Beginners Climbing in Scotland

On the lower level day between June-September the midges are around depending upon the weather on the day. A midge net is a must to be carried. Long tops and trousers are also best unless very hot. Strong sunlight, heat and a light breeze keeps the midges away, but no wind and damp, shady weather will bring them out. On the higher level day they are not normally a problem.

The lower level day only includes a small amount of rough walking to move around the climbing areas but good balance and core strength is required on the rock to get the most out of the day. The second day is to be viewed as a hill day with up to 4-5 hours of walking up and down hills as well as doing an easy mountaineering route. These are not days that people can do without having any fitness prior to the trip and invloves mostly off path and rough ground. A similar example would be going to run a 10km without any training. One of the main elements of being as active as you can be is to get your legs used to prolonged activity as well as getting your joints (knees especially) used to the inpact they will need to cope with.   

None. This is an introductory course for rock and abseilling. A good level of fitness and experience of hill walking is needed to be able to move around the rough ground and having the ability to get the most out of day 2. This can be seen as a progression from your past hill walking experience adding rocky ground to your experience. 

Please see a Kit list here. We will supply all technical kit, helmets and harnesses etc, so you only need your normal hill walking kit.

One the lower level day you will only need a small, light bag with food, water and maybe a spare top. We are only about 15 minutes from the car through the day but it can be tricky to nip back to get something. As we are low down it is generally not cold, but it is Scotland.

On the higher day a normal hill walking bag is needed for a full day out with a bit of extra space to carry your helmet and harness, around 30 litre bag.

The minimum age is 13 years old if accompanied by their legal gardian.   

Included

• Qualified and local Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor with 1st aid cert and bags of experience.
• 3 nights accommodation in Fort William
• Technical kit

Excluded

• Food and drink
• Travel insurance
• Transport to the venues (normally around 20-40min drive). 

The accommodation is split between a self catering house comprising of 3 bedrooms, a double, single and twin, and a self catering lodge which sleeps up to 4 people. Only people booked onto the course will be staying at the accommodations and each have their own exclusive kitchen and bathroom facilities.

The accommodation is located in the town of Fort William which is also the start point. Details of meeting location will be sent nearer the trip. 

On the lower level day the ground can be boggy between the climbing areas but walking 'approach shoes' or walking boots are appropriate. Sports, fashon, running trainers etc are not appropriate for this day. On the higher mountaineering day walking boots are needed. 

We operate smaller groups at a ratio of 1:6 for the lower level 1st day and 2:6 on the mountaineering day. For larger groups we would have more instructors.  

There are many supermarkets in Fort William to purchase food prior to the first days walking. It is best to have 'normal' food that you like to eat and is already pre made.

Good options include sandwitches, cereal bars, chocolate bars, nuts, flapjacks.

Poor options include pasta trays, cold soup, energy gels, sweets.

An average lunch might consist of 2 sandwitches, 4 ceral bars/flapjacks, 2 chocolate bars

It is advised to take at least 2 litres of water/juice for the day. More if it is hot.  

Start: You'll meet your guide outside the SYHA in Glen Nevis at 9am Fort William on day 2 of the itinerary. You'll be emailed the address after booking.

End: We aim to finish by 5pm on day 3 of the itinerary.

The west coast of Scotland is the wettest part of the UK and the majority of the time the upper slpoes are covered in cloud. The average day on the summit is around 10-15 degrees with a bit of cloud cover. There are times when the sun is out and the sky is clear but this is not to be asummed as the norm. Your instructor will advice on the best kit to take based upon the weather forecast. We still continue the days in all weathers, unless it is extremely strong winds at the summit. This we will not know until a few days before. In this event we may swap the days and pick a route that suits the weather.