5 day Scottish Ski Touring Course with Alex Watt

DATES: Monday 12th to Friday 16th February (course full)

COST: £450 or £490 with ski rental

We will seek out the best snow and locations possible, showing you the variety Scotland has to offer.

This will be based around the Northern Cairngorms initially, so you will be best to book accommodation in the Aviemore area if you are not local. Please read the frequesntly asked questions for information

We will also travel to some other areas if suitable, chasing the best conditions on each day and giving you a variety of terrain and scenery. This will be discussed with the group at the end of each day.

Day one will be a refresher, or for the less experienced group an introduction, into using ski touring equipment. We will make sure you are moving efficiently uphill and skiing safely back down, offering coaching for tackling the various snow types.

Day two will focus on route choice and planning the best route for the team We will also discuss avalanche and hazard avoidance, as well as weather.

Day 3-5 will be tailored to the needs of the group and you will have a say over what sort of terrain you wish to seek out.

Ski touring skis are available but you need to provide your own boots. We can provide avalanche safety equipment. Snowbaorders can attend but need to provide their own splitboard. More details here. The full kit list is here.

Accommodation and travel are not included but we will suggest car sharing options. Some accommodation options suggestions are included in the FAQ. On occasion we may suggest that you purchase a ski touring uplift pass so as to skip the first climb. Currently these cost £11. We would arrange this and invoice you afterwards.

Each day meet at 8:30am to arrange equipment and aim to be moving by 9am. We are normally back by around 4pm.

Please read the Prerequisites.

PRE-REQUISITES

You will need to be confident getting down a black run and have a decent level of fitness. It is hoped that each ascent should not take more than two hours, although there will likely be at least two climbs in the day. Expect the snow conditions may be variable throughout the week.

You would need to be able to ski five days in a row.

You should be happy to ski in unpredictable and changeable snow, although tactics to help tackle this will be covered in the course.

18 years and over only.

If you have had a long break from skiing please make sure you visit your local dry slope or try to get a day of uplift skiing before attending.