Mountain Navigation Skills Training Course. Lake District based. May 25th & 26th 2013.

Kendal Mountaineering Services are continuing to run their successful Mountain Navigation Skills Training Courses in the Kentmere area of the southern Lake District National Park.

The next available weekend course is May 25th & 26th 2013 and the cost for the two day Navigation Course is only £80 per person for the weekend. We currently have eight places available.

The price includes the provision of laminated maps for the areas to be covered in both 1:25 and 1:50,000 scales. You will need to provide your own compass for the course and we would recommend the Silva Type 4 Expedition compass for this Navigation Skills training Course.

These Navigation skills training course are ideal for anyone wishing to improve their map reading & navigation skills to allow them to venture into mountainous regions of the UK with confidence.

Some previous experience of map reading & navigation techniques is useful but not essential.

These courses are also ideal if you are preparing for your Summer Mountainwalking Leader Assessment either as preparation for the assessment or as a Mountainwalking Leader Refresher course prior to attending a reassessment for your Summer Mountainwalking Leader Award.

Map reading & navigation skills form the backbone of every Mountainwalking Leader Assessment whether it be summer or winter, so confidence with this skill is essential to pass the award.

The course itinerary 

We will meet on both days at 09:00 at Wilf's Cafe at Staveley Mill Yard in Staveley (LA8 9LR for those of you with Satnav). On day one we will travel to the nearby area of Green Quarter Fell to introduce basic map reading & navigation techniques providing a progression throughout the day for everyone - no matter what level of expertise you have.

Day one is designed to be an informal introduction to the basics skills needed to map read in the mountains - building on the skills you already possess and adding more! The whole course wil take place in a relaxed atmosphere - it is meant to be fun!


On day two, we travel further up the Kentmere Valley to walk part of the Kentmere Horseshoe and here we can consolidate the skills taught on day one as well as adding techniques not already covered.

Here, walking at a higher altitude, we are more likely to encounter the conditions which will test your ability. Low cloud, poor visibility and strongers winds. All these things go together to make a realistic environment in which to test your skills in preparation for going into the mountains on your own or with friends


The following aspects of navigation skills will be covered during the course :-

Orientation of the map,

Grid references,

Measuring distance on the map & on the ground by pacing.

Tick off features,

Naismiths rule (timings c/w distance & contours),

Taking & walking on a bearing using a map, ie grid to mag,

Identifying from ground to map (Mag to grid),

Walking on a bearing/back bearings,

"Handrailing" using Linear features (eg streams/footpaths),

Aiming off,

Attack points,

Resections,

"Boxing" around an obstacle.

The emphasis throughout the course is to give you as many opportunities as possible to progress to a high standard of mountain navigational capability. We run all of our Navigation Skills Training courses to Mountain Leader Training (MTE) Standard.

We are also running these Mountain Navigation Skills Training Courses during Autumn & Winter 2013 during the following dates:-

September 28/29 and October 26/27 (10 places available each course)

November 9/10 and November 30 / December 1 (10 places available each course)


Please get in touch with your queries either by phoning Iain on 07761 483364 or by using the contact us form on the website and we will be happy to answer any questions and to take your booking.

Skye, May 11th - 18th 2013. Last chance to book!

Last chance to book a place on our Skye May 2013 Cuillin Ridge Traverse Trip.

There are just seven days to go before we decide whether or not to run this trip due to take place between May 11th & 18th 2013 - so if you are interested contact us now to book your place.

This is an excellent opportunity to experience the Cuillin Ridge of Skye. Participants often have differing objectives for attending, some may wish to bag the 11 munros on the Cuillin Ridge, others may want to complete a traverse of the Cuillin Ridge. Here, both can be done together.

Our package allows for considerable flexibility. We will have six full days of which four will involve being guided by Iain Gallagher, Mountaineering Instructor, with the ultimate aim of a complete traverse. There are also two rest days allowing us to be flexible and make the best of the weather when choosing our four Cuillin Ridge traverse days.
The price is still only £425 per person and is excellent value for what is on offer. This package includes 7 nights self catering accommodation in a comfortable cottage, a guided traverse of the Cuillin Ridge of Skye from end to end done, if possible, over a maximum of 4 days. Please note that we cannot guarantee a complete ridge traverse as it is often weather dependant, but we will do our best!


