Winter Skills Courses in the Highlands of Scotland
(TRAVPR.COM) SCOTLAND - December 29th, 2014 - The visibility around the small group of people is down to just a few metres. The clouds are covering the hills and the snow on the ground turns everything around into a misty haze. A quick huddle around with map and compass and the next waypoint is organised. Only a little longer and they will stand on the summit of Ben Macdui.
The group are out in the Cairngrom Mountains and are part of a Winter Mountaineering course. The provider is Unexplored Scotland. "Navigation can be tricky in the winter mountains and conditions can change dramatically in minutes" says the lead instructor Andreas. It's always best to be well prepared while walking in the winter in the Scottish Highlands. Recent years have proven that a good grasp of winter conditions and awareness of avalanche conditions can make a difference.
The extended 5 day winter skills course would take people to new levels. Participants will learn about route planning, avalanche risks, how to walk on different snow and ice conditions at different angles and how to use crampons. A big part of safety in the hills is also ice axe arrests. This can't be learned in a rush and people need to be able to slide and stop by using a so called "ice axe arrest" technique. Once someone has taken part in any winter skills course they can be more sure footed while out in the Scottish Winter hills.
