Birthday Boys 22nd Dec 2019

Snow Report Cairngorm's 12th Dec 2019!

Guided Ice Climbing Tasters

Why not give someone you know a Christmas activity gift voucher? 

This video was filmed on the 12th December 2019 so there is ICE and SNOW in the Cairngorm's!

Winter skills, snow-holing, guided winter climbing, ice climbing taster days and much much more can all be arranged from £120 per day, each for two people. 

 For the ice climbing you'll need to have done previous winter skills and be hill fit!

 See https://www.talisman-activities.co.uk/product-page/gift-voucher

First Winter Skills course of the season

A good couple of days with Tom looking at Scottish winter skills and winter navigation in a variety of weather and snow conditions.

On the first day we had good firm snow for cramponing and step cutting and as the snow softened we looked at ice axe arrests before climbing up to the summit of Cairngorm for lunch. After lunch we looked at digging emergency snow shelters before heading down as the winds increase to storm level.

In contrast to Saturday Sunday was wild all day with gale force winds and heavy snow which was perfect for learning about winter navigation and looking after yourself in a winter environment, see the video!

Details of our winter skills course can be found at https://www.talisman-activities.co.uk/winter-skills-courses

Climbing the Frendo Spur (part 2 of 2)

Fiacaill Ridge drone footage from May 2019

Climbing Mhearad's Fall Chimney Finish 18th Nov 2019

Not as much ice as expected, but enough and it's only November, and a fun day's adventure on snowshoes checking the ice out and ice climbing on Mhearad's Fall Chimney Finish :-)

The climb on the day felt about Grade II with two cruxy boulder moves of 4/5 due to the deep soft snow and thin brittle ice but as the short ice wall and chimney are so well protected it's really good fun, especially early season in November! :-)

Later on in the year with good neve and ice it eventually banks out to about Grade 2 or even Grade 1.


If you too fancy a few days of bespoke and unique early, mid or even late late season off piste skiing, snowshoeing, winter mountaineering or winter climbing adventures that are well away from the queues and crowds, booking details can be found on our website at https://www.talisman-activities.co.uk/winter-skills-courses under private guiding.

Two November days guided winter climbing with Henry

A great two November days winter climbing and snowshoeing with Henry, long may the wintry weather continue! :-)

We're now running our winter skills and snowshoe courses and private guiding with free axe, crampons and snowshoe hire, if booked and run before Christmas!

If you too fancy a few days of bespoke and unique early, mid or even late late season off-piste skiing, snowshoeing, winter mountaineering or winter climbing adventures that are well away from the queues and crowds, booking details can be found on our website at https://www.talisman-activities.co.uk/winter-skills-courses under private guiding.

#cairngormnationalpark #cairngormmountain #visitaviemore #visitcairngorms #scotwinter #scottishwinterclimbing #snowshoeing #winterclimbing #wintermountaineering #winterskills

Snow Shoeing on Cairngorm 13th Nov 2019

Winter skills and snowshoeing in the Cairngorm's near Aviemore in November!

If you too fancy a few days of bespoke and unique early, mid or even late late season off piste skiing, snowshoeing, winter mountaineering or winter climbing adventures that are well away from the queues and crowds, booking details can be found on our website at https://www.talisman-activities.co.uk/winter-skills-courses under private guiding.

Fionn Bheinn 30th Oct 2019

If you too fancy a few days of bespoke and unique early, mid or even late late season Munro Bagging, off-piste skiing, snowshoeing, winter mountaineering or winter climbing adventures that are well away from the queues and crowds, booking details can be found on our website at https://www.talisman-activities.co.uk/winter-skills-courses under private guiding.

Winter Skills Courses for 2020

As can be seen from the photos above, a great start to the winter 2019/2020 season with the first proper snows falling on the 21st October and further cold temperatures and snowfall since. 

We are currently taking bookings for winter skills and winter mountaineering courses with the Christmas and New Year courses now almost full. We've now got just one place left on the 27-31 December 2019 course and two places on the 4-8 January 2020 course.

Our winter mountaineering courses are again proving popular with some of the January and early February courses already filled. 

Still plenty of spaces available on our weekly winter skills weekends and with private guiding as well as from mid-February onwards. 

We've got a short video showing the first snow of winter on Cairngorm at https://youtu.be/2U3pBDcuXy8

Learn more

First Cairngorm Snows 21st October 2019

If you too fancy a few days of bespoke and unique early, mid or even late late season off-piste skiing, snowshoeing, winter mountaineering or winter climbing adventures that are well away from the queues and crowds, booking details can be found on our website at https://www.talisman-activities.co.uk/winter-skills-courses under private guiding.

Cairngorm Winter Skills Courses for 2020

Weekend and 5 day winter skills and winter mountaineering courses, snow-hole expeditions and guided winter climbing based in Aviemore in the Cairngorms.

Spaces still available on our Christmas 2019 and New Year 2020 Winter Skills courses based in Aviemore in the Cairngorm mountains in Scotland.