As the accommodation is not too distant from the Cuillins, we make daily forays into the ridge allowing us to complete the traverse section by section but spending each night in a comfortable bed and getting a good meal at the end of each day - this itinery has been proven to work well. There are a maximum of six places available on these Cuillin Ridge traverse trips and all of these places are allocated on the basis of deposits received. First come, first served!

 To achieve success on this trip, you need to be a fit and active hillgoer, able to carry all of your own personal equipment for each day out on the mountains and you will be expected to carry additional climbing equipment such as ropes as well.


Everyone must be equipped with a helmet & harness which can be provided as part of the course fee. You will need plenty of liquid each day and high energy food is advisable.

Interested people also need to be aware this is a committing and sustained 13km alpine style ridge traverse often on scrambling ground of grade one standard but also frequently with sections of grade two & three ground where roping up is essential. There are also sections of rock climbing such as the Thearlaich Dubh Gap (severe) and the Inaccessible Pinnacle (an optional but polished Diff) and a number of abseils to be made. Therefore previous experience of scrambling is a must and some previous experience of ropework, preferential. Ideally, you should have a good head for heights and be comfortable with a degree of exposure.

 The Cuilllin Ridge is a challenge, but don't be put off; if you have the pre-requisites listed here, then you should be fine.


The Cuillin Ridge Traverse is the best mountaineering expedition of its type in the UK and Kendal Mountaineering Services have a great track record in guiding on this ridge. We cannot guarantee your success in completing the full traverse, only the weather & your ability will allow us to achieve this, but with his help and your commitment to working together as part of a team, success is a real possibility.

With regards personal equipment for the ridge traverse; people must have good quality foul weather kit and bring plenty of warm clothing plus hats & gloves. On Skye, even in May it can still be wet or cold (or both on occasion). On a number of previous occasions - we have even had snow to deal with!
Due to the nature of the terrain, please do not come expecting to traverse the ridge in approach shoes! They are totally inappropriate for this traverse; stout leather or fabric boots with good ankle support, a solid and preferably cleated Vibram sole are the order of the day for this mountaineering journey.


People have ignored this advice in the past and then experienced difficulties on the ridge - slowing down progress for all concerned.

If you would like advice about equipment, additional information about the Cuilllin Ridge or would like to book a place on one of these fantastic opportunities, then please contact us and we will be happy to help.

Photographs from top to bottom are:

Looking South along the Cuillin Ridge From Bruach Na Frithe

The Southernmost part of the Cuillin Ridge from the top of the Great Stone Chute

Reaching the top of the Inaccessible Pinnacle

Loch Coruisk From Sgurr A Ghreadaidh

Sunset over Loch Bracadale and McLeods Tables from our accommodation

Read about our last trip to the Cuillin Ridge of Skye on our blog here.

We are also offering a second Cuillin Ridge Traverse Trip between the 7th & 14th September 2013 so there is a chance to book on this later course. Contact us if you are interested or would like more information and we hope to see you on Skye.

Easter Bank Holiday in The Lake District

Easter weekend has been sunny & cold for us as it will have been for everyone else who visited The Lake District over the holiday period. It is undoubtedly good that the weather is dry but it would be nice if it were a little warmer as it limits the type of outdoor activities people are able to do.

At Kendal Mountaineering Services we had no bookings for the Easter Weekend but we did have friends Charlotte & Stuart visiting from the south East and they were keen to get out and try a few of the outdoor activities that we offer in the area.

Taken on Saturday, photo one Shows Stuart, Charlotte, Kirstin & Iain on top of Helvellyn. At 3118 feet, Helvellyn is the Lake Districts third highest 3000 foot peak (we only have four 3000 footers in The Lake District) and is one of Iain's favourite mountains. We ascended from Greenside Mines via Red Tarn & Swirral Edge and quickly found ourselves in amongst a lot of snow - mainly remnants of last weekends snowy spell which didn't affect us in Kendal but caused a great many problems elsewhere in The Lake District. Some step kicking was required on Swirral Edge in order to keep the rest of our party safe on what was the hardest part of our route up the mountain, but otherwise the climb was pretty easy and very pleasant.

