Winter Mountain Skills Courses | Scotland |Cairngorms

Course Info

Join our Winter Mountain Skills Course in the Cairngorms National Park, designed to help hill walkers and mountaineers gain the confidence and skills needed to navigate Scotland’s mountains in full winter conditions.

calendar Dates January - March
Duration Duration 2 , 3 or 5 Days
Start Location Start Location Aviemore - Scotland
Instructor Ratio Instructor Ratio 1:6
Skill Level Skill Level W1
Book Today Book Today £200 - £ 495 P/Person

Whether you're new to winter skills or have some experience, this practical course will teach you how to safely navigate snow and ice, assess avalanche risk, and handle rapidly changing weather conditions. Perfect for anyone heading into the winter mountains, we guarantee a fun, informative experience with friendly, highly experienced instructors.

 

What You’ll Learn

✔️ Winter navigation and map reading
✔️ Crampon and ice axe techniques
✔️ Avalanche awareness and risk assessment
✔️ Understanding mountain weather patterns
✔️ Emergency procedures in winter conditions

 

Don't have winter gear like axes, crampons, or boots? No worries! We offer winter kit hire to ensure you're fully equipped. Just get in touch for more details.

 

Why Choose Our Cairngorms Winter Skills Course?

  • Taught by highly qualified instructors with years of winter mountain experience

  • Based in the heart of the Cairngorms National Park – Scotland’s premier winter training ground

  • Small group sizes for personal instruction

  • Builds your confidence and independence in winter terrain

 

Course Options: 2-Day, 3-Day, and 5-Day Courses

What’s the difference?

  • 2-Day Course: Learn the essential skills to travel safely in winter, including how to use crampons, ice axes, and basic navigation.

  • 3-Day Course: Gain a deeper understanding of winter hazards, develop stronger navigation and movement skills, and build confidence in more challenging conditions.

  • 5-Day Course: A full progression into winter walking. Includes advanced navigation, emergency scenarios, route planning, and extra time in more remote, complex terrain.

Descending Cairngorm at the end of a Winter Skills course
Windy conditions in winter on Cairngorm

Who is this course for ?

To join this course, you should have some prior mountain walking experience and a good level of fitness. No previous winter walking experience is required, as the course is designed to accommodate everyone from complete beginners to those with intermediate experience.

This course is ideal for:

  • Mountain walkers looking to gain confidence in winter conditions

  • Hikers wanting to develop essential winter navigation and safety skills

  • Outdoor enthusiasts eager to try snow and ice terrain for the first time

  • Mountaineers looking to gain foundation skills for peaks like Mont Blanc, Gran Paradiso or Swiss 4000s

All participants must be aged 18 or over! 16+ are allowed when accompanied by a parent or guardian. 

W1 Skill Level
Winter Walking and Mountaineering Skills

No previous experience using an axe and crampons.

SKILL LEVEL KEY - Click here

ACCOMMODATION

This course does not include accomodation, full details on accomodation options will be sent to you once your booking has been received.

Course Dates
PRIVATE BOOKINGS

Hiring one of our instructors privately is the perfect choice when you’ve got a specific aim in mind, whether it’s to improve your personal skills, have an unforgettable guided experience with a group of friends or tick off an objective you’ve had in your sights for a while.

Click on the link for more details

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WHY CHOOSE US?

All of our instructors are highly qualified Mountaineering Instructors or Mountain Leaders who take pride in offering engaging - fun courses that will give you the very best chance of achieving your goals. We are also members of Mountain Training, the Association of Mountaineering Instructors (AMI) and the British Mountaineering Council. Why not check out our google reviews and see what our clients think about us. 

The Mountaineering Company was voted Travellers' Choice on TripAdvisor in 2025 for its consistently high service and 5-star Reviews. 

Google Review
Mountain Training
AMI

All of our Winter courses are delivered by qualified and experienced Winter Mountain Leaders (WML) and Winter Mountaineering Instructors (WMCI). Our instructors are highly experienced in winter sports and are members of the Association of Mountaineering Instructors (AMI)

Matt Cooper
Matt Cooper
 Mountaineering Instructor, Winter Mountain Leader Find Out More
Find Out More

Some previous hill walking experience and a good level of fitness. You may ask what a "good level of fitness" actually means so basically the ability to walk in the mountains for a few days while looking at skills. If you don't have much hill walking experience why not check out our Mountain Skills courses in North Wales. 