To find out more and to book your next winter adventure for 2020 visit our website at https://www.talisman-activities.co.uk/product-page/winter-skills-course

Skiing Cairngorm's M2 18th March 2019

Cairngorm Off-piste 11th March 2019

Winter Climbing in the Cairngorm's 27th Feb 2019

Cairngorm Winter Mountaineering 24th Feb 2019

Hidden Chimney Wet Direct 20th Feb 2019

Spiral and Goat Track Gullies 19th Feb 2019

Henry Climbing Jacobs Ladder 16th Feb 2019

Cairngorm Off-piste skiing 11th Feb 2019

Tweed Valley MR Winter Training Weekend

Slochd Ski Trails 4th Feb 2019

Nottingham Uni MC Winter Weekend 2019

Winter Sunset Reflections on Ice

Some of yesterdays stunning drone footage of the sunset on a frozen Loch Morlich in the Cairngorms set to music - please share!

Petzl Gully Review and Good Ice Starting to Form :-)

Today I was out looking for thick ice while testing a the latest ultra lightweight Petzl Gully hammer with the new Petzl Sum'tec ice axe. 

I was pleasantly surprised at how well the Petzl hammer's thin pick easily penetrated the water ice despite it's ridiculous low weight (280 grams). 

I didn't get a chance to try the hammer and it's maybe not the tool for hard mixed, extreme ice and dry tooling but for general mountaineering on snow and ice it works really well.

The Petzl Gully is sold mainly as a steep skiing snow gully/couloir tool but when reviewing the hammer I found it was equally well suited to easy ice climbing on some steep ice bulges especially when paired with the slightly heavier and more robust Sum'tec mountaineering axe. 

Quite worrying approach over any hard snow towards 'Mhearad's Fall' due to avoidable depth hoar or facets, so I am told, unless of course you are trying to access the ice route but being able to plunge the Sum'tec into the ground below gave added confidence!

Once on the ice it was nice, relatively safe and really enjoyable. With a brief freeze thaw it'll get even better unless it all melts OR gets buried by lots of fresh snow ;-)

Bespoke Guiding and ice climbing on Cairngorm's 'hidden Alpine Face' routes can be booked online here >>>

A winter mountaineering and introductory winter climbing stunner!

A few photos and video of Reena and Paul's winter mountaineering course in the Cairngorms. The weather had been mild since before Christmas and snow cover was limited.

Despite all this Reena progressed from her very first steps using an ice axe and crampons, having lunch in a snow-hole and learning about weather, avalanche risk and basic winter rope-work, to mixed climbing and alpine style rope-work.

Then finally on the last day Reena and Paul climbed a Grade 2 winter route in Coire an t-Sneachda to experienced the most amazing views.

Although sheltered and sunny on the climb they topped out through a blast of freezing spindrift onto the wild wind swept arctic alpine plateau of the Cairngorm's.

Despite the freezing wind and windchill temperatures of minus twenty both Reena and Paul loved the whole experience and their Scottish winter mountaineering course and Scottish winter adventure with Talisman Mountaineering.

A short winter climbing video of Reena and Paul's last day of the winter mountaineering course is at https://www.facebook.com/CairngormMountainGuides/videos/2250518108529434/

Alpine rope-work and belays

Scottish winter mountaineering and winter climbing

Winter mountaineering rope-work and direct belays

Mess of  Pottage and Jacob's Ladder

Winter climbing rope-work and belays

Grade 2 winter climbing rope-work

Grade 2/3 winter climbing!

Winter mountaineering rope-work on Twin Ribs

Another good mountain day this time in Cairngorm's Coire an t-Sneachda looking at winter rope-work and rock anchors as we climbed several Grade 2 pitches before moving together alpine style onto Fiacaill Ridge.

A frosted goggles day!

Winter mountaineering snow-hole

Winter mountaineering snow-hole

Winter mountaineering Paul abseiling off a snow bollard

Winter mountaineering Reena abseiling off a snow bollard

Reena abseiling off a snow bollard

A wintry Association of Mountaineering Instructors rucksac!

Winter mountaineering rope-work and snow belays

Winter mountaineering rope-work and bucket seats

Day three of our Scottish winter mountaineering course with Reena and Paul and it's winter again and a proper frosted goggles, rope-work and snow-shelter day!

Winter Mountaineering days one and two

Reena and Paul enjoying the atmospheric winter weather

Winter mountaineering rope-work

Scottish winter mountaineering course step-cutting

Scottish winter mountaineering course crampon practise

Winter mountaineering course Ciste Gully Cairngorm

Ski course Ciste Gully Cairngorm

Winter skills crampon practise and crevasses!

Reena and Paul winter mountaineering course on Cairngorm

 Days one and two of our Scottish winter mountaineering course could not have been more different!

Day one stunning winter weather to practise winter skills and day two windy, wet and mild to look at navigation and winter mountaineering rope-work in comfort and in preparation for the wintry mountain weather tomorrow and for the rest of the week!