Photo two shows the crest of Helvellyn above Brown Cove and beyond - the ridge of Swirral Edge connecting to the peak of Catstycam. Whilst cornices are undoubtedly things of beauty they are also a dangerous hazard as they often hide cliffs & steep slopes below. Helvellyns cornices have, in the past, resulted in many rescues having to be made  after unwary hillwalkers & mountaineers have fallen through them when trying to view Brown Cove & Red Tarn below resulting in falls and slides of up to 1000 feet.

Fortunately today the weather was so good that you couldn't miss the cornices which were also frozen solid and very stable. People were climbing many of the gully lines on Red Tarn face and also on Browncove Crags. Conditions are currently good in The Lake District for Winter Climbing and learning Winter Skills and we are available to provide you with either of these courses so give us a call to book your day out!

Whilst the weather is currently too cold for Ghyll Scrambling & Canyoning courses in The Lake District, caving is something that can be done in relative comfort and Charlotte had never experienced the delights that going underground in The Yorkshire Dales National Park has to offer. So on Sunday, we all went to Long Churns cave system.

As can be seen in photo three - the Yorkshire Dales National Park got it's own share of the snow last weekend and the guys at Inglesport had already warned us to see snow in Middle Entrance at Long Churns. Iain had never seen the entrance looking like this with a cornice drooping down into the cave entrance. People might wonder as to the wisdom of Stuart, Charlotte & Kirstin standing right under half a tonne of hanging snow but it was solid neve and quite safe although a danger to anyone who might stand on it from above.

Iain took the three on his usual underground circuit in Long Churns heading first for the lower part of the cave system via Double Shuffle & Plank Pools to the place where daylight can be seen entering from Alum Pot.

En route, Iain also offered the three the chance to step up to the challenge offered by the bedding plane crawl that is The Cheese Press. In photo four Charlotte appears on the other side of The Cheese Press having found it challenging, but a great experience.

After visiting the lower part of the Long Churns Cave system, we retured to sunlight via Diccan Entrance and then returned via Middle Entrance to visit Cross Passage (or Babtistry Crawl as it also known) before heading upstream in Upper Long Churns to return to daylight via Doctor Bannister's Washbasin (photo five) Kirstin & Stuart had both been caving before but it was a new experience for Charlotte who had been unsure what to expect but thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

If you would like to try out caving for yourself then our introductory caving sessions in the Yorkshire Dales National Park are an ideal way to find out what caving is all about and for as little as £45 per person you get a four hour session with a qualified  Cave Leader and all the equipment that the people in these photos are wearing included in the price. So, give us a call to book your session.

At the moment, it is looking like our next post will be about a Stag Event in The Lake District we will be running for Phil Brooker next weekend. Currently, the party are booked to try out one of our fab Ghyll Scrambling & Canyoning sessions followed by some abseiling. However, if the cold snap continues as forecast to then we may have to encourage them to try an alternative that doesn't involve total immersion! Other photographs from our Easter weekend adventures can be viewed here.

Welcome to 2013 with Kendal Mountaineering Services - the Lake Districts premier provider of outdoor activity sessions and skills training sessions in The Lake District, Wales and Scotland.

It's been a while since we posted anything on our blog - so where have we been? Well, both at home and then abroad in South America, but that wasn't until the later part of January. Iain did some work here before we went away and this was in the Yorkshire Dales National Park - home to some of the best caving in the UK.

Photo one shows Eleanor Good with boyfriend Matt underground in Long Churns - one of the areas best caving systems for one of our introductory caving sessions. Eleanor & Matt had a good ferret around both this system and Borrins Moor Caves with Iain. All of the photos from this introductory caving session in the Yorkshire Dales National Park can be viewed here. Prices start at £45 per person for a half day caving session and includes the provison of all specialist equipment & protective clothing necessary to make your session safe & enjoyable. Eleanor & Matt enjoyed their session so much that they hope to return to do more caving with Iain in the not too distant future. Contact us here to book your caving session with us soon.

