Guided winter walking and winter skills on Ben MacDui

A lovely few days private guided walking and Scottish winter skills with Henri and Valerie in preparation for a planned ascent of Mont Blanc. Fantastic winter walking conditions on Cairngorm and the Ben MacDui plateau and a few Munro summits in the bag :-)

Father and son team Philip and Tom winter climbing day 2

23 Feb 2018 - Another bright sunny but bitterly cold day with plenty of hard icy snow in the Cairngorms.

Today ultra keen father and son team Philip and Tom and I headed into Coire an t-Sneachda which although busy compared to yesterdays venue (we saw no one all day!) was still relative quiet and easy to find a route without queuing.

It was calm as we set off but the winds increased just as we headed into the normally sheltered coire bowl though we were sheltered on the climb in Goat Track Gully until we hit the plateau!

We headed back and out of the wind at a surprisingly calm 'Windy Col which should be renamed 'Calm Col' in southerly winds' which gave us time to practise some more winter mountaineering / winter skills and John Wayne / Tina Turner technique, whoever he or she is!

On the way out from Coire an t-Sneachda the strong southerly winds had scoured the path down to hard neve and ice as we were blown all the way back to the Coire Cas carpark on a very icy path!

Facebook video from Tom and Philips climb in Goat Track Gully can be found at https://www.facebook.com/CairngormMountainGuides/videos/1236622869771591/

Private Guiding with Philip and Tom climbing day 1

22 Feb 2018 - A beautiful atmospheric cold day climbing in a remote part of the Cairngorms with returning clients Philip and Tom.

Just two years ago Tom at the age of 15 completed his first winter skills course and guided winter climb and has been keen to return ever since. Now two years later he is back and has grown into a strapping fit young man happy to carry all the  climbing kit and the rope :-)

Pity about the vicious winds which made everything really difficult and painful and made the climbing rope arc and pull like a kite but that's Scottish winter mountaneering for you!

See video at https://www.facebook.com/CairngormMountainGuides/videos/1235721849861693/

Stunning New Year Weather for Guiding

Great calm sunny cold weather and a really great start to the New Year and Scottish winter season.

An early start saw us up and over Cairngorm for several abseils into to our pristine private winter climbing venue. 

As normal we had the whole side of the mountain to ourselves and didn't see another person all day unlike the queues and crowds in Coire an t-Sneachda! 

Despite being -7 Celcuis we felt really comfortable gearing up on the plateau in the golden morning sun. 

It was really fantastic day out with Robert and with perfect alpine weather for coaching and guiding.

The aim of the day was to winterise Robert's summer rock climbing and build on his previous winter skills and winter mountaineering expedition background which we covered in depth along with climbing lots of new ground and even a second winter ascent of some new pitches. 

I think Robert and his friends will be back for more soon though I can't guarantee such perfect weather ;-)

There's now a short video on YouTube for you to enjoy here and you can book Private Guiding and Coaching here too!

On the Winters Edge with Thomas (14yrs) and Peter

Cairngorm winter climbing intro for 14 year old Thomas along with his dad Philip - Thomas loved it... Photo album 'Guiding with Philip and Thomas' on our facebook page here smile emoticon

Family Guided Winter Climbing and Instruction.

Cairngorm whiteout and basic winter climbing ropework in preparation for our guided winter climb tomorrow. I was out with father and son team Philip and a very mature and competent 14 year old, Thomas :-)