Winter skills training opportunities – walking in snow with crampons and ice axe, this is limited to 6 people.
Category Archives: Training
Bennachie night nav – Tue 26th November
Fourteen of us made an evening ascent of Bennachie with 5 choosing to hike and the rest to practice their night navigation skills. Temperatures were below zero but Storm Bert had well and truly past so we had a clear night. A thick frost on top had a few wondering if microspikes were in order. Some good stargazing in the clear skies, and a tip on astro-navigation noted (how to find polaris).
Ben Macdui snowholing – 30th March
Recces earlier in the winter hadn’t revealed much snow depth, but a window of good weather after a late snowfall had a party heading out to the norther corries. Although a suitable spot was found at a popular location, they decided to explore further and after carefully navigating through a white out, the weather cleared and a great location was found and digging began on the east side of Ben Macdui.
After completing a good-sized abode, they headed out for a night hike under the kind of starry skies you only get deep in the mountains.
They headed off on a scenic tour under blue skies the next morning: first to “all the zeros” then Loch Etchachan for lunch. Next was Loch Avon and a visit to the shelter stone before an ascent up Coire Domhain and Cairn Gorm before heading back to the ski centre.
A video has been made with some further information:
Winter Skills Rothiemurchus 3/4/5 February
Our accommodation for the winter skills weekend was the spacious rooms of Rothiemurchus lodge, where we assembled and prepared equipment before tucking in to a communal feast.
Next day, the trainees headed off first into Coire an t-Sneachda, then over to Coire na Ciste to practice ice-axe arrests, under the expert eye of Everest and seven-summiteer Di Gilbert.
Non-trainees attending headed out too – Snowboarding on Friday, up Cairn Gorm into a storm on Saturday, then in better conditions on Sunday there were various trips – to Braeriach, Meall a Bhuachaille and the Lairig Ghru, before folk headed off after a most enjoyable winter weekend.