On January 18th, we began the long Journey south via Liverpool, Madrid and on to Santiago in Chile where we transferred to Mendoza in Argentina for the start of our 17 day expedition to Aconcagua 6962m and the highest mountain in the world outside of the Himalayas.

The mountain is well known for it's strong winds and freezing temperatures and many underestimate the effect that the altitude can have. To all intents & purposes, climbing the mountain is no more technical than a high altitude hill walk but with everything mentioned above this makes it a serious proposition and despite having good weather for our summit day we were forced to turn back at the point in photo two with only 500m to go to the summit.

However, reaching this point at 6500m was a personal high point for Iain's partner Kirstin and no mountain is worth risking ones life for. We did however succeed in achieving our primary objective of traversing Aconcagua arriving via the Vacas Route and departing via the Horcones Valley. Living in a 2 man tent and working together to achieve what we did in the conditions we experienced only had the effect of bringing us closer together - which is of course, a good thing!

After returning to and enjoying a few days in Mendoza,we flew south via Santiago to Punta Arenas at the southern trip of Patagonia and then made our way north via Puerto Natales to Paine National Park spending 3 days here before bussing north again to arrive utimately at Chalten and Parc National Los Glaciares where photo three was taken.

This shows Cerro Fitzroy beyond Laguna Capri nestling in Southern Beech forest, the mountains themselves clothed in glaciers that are part of the South Patagonian Icecap just beyond. Put simply, if like us you are outdoor enthusisasts then South America and Chile are places you must go to before you die!

We finished our South America Trip by heading further north in Chile to Osorno & the Lake District briefly before a visit to Easter Island 4500km west of Chile. We arrived back in the UK on March 7th.

Being out of the country  for 7 weeks has meant that Iain has missed a large portion of the Scottish Winter Season when normally he would have been in Scotland providing Winter Skills Courses and Winter Climbing Sessions. However, returning client Mark Quinn booked Iains services well in advance of our South America Trip to assist with his forthcoming objectives on Gasherbrum I & II this coming summer. Mark had previously attended one of our annual Cairngorms based Winter Skills weeks.

So, within four days of arriving back in the UK, Iain headed north collecting Mark en route for Fort William and three days of Mountain training for Mark. Bearing in mind his objectives, Iain considered that long winter mountain routes were what was needed and so the plan was made to climb Daim Buttress on Aonach Mor - a 500m grade III climb followed by Tower Ridge - 600m of grade IV'3 and one of the best winter climbs of it's grade anywhere in the UK. Days one & two went well and to plan - in photo four Mark approaches Iain on the Eastern Traverse under Great Tower, high on Ben Nevis.

For our final day out together we chose an easier outing, again on Ben Nevis, this time Ledge Route (II) described as the best route of its grade on the mountain. Mark leaves the course with increased confidence with which to prepare for his climbs on Gasherbrums I & II where he will be attempting to raise money for charity. For anyone wishing to know more about Mark and his worthy cause please visit his facebook page here. Photographs from our three days working together can be viewed here.

The winter season continues as we write this and Iain is available to provide your winter skills training or assist with your climbing aspirations so if you are keen to climb a classic Scottish Winter Route or learn how to use your new ice axe & crampons then contact us here.

 

So, what is on the horizon for us here at Kendal Mountaineering Services? Well, we have four stag events booked for the coming months where people are keen to have a go at our popular Ghyll Scrambling & Canyoning Sessions in The Lake District (photo five). We have advertised five weekend dates for Mountain Navigation Skills Training Courses in The Lake District although currently only our April course is looking viable with six persons currently booked.

Our Cuillin Ridge Traverse Trip taking place between May 11th & 18th currently has two persons booked but we need two more for it to happen - so if you are interested or know of anyone else who might be then please contact us. The course includes four days guiding on the Cuillin Ridge and seven nights self catering accommodation and really is an absolute scoop at only £425 per person.

