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We offer guided winter climbing and personal tuition in the Lake District any time conditions are favourable. A flexible approach to both timing and venue is the best to take advantage of any good climbing conditions whenever and wherever they occur. If you want to tackle a specific challenge, or you just want a really good day out on the hill then this is for you. Our established range of winter skills courses caters for the climber or walker wishing to develop their winter mountaineering skills. Private guiding and instruction is available for individuals or groups, by the day or longer. We will meet your precise requirements. One of our regular winter skills courses can be tailored to your specific needs; you may be looking for a guided ascent of a chosen route or a day’s instruction on a particular topic. I normally undertake all instruction and guiding personally, but I can of course arrange for extra guides and instructors for one or more days where larger groups are concerned or if I am not personally available. We can arrange your accommodation for you. This can be whatever you choose: there is convenient hotel, guesthouse, B&B and self-catering accommodation available: the choice is yours. Packed lunches and evening meals can normally be provided if required for anyone not self-catering. Sometimes it is possible to arrange accommodation in a climbing “club hut”. I can make all the arrangements for you and confirm the price. Of course, we always make every effort to use the prevailing conditions to their best advantage. We will prepare an itinerary to your specific requirements and if you are considering a different venue whether it’s in Scotland or elsewhere we arrange private guiding and instruction anywhere, any time, by arrangement. Just ring us to discuss your plans!

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When you join us on an Alpine Preparation course we aim to give you the technical grounding you need to safely enjoy your trip to the Alps or other glaciated mountain range. We run these instructional courses privately on dates to suit you. The advance training and practice will give you a good head start when you arrive in the Alps or Greater Ranges. You will learn in an unpressured environment with plenty of time, reduce the amount of time required to pick up new skills when you go abroad, and you will have the opportunity to practice and reinforce what you have learned in the intervening period ahead of your high mountain adventure.

You may be planning to attend an Alpine mountaineering course or to climb in the Alps with friends. Whichever is the case, the Alps will provide you with fantastic and challenging opportunities, but to be a successful Alpine mountaineer requires a considerable degree of commitment and training in advance. It is well worth spending a weekend in preparation for the vastly different mountain environment you will be experiencing: the greater scale, high altitude and mix of glacier, crag, snow and rock will offer rewarding objectives indeed, but new mountaineering problems will have to be tackled. Speed is essential, and the ability to organise yourself and your equipment effectively is most important. These preparation courses will help the Alpine novice acquire the basic techniques, and update the skill of the more experienced.

The topics covered will include rope management and belaying techniques for glacier travel and movement on all types of terrain, equipment, basic rope work, simulated crevasse rescue and use of mountain huts. There will be an evening slide show on the Alps, which we hope will put the course into real life context.

On the course we will work on the technical ground you need to cover before your trip. You would also be well advised to do some preparation by yourself as a build up to the Alps! Firstly, try to arrive in the Alps reasonably fit. Do some general hill walking carrying a load up hill whenever you can, and possibly also do some cycling, jogging or running. Secondly, acquire and practice some rope work technique related to rock climbing. If you are already a climber, this should be familiar, but if you are more of a hill-walker then we recommend that you read an instructional book or watch some videos online. The preparation course will obviously help with, this, but it is not a rock-climbing course, and prior familiarity with climbing techniques will be useful. We can offer a thorough grounding in rock climbing techniques for those who require it, either as a course extension or on a separate course. Please feel free to discuss your requirements with us if this is of interest.

We normally run courses in the South Lake District, but we also have accommodation available in mountain huts in the Peak District, North Wales and elsewhere, so we can offer a choice of venues. Locally in the Lakes we have self-catering accommodation in a cottage, mountain hut or caravan if required. Camping is possible locally for tents and vans, and B&B or any other accommodation of your choice can be arranged if you prefer. Local transport is provided free of charge. You should bring your own food for lunch, though people usually decide to eat out together on the Saturday night. The courses will be directed by myself or by other suitably qualified and experienced staff, the ratio being 1:6 maximum, and most often 1:1, 1:2 to 1:4 on a private group booking.

Participation is strongly recommended to help you make the most of your Alpine season.

Please get in touch to enquire about private booking rates for individuals and groups, and availability of dates.

