winter mountain courses
winter walking
Winter Mountain Courses
Rock n Ridge offers a range of winter mountain courses, from taster winter walking days, through to full on winter climbing challenges. Pick your location and we can arrange a course that suits YOUR needs. To BOOK simply send us your required date/s through and we will get you booked in. Alternatively if you have any questions about any of our courses, send us a message here.
Winter walking and mountaineering in the UK requires respect, and the knowledge of unique winter skills. That’s why we advise enrolling on one of our Guided Winter Walking days. We also offer winter climbing days and other tailored winter experiences – see below.
Hiking in winter, in the UK hills is very different to summer walking. The days are naturally shorter, but the journey is often longer as the terrain is harder going. The days can often have 4 seasons in one day. Everything from clear skies, blustery summits to hail and sleet. That’s what makes it so unique.
The hills in wintertime can be absolutely stunning! A cold crisp clear blue day is absolutely fantastic. In contrast when the cloud and clag is in, sometimes you can only see the footsteps you’ve made. That’s why having some knowledge when it comes to winter skills is a must.
Guided Winter Walking:
Our Guided Winter Walking days are a great introduction to the winter hills. We will take the stress out of route planning and navigating whilst you concentrate on walking and enjoying the hills. In addition we’ll show you some basic winter skills, like how to use crampons and if needs be an ice axe. No technical ground will be covered on these days unless you request it. For more information and to book a course click here.
Winter Mountain Courses:
One of our Winter mountaineering Courses will give you the chance to get more involved with the winter skills needed to move independently in the hills at wintertime. Safe travel, moving on to steeper terrain, ice axe arresting and understanding the weather will be learnt on these courses. You’re winter walking and mountaineering will progress to the next level on this course. For more information and to book a course click here.
Winter Climbing:
Similarly our Winter Climbing courses offer a chance for maybe the first timer to give ice climbing a go! However, you may have done some winter climbing before and would like to gain more specific winter skills knowledge only found whilst winter climbing. For instance we could look at some of the rope work used whilst out climbing in the mountains. Alternatively you may want to learn more about the equipment used. All of this can be learnt in a day together with of course the essential climbing technique s used to climb steep ice / mixed ground. Our instructors are all professionally and highly qualified in this discipline. Winter Mountain Courses
In conclusion whatever you’re goal is we have a day to suit you. From your first time walking in winter, through to a more experienced winter walker, looking to refresh their winter skills knowledge. Or even progress to the next level and give winter climbing a go we have it covered. For more information and to book a course click here.
Kit
For winter equipment hire get in touch beforehand. You can hire Ice axe and crampons. We can also hire winter crampon compatible B2 and B3 winter mountaineering boots out for a small daily fee. The prices shown are for the duration of your chosen course – So if your booking for 3 days this is the only price to pay.
- Crampons – £10.00
- Ice axe – £10.00
- B2 boots – £20
- Our ‘Trio’ package – All 3 above – £35
Dates:
As a rule our winter mountain courses run, from January through to March/April depending on the snow of course. Scotland has the more reliable snow fall and snow cover levels, so therefore this is where we predominantly run from. That said, the Lake District can get a good covering and so that is possible. Therefore we recommend getting in touch with you’re dates and requests before committing to book. We have a team of qualified and professional instructors, so rest assured your always in safe hands.
Pricing:
Prices start from as little as £50 per person for one of our winter mountain courses.
A £50 deposit is required to book a place. See our Contact and Pricing page for more details.
Larger groups can be catered for. Please get in touch for pricing.
Our instructor ratio is a maximum of 1:5 for our guided winter walking days and winter skills courses. And a maximum of 1:2 for our winter climbing days. This we find offers the best learning possible, whilst still being able to maintain safety for the group.
Further reading:
The BMC – Choosing the right boots for winter
Info from the BMC – Choosing ice axes
See here – BMC – Weather
BMC – Route choice