Other than that,we are ready & waiting to take your call or email to arrange your outdoor activity session or skills training course in The Lake District. Easter weekend is fast approaching so why not take a look at the fantastic options we offer on our website and book that special session for you and your family.

We look forward to working with you.

Mountain Navigation Skills Training courses in The Lake District. December 1st & 2nd 2012 and beyond.

At the beginning of December, Iain from Kendal Mountaineering Services ran another bespoke Mountain Navigation Skills Training Course in the same fashion as the course the previous month.

Despite offering our courses out at the bargain price of £80 per person for a weekend Navigation Skills Training Course in The Lake District, we failed to meet the minimum group size of four persons. This is puzzling indeed, but once again, we had one person keen to secure Iains services to run the Navigation Skills training course for themselves.

Adam Murfitt travelled up from Lancashire to attend this course with Iain. Photo one was taken during day one late in the afternoon on Green Quarter Fell. Despite a poor start to the day in which rain hitting frozen ground had made driving to the venue a real hazard - it went on to become a lovely still, dry and sunny afternoon - even if temperatures in the shade did not rise above freezing!

Adams bespoke Mountain Navigation Skills Training Course in The Lake District took the usual format with Iain assessing the candidates initial ability and developing their navigation techniques in a progressive style from there on. Adam was a fast learner so it was not too long before were were using the compass more & more to find our way from point to point and to identify what we were looking at.

In photo two taken on day two, we had moved on to Shipman Knotts - part of the Kentmere Horseshoe and here Adam is comparing the amount of information available on a 1:50,000 scale map in his left hand as opposed to that available on a 1:25,000 scale map (in his right hand!) - basically covering half the distance but offering twice the information of the 1:50 map.

What was more important was that Adam had been asked to identify the white building visible in the top left hand distance which was off the 1:25k map but on the 1:50. Adam successfully located his position on the 1:50 map and, using his compass, was able to identify the building in the distance - no easy task, well done Adam.

Photo three was taken on The Knowe - a shoulder on the ridge between Kentmere Pike & Harter Fell. Here we had great views across to High Street - the highest mountain in the area.

To get to this point Adam had "handrailed" a number of linear features including a track and a boundary wall - successfully identifying and locating "tick off features" along the way. Also, we had included a couple of legs which involved walking on a bearing and pacing and at this point Iain had introduced Adam to Naithsmiths rule for timing as well.

Mr Naismith devised a formula in which he reckoned the average hillwalker could cover ground at the rate of 3 kilometres per hour (Iain reckons it's nearer five for most people) and that one should add 1 minute for every 10 metre contour crossed en route. So, on that basis - say you had to walk one kilometer and had a hieght gain of 100m over this distance then the time for distance shoud be 60 minutes/3 kilometres = 20 minutes + 100metres hieght gain/1minute per 10m contour = 10 minutes............20+10= half an hour. When you have to break it down to 375m distance - covering ground at the rate of 5 kilometres per hour it gets a lot harder! Can you work it out?

Having reached the top of Harter Fell and enjoyed the views in what was very much a winter environment, Iain asked Adam to take him to the head of Drygrove Gill - a conspicuous ravine on the western flank of Harter Fell. Adams choice was to pace & "handrail" the boundary fence to an attack point - in this case an obvious change of direction of the fence that put him a mere 150m from his destination to pace & walk on a bearing.

This was a very good plan and in the final photo of the day Adam can be seen walking towards the head of Drygrove Gill (not visible at this point) with a cold looking Kentmere Reservoir nestling under a snowy Ill Bell in the distance. Adam was bang on with his bearing - having used a feature on the opposite side of the valley as a line of sight. We finished off by continuing to the Ull Stone before heading back to the car.

Adam performed well during his bespoke Mountain Navigation Skills Training Course in The Lake District and whilst this was the final course for 2012, dates for our 2013 courses are now up on the website here and bookings are already coming in. If you would like to learn how to map read and navigate in the mountains with confidence - then have a look at the dates and contact us to make your reservation. £80 for a two day course is a bargain price and we look forward to your joining us on the hill in 2013. Further photos taken during this weekend Navigation Skills Training Course in The Lake District can be viewed here.

