Weather:
Of course Scotland has its fair share of rain! But this shouldn’t stop our mountain training course. After all as mountaineers we usually head out into the wet stuff and adds a greater depth of experience and knowledge to our mountaineering repertoire.
Course Content:
As mentioned previously we offer a flexible approach to our mountaineering courses Scotland, this gives us the opportunity to tweak it to your level and aims from the course. However below is a sample of what the day/s could look like.
2-Day Course:
Day 1: Meet 09:15 meet/chat about aims and objectives. Head out into the hills. A chance to look at map & compass work and cover some of the skills needed to get to where we are going. On our journey we will look at the types of terrain that we generally encounter whilst out in the hills. For example steep terrain/moving efficiently, scree, boulder terrain intro to Scrambling type terrain. A look at the use of walking poles and their importance, as well as their hindrance. Also see our Scrambling courses here:
We aim to finish around 16:30/17:00 each day.
Day 2: Meet 09:15 – Planning a route for you or your chosen group, and how the weather affects this. Then a chance to work on some of the navigation tips we covered in day 1. On the way we will look at the ‘what if’ happens and what to do. Next we take a look at basic rope work used on a mountain training course. For example how to safe guard and use a rope on something like Fiacaill Ridge, Aonach Eagach, and CMD arete.
*N.B. Day 2 usually involves some Scrambling. This is open to the individual/group and not forced. But usually people opt for this as, well it’s fun! And builds mountain experience.
3-Day Course:
Our 3-day Mountaineering course Scotland offers the same as our 2-day course but includes:
Day 3: Meet 09:15. Planning a route for you or your chosen group, and how the weather affects this – A weather lecture (Don’t like that word 😉 Can be used on wetter weather days as run inside usually 30 mins, and can offer a chance to practice rope work too.
Then a chance to work on some of the navigation tips we covered on day 1. On the way we will look at the ‘what if’ happens and what to do. Next we take a look at basic rope work used on a mountain training course. For example how to safe guard and use a rope on something like Striding Edge, Crib Goch, and Tryfan north ridge. Therefore we will be moving onto steeper ground/terrain and tackle some easy grade scrambling. Similarly we will look at the mentioned rope work and how to use it correctly. As well as going up we will look at going down and methods for implementing this.
4-Day Course:
After 3 days on one of our mountain training courses Scotland you will be honing your skills and propelled your mountain confidence to greater heights.
Day 4: Meet 09:15. This is now where you get a chance to put things together. Following on from yesterday we will have roughly chosen a route for today, and now you will take the lead. Still under the helpful and watchful eye of your instructor. Likewise we will still be building on our navigation techniques and strategies, and working on these throughout the day. Depending on the route chosen we’ll be looking to safe guard it where appropriate and give you the opportunity to actually implement what you have learnt for real.
In conclusion our Mountaineering courses Scotland gives you the opportunity to learn, grow and develop in a safe and controlled environment. Always under the watchful eye of our experienced instructor/s they offer guidance and support with no egos throughout.
Below are some of the other talking points and topics that we will no doubt be chatting to you about whilst out and about.
- GPS watches how to use
- Layering systems
- Terrain
- Kit & what to pack
- First aid kits
- Boots – Different types when/what
- River crossings
- Various abseil techniques
- Flora & Fauna
- And lots more
