Introductory Snow and Ice Climbing Course

Introductory Snow and Ice Climbing Course


From £950
Grade: Intermediate
4 mountain days Guide Ratio: 1:2

Introductory to Snow and Ice Climbing is aimed at those who already have basic winter mountaineering skills and want to climb snow and ice at grades II to III. Some previous rock or indoor climbing experience and the ability to belay safely is essential.

Our Introductory Snow and Ice Climbing Course is aimed at those who already have basic winter mountaineering skills and want to climb snow and ice grades II-III. For the introductory snow and ice climbing course you need good basic winter skills and the ability to use crampons and ice axe safely and effectively. Some previous rock or indoor climbing experience and you must have the ability to belay safely.

This Introductory Snow and Ice Climbing Course will cover:

  • Snow belays, rock and ice anchors
  • Throughout the course we will aim to ascend some of Scotland’s classic routes graded I-III
  • Route choice and avalanche avoidance
  • Movement and technique

Courses run from Wednesday evening to Sunday afternoon (around 4:30pm), giving you four quality mountain days.

This course is Level 3 of our four main winter skills courses; Introductory Winter Mountaineering (Level 1) Winter Mountaineering (level 2) Snow and Ice Climbing Course (Level 4) progresses onto steeper, more technical terrain and requires previous winter climbing experience.

Please do not make non-refundable travel arrangements until you have verified that your course is confirmed to run.

Accommodation is booked from the night of your arrival with instruction starting the following morning. Check out is normally the morning of your final day unless you have booked an additional night. This is booked on a twin or double room basis: however single rooms will be provided where there is not a member of the same sex to share with. Single rooms and additional nights can be requested at an extra cost.

Dates & Prices

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All prices in Euros are guide rates, not live rates
All prices in US Dollars are guide rates, not live rates

Availability

DatesAvailabilityDays Price Select
3rd Jan 2024 - 7th Jan 2024 Spaces5 £950 Book Now
10th Jan 2024 - 14th Jan 2024 Spaces5 £950 Book Now
17th Jan 2024 - 21st Jan 2024 Spaces5 £950 Book Now
24th Jan 2024 - 28th Jan 2024 Spaces5 £950 Book Now
31st Jan 2024 - 4th Feb 2024 Spaces5 £950 Book Now
7th Feb 2024 - 11th Feb 2024 Spaces5 £950 Book Now
14th Feb 2024 - 18th Feb 2024 Spaces5 £950 Book Now
21st Feb 2024 - 25th Feb 2024 Spaces5 £950 Book Now
28th Feb 2024 - 3rd Mar 2024 Spaces5 £950 Book Now
6th Mar 2024 - 10th Mar 2024 Spaces5 £950 Book Now
13th Mar 2024 - 17th Mar 2024 Spaces5 £950 Book Now
20th Mar 2024 - 24th Mar 2024 Spaces5 £950 Book Now
27th Mar 2024 - 31st Mar 2024 Spaces5 £950 Book Now

* A deposit of £150 will be required at checkout.

Extras

Extras can be added per-person when you book onto a date

ItemPrice
1 Extra night B&B - per night (if booked through us) £42
1 Extra night DB&B - per night (if booked through us) £72
2 Extra nights B&B - per night (if booked through us) £84
2 Extra nights DB&B - per night (if booked through us) £144
Single room supplement £24 per night - 4 nights £96

* A deposit of £200 (or the full extra price, whichever is lower) will be required at checkout for each extra added per-person on this trip

What's Included

  • Instruction
  • Full board accommodation with three course evening meals & Packed lunches, starting with breakfast on the first morning through to packed lunch on the day of departure. Bar meals can be purchased until 8.30pm (Onich Hotel), or 9.00m (Loch Leven Hotel) on the day of your arrival
  • Technical equipment (exc personal kit such as crampons, ice axe, harness, helmet etc)
  • 15% off the RRP on clothing and equipment purchases from Adventure Peaks shop

What's Excluded

  • Travel to Scotland
  • Evening meal on arrival and drinks
  • Personal equipment (such as crampons, ice axes, harness,helmets etc.)
  • Uplift by cable car on Aonach Mor or the White Corries
  • Entry to the ice wall at the Ice Factor in the event of severe weather

Trip Dossier

Reviews

Philip · 3 years ago ·

Dave was very patient and flexible in where we went and was able to structure the course to help me achieve my expectations.