Kendal Film Festival 2012. November 15th - 18th.

The Kendal Mountain Festival has become something of an annual ritual for us at Kendal Mountaineering Services - just as it has for scores of climbers, hillwalkers, paddlers, expeditioners and other enthusiastic outdoor folks.

Undoubtedly the best of its kind in the UK, the KMF is an ideal opportunity to see some of the best known speakers and adventurers at the top of their game present some truly inspirational lectures, talks and films as well as just generally meeting likeminded people.

It is also a great opportunity to come together and socialise and that is exactly what we did again this year. Since 2009 we have been joined by past clients of ours - Chris Upton & Adam Dawson, descending on us from opposite ends of the country. Unfortunately this year Adam couldn't make it, but instead we were joined by Dave Mycroft from Myoutdoors who was covering the festival from a journalistic point of view. Dave has been involved with Kendal Mountaineering Services from its beginnings in 2005.

During previous Mountain Festivals, we have made it an interesting mix of both hillwalking and attending various KMF events and this year was no exception. Chris (orange jacket in photo two) was, as always, keen to bag a few wainwrights, so we took a walk on Thursday around the Coniston fells (photo one) taking in Wetherlam, Swirl How and the Old Man. As you can see, it was a truly atmospheric, but pleasant day out.

By contrast, Friday was nowhere near as nice. Photo two is taken near to Red Tarn as we attempted to traverse Crinkle Crags and Bowfell from Oxendale with the cloudbase at around 200m and it was to remain at this level all day.

Chris had bought his bright orange Arcteryx jacket the previous evening at the Planet Fear sale in the Basecamp tent at the Brewery Arts Centre. Iain, on the other hand was wearing the new Berghaus Ilam hydrodown jacket - on test via Myoutdoors. The latter part of the day was miserably damp but this down jacket performed really well - largely keeping Iain dry, but more importantly - comfortably warm despite the conditions. Iain reckons Berghaus are on to a winner with this product and looks forward to testing it out as a belay jacket in Scotland in the new year. You can read his test report on the Ilam jacket here.

Thursday evening found us at Kendal Town Hall for the Boardman Tasker 30th Anniversary Commemorative Event (photo three) To celebrate this event were well known authors of mountain literature such as Doug Scott, Chris Bonnington, Andy Cave, Roger Hubank & Stephen Venables who talked about their experiences and achievements over the last 30 years and for us it was an excellent start to the KMF.

As already mentioned, Friday was a rather wet day out on the hill. Friday evening found us all in the Malt Room at The Brewery Arts Centre for the Mountain Equipment pub Quiz hosted by Andy Kirkpatrick. Well, with Andy doing it - it was bound to be fun and it was. Our team won second prize and for that we each got an ME T shirt and a DVD of Dave Macleod and Andy Turners ascent of the Long Hope on the Island of Hoy last year. The long hope was featured at the KMF 2011where it received the peoples choice award. We saw it then - an excellent film indeed!

So that was Friday. Saturday morning found us in Screen One,The Brewery, for Andy Caves Alpine Extremes Lecture in which he told us of his inspiring journey of climbing exploration - from Bridlington to Pakistan, from Shetland to China in which he relived some of his greatest climbs & travels. There was also some great film footage of a hard new route he recently climbed in the Alps with Twid Turner who, along with fellow British Mountain Guides Owain Jones & Andy Nelson was also presenting at the film festival.

At some point during Saturday we were once again in the basecamp tent looking for bargains. Dave Mycroft snapped Iain trying out the new Petzl Sirocco helmet - made from expanded polypropelene. You can have it in any colour - so long as it's orange!

The Afternoon saw us back in the Town Hall where Will Gadd presented his lecture Survival Strategies for high risk situations and talked about his adventures, achievements and tools for survival in the mountains & life that he has learned "both the fun & the hard way".

