we interpret the snow on our journey and how to try and avoid avalanche terrain. We will also look at emergency procedures.