UKH

Hi All, 

I'm fairly new to the world of climbing, and definitely new to this forum, so go easy. I would like to get into some (mostly Scottish) winter hill walking and climbing, hoping to build up slowly to some alpine routes. (if it's relevant to anyone: I'm 19 going on 20, male, pretty physically fit, spent lots of time outdoors, lots of sailing, walking, camping and bushcraft, boulder about a V5/6 at the moment, having got rusty over the summer)

I decided the best way to get into this would be a basic skills course, the longer and more involved/detailed the better, especially if it could possibly lean towards alpinism in the future. I think I've found exactly what I'm looking for in the five day course with Talisman Mountaineering: www.talisman-activities.co.uk/product-page/winter-mountaineering-course?fbclid=IwAR1SUpTFOZbrQZ_FH868UathvTKklD-qz5tqTlO2oTAhqlKXHfi-0cDwbD0/

Full details are available on the website, but essentially all technical equipment (except winter boots, so that includes ice axes, crampons, harness, ropes etc.) and tuition is included, but you have to supply your own food, accomodation, boots and warm clothing. The course takes place at Aviemore, in Scotland, and would run the 27th - 30th of December (ideally, these dates work best for me) or the 4th - 8th of January. It covers ice axes, crampons, some basic climbing techniques (like building snow belays) and all of the associated skills (avalanche awareness route planning etc.). The course itself  costs £550.

I need a partner to go with me on the course, someone who is also interested in learning, and who would also get something out of it. I very nearly found a partner previously through this wonderful forum, but unfortunately circumstances meant they weren't able to make the it, so I'm looking for someone else...

Drop me a message or reply to this post if you're interested! Thanks!

Hi, my friend and I from London are looking to do one like yours in Scotland in early january or late december so this is perfect or so. We were more looking for the two days ones "winter skills course" but this might also suit us. I'd love to talk more so send a message.

Glenmore Lodge run excellent Winter Skills courses, which you can attend course-only for £550 (the same as the one you've linked to) or residential for £675.  You'll be hard pushed to find accommodation & food for £125 unless you're in a van or camping for the week (bleurgh!).

I would recommend them, but particularly so if you don't find someone to team up with.

https://www.glenmorelodge.org.uk/winter-mountain/winter-mountain-skills/win...

Much better link to use if you're trying to look at the course I posted about: https://www.talisman-activities.co.uk/product-page/winter-mountaineering-co...

Thanks for the recommendation! I think I have found a partner now, but it's still good to know which training centres are good for the future and as a contingency, so this is great.

I'm sorry, but I do not recommend Glenmore Lodge. Granted, I've only been there twice (each time on 5 days courses), but, from what I could see, the quality of the instructors they use varies wildly.

Out of the 3 instructors I had over the 2 weeks, 1 was good, 1 was okay-ish and the other 1 was outright terrible. To me, this is just too much 'luck of the draw': if I'm gonna go all the way to Scotland, I don't want to be stuck for an entire week with a terrible instructor, am I?

As a comparison, I've also worked with probably around 15 instructors from PyB (who also run courses in Scotland), and every single one of them has been very good to excellent.

As an aside, the Cairngorms didn't seem that great to me either. Sure, you can learn winter skills anywhere, but Lochaber/Glencoe, where PyB are based for the winter is much more scenic and varied than the Cairngorms.

This is very subjective and I wasn't there with you but it seems unlikely that anyone in Glenmore was terrible.

Whilst I agree that the west has terrific scenery, the east (Cairngorms...) offers plenty variety and is also often more reliable than the west.

Basically I disagree with you