Our Winter Skills courses are delivered in Aviemore in Cairngorm National Park. We will happily transport anybody travelling by public transport during the course. Get in touch for more details. 

Our winter skills course is perfect for anybody looking to climb in the Alps as it covers using crampons, axes on terrain similar to that found on Mont Blanc.  

Normal walking clothing is fine for this course but extra layers and gloves are essential to a comfortable week. We recommend an insulated layer for the colder days or a spare thick fleece to go under your waterproofs. 

Testimonials

I've now been on two courses with The Mountaineering company. Both courses were great, learnt loads and Matt/Sam were brilliant instructors. I would definitely recommend to anyone getting into mountaineering to book onto intro and development courses. I'm looking forward to doing more courses with them in the future. (Google Review)

Alex Heaps

My partner and I booked Matt for two days mountaineering instruction so we could learn how to use ropes on climbs that were out of our comfort zone. We had a fantastic two days and Matts structured approach allowed us to take it all in and practice all the techniques over and over again. We both now feel more confident to take on more adventurous scrambles. Thanks Matt

Andy and karren

Fantastic day on the Back to Basics Navigation course with Matt. Very well organised and learnt a lot. Matt was very professional and great at teaching the skills with lots of patience and encouragement. Really enjoyed it and will definitely be signing up to other courses in future. Highly recommended.

Chontelle Wright

A great day out learning how to use a map and compass with Matt. His teaching style gave us just the right amount of information without feeling overloaded. I would highly recommend Matt !

Chris

Just got back from a fantastic weekend with Matt on the Welsh 3k and couldn't have asked for a better time. We had blue skies and cool air so it wasn't too hot and the views were simply incredible. Matt set a great pace allowing us to push our limits but never going beyond what we were capable of and we finished in 18 hours 32 mins. Hes a top bloke and I would certainly recommend him and The Mountaineering Company to anybody. Thanks again Matt. You will certainly see us again next year no doubt!

Chris Mansell

We attended a navigation course today with Matt. He was fantastic, can’t rate him highly enough! We had no knowledge at all, but have come home feeling confident and ready to tackle our adventure! Thank you Matt for a fabulous, fun day

Claire Black

I thoroughly recommend Matt as a leader & guide. I experienced an exhilarating & fun day with a super group doing Matt's Ogwen Classics day. Matt managed our mixed levels of ability & confidence with a calm, encouraging, alert & purposeful manner. He inspired confidence through recognition of our efforts & shared his knowledge & experience to support our skill development. The day passed all too quickly!

Ferne Davies

Awesome day with Matt teaching my 11yr old son and I the basics of climbing. Very patient and approachable would highly recommend Matt to anyone with an interest in rock climbing. Really fun day enjoyed by all!

Ian Roberts

Wow ! Where do I start, the best walking/climbing day of my life. Matt you were fantastic with all the members of our group. (Google Review)

Johnny Jones

All I can say is amazing!! Never scrambled before Matt looked after us supported us though the scary bits and made the whole day brilliant.

Karen Williams

Had a fantastic weekend with Matt on the mountain skills course - he is really friendly + approachable, and tailored the two days to what we enjoyed + wanted to learn. Would definitely recommend to anyone wanting to build their confidence with mountain hiking + navigation!

Kirsty

Well. What can I say - one of the best adventure weekends my friend and I have ever had and absolutely 10/10 instruction from Matt training us for our first OMM (Google Review)

Luke Whipps

Recently attended an intermediate rock skills course in the Peak District. Really great weekend and excellent fun. Matt is a top bloke; very knowledgeable and just the right amount of laid back. Allows all the information to really sink in - effective teaching!

Matt Pomfrett

Excellent day out with Matt on my first ever Scramble. I found it pretty tough in places but Matt was always there to put me at ease, offer instruction and with his support I made it to the top. Would highly recommend to others.

Polly Hornby

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