Kendal Mountaineering Services Cumbria
Get the Flash Player to see this rotator.

Upcoming Winter Courses

 

Winter Skills, Navigation and Snowholing and

Technical Winter Climbing courses. Cairngorms based.

 

Friday 24 February to Friday 02 March 2012

In 2012 Kendal Mountaineering Services will be running its annual winter skills, navigation and snowholing and technical winter climbing courses in the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland.  

 

The Winter Skills course will run over two days on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 February 2012. The course is designed for those new to winter conditions; to provide you with the knowledge and skills to go out in the mountains in Winter. You will learn how to use your equipment, how to read the conditions underfoot and above all to be safe in what can sometimes be hostile and quickly changing conditions.

Over the two days you will cover the following:

 

The navigation and snow holing is a two day mini expedition . The course will run over Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 February 2012. The two days are spent navigating around the area of the Cairngorm Plateau and you will spend the night sleeping in a snowhole, either one already excavated or if none are present, you will dig your own! This is a chance to really experience Winter conditions in safety and improve your existing navigational skills.

You will cover such skills as pacing, not so easy when there are constantly changing conditions underfoot, from compact snow to wading uphill through drifts, aspect of slope, tips to deal with navigating in a white out.

In order to attend the navigation and snow holing course, you should have ideally completed a winter skills course to have the knowledge to be safe in the conditions, or be able to show that you have the required skills. Click here to read about a previous snowhole trip.

Following on from the Navigation and Snowholing will be two (or three depending on demand) days of technical winter climbing.

These days are for people that want to experience the excitement and adrenaline of climbing. The days will teach you how to place gear, create belay stances, rope management and how to retreat from a climb. 

For all these courses you will need to have a good standard of equipment suitable to the conditions, to include waterproofs and winter boots capable of taking a crampon. Ideally participants for the winter skills course will have an ice axe, crampons, helmet and harness. Kendal Mountaineering Services can hire helmets and harnesses to those that don't have them and there are other outlets that the remainder of the techinal hardware can be hired from.

For those wishing to attend the navigation and snowholing, you will need your usual hill going navigation equipment, plus a good bivvy bag and sleeping mat, sleeping bag rated to at least -10 and stove.

For the winter climbing, clients should have their own helmet, harness and crampons and some previous experience of climbing.

If you want to read about previous courses, please click here for winter skills courses and click here to read some previous blog reports about climbing days.

For photos of a previous winter skills course, click here and here for nav and snowholing.

The cost of the course is competitive and is as follows per person for instruction:

2 day winter skills £100

2 day navigation and snowholing £90

climbing days £90

Please get in touch with your enquiries either by calling on 07761 483364 or by using the contact us form and we will be happy to answer any questions and to take your booking. Have a great winter experience with us !

 

Ring us to discuss your requirements - Tel:01539 737332 Mob: 07761 483364