http://www.SDADVENTURES.CO.UK/

Looking at ice axes and stumbled on these on wait for it…..ebay!
Looking at winter skills course…worth a punt or run a mile?
Glencoe/2 days – must be shite right?

Only thing with Glencoe, being West coast, is the snow conditions are so variable, one warm front and it’s all stripped. Only the top few 100m of the Ben will survive. You’re much better off staying East, ie Cairngorms for a winter skills course as you stand a much better chance of having snow.

Well if the courses are as good as the website…..

As above – it depends how committed/able they are to travel to where the snow is. You could spend a good deal of your 2 days simply climbing up to a decent height to find some.

if you are looking for instruction in winter skills you are best looking at http://www.ami.org.uk/ for a fully qualified and insured provider.

Glenmore lodge ftw

It’s difficult choosing, But I wouldn’t do it thru ebay. I know a few people who went on guide-come-tuition courses and learnt no more than they did from going out with mates, altho they went up some excellent routes above their ability. Some taught technique was completely the personal technique/opinion of the guide and contradictory to textbook, which just caused confusion, but not necessarily wrong.

I’d start by asking/searching on the main climbing forums for recommendations or going with a recognised course provider like Glenmore Lodge, PYB, ISM. They’ll teach the textbook stuff (with maybe some personal opinion from your tutor), then you can go out safely and build on the accepted/recognised basics.

I’ve done the west Coast loads of times and always found enough for skills work.

The main thing is what are this guys qualifications. He needs to be a at least winter Ml qualified, ideally the one up from that the name of which i can’t remember

Going with mates is of course a good option. assuming you have some mates with the correct skills available at the right time

I have really enjoyed winter skills courses even when i didn’t need the skills training. Just a great way of getting on the hill in company

The guy who runs that site is apparently a MIA trainee. I personally wouldnt pay the cash to someone with that level of qualification, but that’s my personal choice.

MIA trainee should be taking you out for free to get their mountain days in, not charging for them!

There are a number of Mountain Guides in Scotland, so I’d recommend going with one of them. Martin Moran’s outfit is really good, I was in the Alps with them and they run courses in Scotland out of Strathcarron. Try http://www.bmg.org.uk for a list of them.

Especially as I think an MIA only qualifies you for summer. An MIC is what you are after, or a BMG.

MIA trainee should be taking you out for free to get their mountain days in, not charging for them!

+1

I’ve done this before and it was ace.

He might be an MIA trainee but could concieveably be winter ML qualified in which case he could charge for certain services.

They are WML qualified.

If you look at the blog on the site, then type that name into google you’ll see what quals they have.

http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item.php?id=61588

He gets a mention on here favourably, so contacting Dan, who is a good guy, will get you some more details.

My mate http://www.johnbiggar.com

HOME

Highly rated. I did a course with these guys.

I did free guiding / instruction when I was working for my MIC – you only charge when you have the qualifications. I worked (for free) for a friend, who was MIC, who supervised everything.

Hi Scot here from SD ADVENTURES

SD Adventure’s are running a basic 2 day winter skills course which is selling on ebay for £70per person.

Lots of people have given some great advice on this topic which is great. It Is important people have good information and feel confident when booking any type of course.

Throughout the UK there are hundreds of winter skills courses being run by qualified guides and mountain leaders. These companies are built on reputation and safety requirements set out by the governing bodies. When booking a course ALWAYS check the qualification, company number and insurance to ensure you have picked a good provider.

Our 2 day BASIC winter skills course is run by a qualified Winter mountain leader (wml) who is first aid trained and fully insured.

The course teaches you the BASIC skills to keep you safe in the mountains and is NOT designed to teach winter climbing.

The MIA part of the topic is interesting as the MIA is only valid in summer conditions and covers mountaineering including climbing. But the topic was about a winter skills course which is on snow and doesnt include any climbing?

Thanks for the looking at the course and if anyone has any questions then feel free to contact us at mail@sdadventures.co.uk.

Its really upto you if you feel like running a mile or if you want to grab a fantastic deal on a great course.

whatever you decide, be safe have fun and hopefully we will see you in the mountains.

take care

Scot Rodger
http://www.sdadventures.co.uk

Scot – thanks for posting. Reporting 107 mph gusts on the summit of the Ben at the moment. I trust you are wrapped up somewhere safe and warm 🙂

Hey druidh

just about to goto bed, the wind is howling outside and the thing to do is get cosy and warm. Its not a night to be on the hill I think.

Winter is fantastic and has its place, but sometimes being wrapped up and cuddling the missus is the best thing for it.

take care

Scot Rodger

For general info, since there’s some confusion above, here’s a run-down of UK mountain qualifications:

Walking Group Leader (WGL): Day walks in non-remote UK terrain in summer conditions

Single Pitch Award (SPA): Single-pitch summer climbing, not including lead-climbing.

Summer Mountain Leader (ML): Day walks and multi-day expeditions in the UK mountains in summer conditions (i.e. anything other than snow/ice sufficient to impede progress).

Winter Mountain Leader (WML): Day walks and multi-day expeditions in the UK mountains in winter conditions, including use of ice-axe and crampons for walking.

Mountaineering Instructor Award (MIA): As summer mountain leader, plus UK summer rock climbing, including leading.

Mountaineering Instructor Certificate (MIC): As MIA, plus UK winter climbing/mountaineering.

International Mountain Leader (IML): Summer & Winter walking (single and multi-day), throughout the world. Winter walking is aimed at snowshoeing rather than axe/crampons. Various add-ons exist for Mountain biking, canyoning, artic/desert/jungle travel, etc.

British Mountain Guide (BMG): Summer and winter walking, climbing and skiing throughout the world, including travel on glaciers.

Oh, and just to back spottydogweeman up, a WML would be the appropriate qualification to teach a basic winter-skills course (i.e. use of crampons & axe on moderate terrain, basic snow/avalanche safety).

BMG or MIC only required if you want to move on to technical climbing.

Thanks for all the replies everyone.

Scot, didn’t mean to cause offence if I did with my ‘run a mile’ comment…thought I’d get a consensus of opinion – you never know! 🙂

Turns out I have a few mates very interested in doing basic crampons/ice axe skills too.
Something that might determine where we go is actual snow on the ground…Cairngorms seem the most dependable for that.

I’m gonna be away from tinterweb for a few days, but will do some research when I’m back and may be in touch soon after all.

Cheers

Scot (SD)

Just sent you an email…please read ASAP!

Cheers