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We’d love to help you plan and prepare for your next trip by sharing our wealth of expedition experience and knowledge with you on one of our Expedition Training courses in the Lake District.

I offer Expedition Training on a private, bespoke basis for everyone, whichever expedition organiser you are travelling with, and I can provide help and advice if you are travelling privately and not using a UK operator at all. The training is usually similar to Alpine Preparation in the hard skills covered (specifically glacier travel, crevasse rescue and roped moving together on all types of terrain), but the content is tailored to the requirements of your particular trip. We will include a full expedition briefing specific to the area you are going to visit, including topics like the specialist kit you will need; and we can include additional hard skills where appropriate such as the use of fixed ropes, use of specialist cooking equipment, and camping skills for high altitude expeditions and the Polar Regions.

We also run Expedition Training courses in the Alps, for example preparation for Denali in the Vallée Blanche, where we can set up camps on the glacier and practice hauling expedition pulk sledges.

Please get in touch to discuss your plans.

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Helvellyn and Great End have a great reputation for reliable winter conditions, but obviously it takes planning, good luck and a flexible approach to timing and choice of venue to find snow and ice in the Lake District.

We will try to be flexible and help you get the timing right for your trip, and then search out the best the area has to offer when you arrive. We will always try to make the most of whatever conditions are available to achieve your objectives and teach you the skills you need.

On these courses we deliver instruction for Winter Mountain Walkers in groups of up to 6 through to mellow climbing routes for Winter Mountaineers in a maximum group size of 4. If you want something hard core take a look at our Snow, Ice and Mixed climbing trips. Most people come for 1 to 3 days but our full Winter Skills courses in Scotland are normally 5 days duration and if you have the time available we run the full 5 day courses in the Lake District too.

Whenever there is snow all courses will begin with an introduction to, or revision of, essential ice axe and crampon skills in terrain appropriate to the participants, including at least one thorough session on ice axe self-arrest. We cover assessment of snow conditions, avalanche risk, and building survival shelters.

Walking groups focus on the personal skills needed for safe mountain travel in winter. Whatever the weather and conditions we can cover navigation, route planning, use of weather forecasts and choice of equipment.

If you wish to reach your summits by more ambitious mountain routes, and sample some roped climbing we offer Winter Mountaineering courses that include ascents of some easier graded climbs, such as a snow gully and classic ridge route. The itineraries will be selected to suit the prevailing conditions and aspirations of the party. A minimum of good summer hill walking experience is required, and some previous summer scrambling and/or winter hill walking would be useful. The essential skills, outlined for Winter Mountain Walking groups will be covered, but we will move onto steeper and more difficult ground than normally chosen when walking. Rope work and belaying will be introduced from first principles, so no prior climbing experience is necessary.

If you are staying for a few days we can arrange an evening slide show and a discussion or practical session relevant to the course (e.g. snow and avalanche, rope work and belaying). We can even include an overnight expedition out on the hill if requested. We may also wish to take advantage of any local entertainment, and simply take some time off to relax!

Flexibility is the key; please get in touch to discuss what’s possible.

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This outing in the Derwent Fells of the North West Lakes offers the opportunity to explore the Elizabethan history of the Keswick area. The walk proves to be an excellent choice for the shorter days of late autumn, and indeed right through the winter into spring. We can adapt the route to fit the time available so we can linger to appreciate the magnificent scenery and the many points of interest along the way. There are so many variations, each of which has its highlights to savour and detours to explore, not to mention the many options to reach a choice of summits to suit your stamina.

The length of the route can be modified to take account of weather and available daylight, with a start at Hawes near Derwent Water or further up Newlands valley at Little Town. Options include a visit to the site of the old copper mine at Scope End, renamed Gottdgabt (God’s Gift) by the German miners because of amount of copper it yielded.

It’s a steady ascent to Hindscarth and on to the summit of Dale Head from where we have an outstanding view of the Honistor Slate mines. Depending on how people’s legs are feeling the route can either descend back down the valley to Little Town or continue on over High Spy and Maiden Moor before dropping back down to the starting point. Either way this is a superb walk with spectacular views and the interest is maintained along its entirety.

As a rough guide the walk normally takes 5 to 8 hours and is around 11 to 19km, depending on the route taken.

Please phone or email if you’d like to join us!

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