Mountaineering winter skills courses
Our winter mountaineering and winter skills courses are held in Spain's Sierra Nevada mountains during the months of December through to the end of May. These hills are ideal with good snow lasting well into June. The north faces of Mulhacen and Alcazaba offer both beginner and experienced mountaineer good long routes in a quiet environment. In addition the ample sunshine hours guarantee good climbing weather. Our 4 wheel drive vehicles transport you to 2,500 metres in the Sierras. Here within a mile radius are snowbowls, gullies and cliffs galore. Excellent training areas exist all within easy reach of our transport....no 3 to 4 hour walk-ins to the snows anymore! Maximum time can be spent in learning the skills necessary to be in the hills in winter or to ascend Alpine peaks. After acquiring those new skills we take you into the hills, thus allowing you to put them into practice in a big mountain environment.
What you will learn
You'll
gain a clear understanding of the principles and quickly attain the skills.
You'll be able to choose the most appropriate technique for the terrain
and conditions. With adequate time given over to practise, you'll finish
the course proficient in both the technical winter skills and those essential
winter navigation techniques. If you:. wish to extend your hillwalking into the winter season
. need to know how to use an ice axe
. want to know about emergency snow shelters
. have few navigational skills
. want to confidently navigate in white-out conditions
. want to learn all the skills for safe movement across snow & ice - covered terrain: crampon techniques, evaluate avalanche risk, etc.)
. want to know about step kicking and cutting
. want to consolidate the skills to optimise future winter trips
. plus a whole lot more ...
- then this may well be the course for you.
Typical Course Content
2 DAY COURSETopics covered:
Kitting out for winter
Use of Ice Axe
Use of Crampons
Avalanche awareness
Roping up
Snow belays - use and suitability
Ice Axe braking (self arrest) Click to see clients learning the art!
Abseiling
Snow Climbing and introdution to dry tooling
Snowshoeing
4/6 DAY COURSE
Additional to the 2 day course a combination of the following will be done depending on snow and weather conditions:
Ascent of Veleta (3,398 metres)
Traverse over Veleta to Poqueira Hut via Collado del Veleta
Ascent of Mulhacen (3,479 metres)
Mixed climbing on Puntal de la Caldera (3,215 metres)
Traverse of Tajos de Nevero ridge
Ascent of Cerro de Caballo (3,215 metres)
You may also be interested in?
Alpine Introduction courses - with an emphasis on training specifically for the Alps
Introduction to ropework for scramblers and beginner rock climbers
Sierra Nevada high peaks - in winter, much tougher, very rewarding!
Scrambling adventures
Short Roping by Gottleib Braun-Elwert (PDF)
Animated Knots Link to interesting site about how to tie knots!
Avalanche awareness Excellent online course by C.A.A