Alain · 3 years ago ·

Well organised. Good professional guides. Friendly and welcoming atmosphere. The instructor was knowledgeable and a good teacher, friendly and patient...good variation of terrain, teaching, exercise and technical learning. Overall a great experience.

Hella · 4 years ago ·

Good fun and value for money...excellent professional guide, I felt 1000% safe under his instructions, learned tons of techniques and tricks from him, he had enormous patience and brought a lot of motivation and people skills...Despite the bad weather conditions on most of the days both instructors Rob and Phil were amazing in improvising, getting us out but being safe at the same time. The course covered an enormous range of techniques from avalanche assessment, dry tooling, ice climbing at a wall and outside - not only how to get up a ridge but also how to downclimb safely, rope work/techniques, climbing efficiency, gear tips and how to keep comfy in the hardest conditions. Tons of respect for the (high profile) guides! Absolutely worth it when you want to learn - and with those guides you learn from the best.

Ken · 4 years ago ·

Very satisfied with the instructor

John · 4 years ago ·

Thank you for a great course. The instruction was second to none and both Matt and I took plenty away from it. Please pass on our thanks to Neil and Brian, who worked tirelessly to ensure that everything we did was pitched at the right level. I will be more than happy to recommend AP.

JJ · 4 years ago ·

Learned more in three days than seven years in the Alps

Anon · 5 years ago ·

I thought we were looked after very well, both instructors were patient and professional in dealing with the challenge of meeting the different requirements of both people on the course...both the instructors were great, helpful, positive and good company throughout the course and I was extremely grateful for the knowledge of Everest that I was able to gain from talking to Rob. I really enjoyed the whole course, the slides and the avalanche talk in the evening made everything seem more real and I think inspired other members of the group and then the ongoing discussion of the options and then the explanation behind the decisions that planned each day, coupled with the challenge that each day and the respective route presented.

Pete · 5 years ago ·

Excellent instructor (Clive Hebblethwaite), good transport, small group size, good accommodation. Clive was knowledgeable, extremely competent, friendly, safe, fun, tailored the course to suit the clients well. Five varied days covering all aspects of winter climbing in Scottish weather!

Scott Pilling · 5 years ago ·

Last year I went on a Scottish Winter Mountaineering course (which is advised first before this course) and really enjoyed it .
This course that was taken by Clive Hebblethwaite who was excellent and I learned so much more than I knew previously. If I could put it into context I'd say 10 X more.
He tailors your course to suit your skill or knowledge and allowed me to learn from beginner rope work as I had no experience to indoor lead climbing, use of all slings and belaying other climbers on a grade 3 climb. I also learned a packet of information on the snow and how to look for anchor points.
We went up the Dorsal Arete (grade 2-3) which blew me away a little as in the first day was way more than I expected but it helped me learn faster.
I was with another nice guy called Pete who guides and teaches people rock climbing but had no previous alpine/ winter mountaineering experience. I on the other hand had no rope or steep route experience or rope work.
As you can imagine my learning curve was very steep!
I took it all in thanks to Clive's excellent teaching and to give you a few examples of the routes... we did North Butress grade 3-4 on Stob Dearg (Etive Mor) A bit of Curved Ridge grade 2-3 and Sron Na Lairig North East ridge 1-2 grade.

I personally think he's the best guide i've ever had.

Lastly thanks for a excellent course and this is really the one if you're like me and wish to do harder steeper mountains in the future.

Andrew · 7 years ago ·

The guide to client ratio was perfect! (one to one). Everything could be tailored to get the most from the two days. Level of difficulty was perfect, gentle-ish intro on day 1 and then more challenging on day 2.

Ken · 7 years ago ·

My guide was very experienced, quickly understood my abilities and expectations. Flexibility to do what i wanted to do and change with the weather.

Austin · 7 years ago ·

The instructor was a top bloke and the small group worked well and the instructors choice of where to go to considering the weather conditions. Also I liked the lecture on avalanche risk assessment.

Anonymous · 7 years ago ·

Great course with Tom who was an excellent instructor. He made a bad weekend of whether really good with plenty of practical experience. The route choices were great considering whether and food in a hotel good especially the evening meal.


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