5 Day Winter Skills Course
Cairngorm
Flexible dates. You choose!
Cairngorm Winter Skills
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Discover the Scottish highlands in winter and learn what it takes to tackle the frozen world of the mountains.
Our five day course is perfect for those who wish to learn, refine and perform all the fundamentals of winter skills and extend their time in the mountains across all 4 seasons. We will provide you with all the fundamentals of winter in these amazing environments so you can stay safe throughout winter.
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You will be introduced to winter in this amazing landscape by taking a journey across the mountain, where you will be introduced via practical sessions to, movement with axe and crampons, reading the snow pack, avalanche awareness, navigation and much much more. We aim to be on the hill as our primary location for learning, after the course we will provide everyone with suitable feedback for them to safely go out and consolidate their learning.
Course highlights include:
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Use of equipment ice axe/crampons
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Movement technique with crampons
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Movement coaching & boot work
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Avalanche awareness & planning
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Winter navigation
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Planning a winter day in the mountains
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Self arrest and use of ice axe
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What to carry on a winter's day
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Plan and execute your own day
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Steep ground movement
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Our courses can be booked via the dates provided here or run on a bespoke basis we have a selection of dates and can run all throughout the winter at whatever time and date suits you. We don't need a huge amount of snow to run this course our expert instructors will find the best area to work in. A good level of fitness is recommended.
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FREE Ice axe, crampons & helmets RENTAL
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Itinerary
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All our itineraries are flexible and we pride ourselves on providing client lead learning. A typical Itinerary would be
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Day 1
We would outline the course and set our main learning aims. Look at the kit that we carry, why we carry it. Weather is always a part so we will talk about what it means for us in winter before heading out on the hill to look at the moment techniques and get to grips with some of our winter kit, axe and crampons
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Day 2
Is development of our movement techniques whilst we get to grips with winter navigation. We will begin to look at the basics of self arrest using an axe. Whilst all the time assessing the avalanche conditions.
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Day 3
This is our steep ground day. Using all the movement techniques we have learnt so far we aim to solidify them in steep ground. Continue our mountain journey for longer and start to become more independent
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Day 4
We put everything so far into practice and hand the responsibility over to you. We allow a greater level of independence for you on the mountain from decision making to the journey planning. All the time the guide/instructor will be with you for coaching and safety.
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Day 5
Day 5 is all about reflection, heading out on the hill to refine techniques, cover weakness and provide you with a details route of where to go next.
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Whatever your own skill level and experience I strongly recommend going out with Open Ascents and learning something new
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Marco via Trip Advisor