After a short pause we were back at the Brewery for Karen Darkes presentation in the Theatre. A runner, climber & allround outdoor addict Karen was paralysed from the chest down following a climbing accident at age 21 but this hasn't stopped her from continuing to have great adventures in the outdoors. Pictured in photo five talking to Iain's partner Kirstin - she is a hugely motivated and inspirational person and her lecture was just great!

The rest of the evening was spent not at the Rab Party but upstairs in The Vats Bar in The Brewery where we enjoyed pizza, beer and a good crack and catch up with the many people around that we knew.

After a liesurely start on Sunday Iain & Chris returned to The Brewery Arts Centre to watch the Climbing 2 film presentations in Screen 2. Here we saw six films by people such as Nick Bullock who turned from being a prison officer to a leading mountaineer, A documentary about Cockermouth Mountain Rescue Team, The Gimp Monkeys - a film about the first all disabled ascent of El Capitan, Dave Macleod on a recent bouldering project in Switzerland, a film about three climbers trip to Namibya for a true climbing adventure and finally a film by Alex Honnold - recently described as the boldest soloist of his generation which finished with his solo climb of Mount Watkins, El Capitan and Half Dome - all done one after the other in under 19 hours and some of it in the dark by headtorch. Truly gripping stuff!

And after that.......that was it for us. Another Mountain Festival over. Chris departed for Scotland and Iain retired to the Vats Bar for another pizza & pint before heading home, well satisfied with another fantastic Kendal Mountain Festival.

The next Kendal Film Festival is taking place during  November 14th - 17th 2013 We hope to be there again and maybe you'll join us. Maybe we ought to get more involved? Kendal Mountain Festival, Kendal Mountaineering services.......there is definitely a connection, in fact - there are lots!

Winter Skills, Winter Scrambling & Winter climbing courses 2012/13.

The winter season continues here in the uk with many people getting some great climbs done on Scottish winter routes or enjoying winter walking both here in The Lake District and in Scotland.

Kendal Mountaineering Services is here to help you make the most of winter in the mountains. For budding newbies to winter in the mountains - why not try one of our Winter Skills Courses (photo one). Here you can learn how to use an ice axe & crampons under the supervision of one of our instructors and be taught how to interpret snow conditions as well as building an emergency shelter or snowhole for a night out in the mountains. We are offering our winter courses in The Lake District as well as Scotland and you can join a basic 2 day winter skills course for only £110 per person. You can read about about a previous Scottish based course here.

Not everyone wants to join a group to learn winter skills, winter scrambling or winter climbing - indeed our winter scrambling & winter climbing courses are run on the ratio of one instructor to no more than two clients. However, on occasion people want to learn skills on a one to one basis where you can pick as many or as few days as you like with one of our qualified staff. Of course the answer is yes and instruction doesn't come any better than this!

Do contact us if you wish to to enquire about our bespoke winter mountaineering or climbing experiences. Benn Berkeley did (photo two) and in early 2012 enjoyed a great 12 day course learning all of the skills required to be able to lead winter routes up grade II in standard having started from a fairly basic background. During his course we visited many of the main winter climbing areas including Glen Coe, Ben Nevis, Creag Meagaidh and the northern corries of The Cairngorms. You can read all of the reports from Benns great winter mountaineering & climbing experience by refering to our blog here.

We have recently run a bespoke winter mountain Training course in the Ben Nevis area for Everest Summiteer Paul Quinn from High Altitude Ireland. Paul plans to ascend Gasherbrum I & II in the Summer to raise money for charity and you can visit his website here.

If you would prefer to be guided on some winter climbs or winter scrambles then contact us to discuss your requirements.

There are currently great winter climbs and scrambles to be done both in The Lake District and in Scotland. If you are interested in trying a classic winter climb in The Lake District then contact us to discuss your requirements. If you are interested in climbing or scrambling in Scotland then Glen Coe, Ben Nevis, Aonach Mor, Creag Meagaidh and the Cairngorms are areas where many great routes are to be found. These include routes such as The Zig Zags, the Aonach Eagach or Sron Na Lairig in Glen Coe, Ledge Route or Tower Ridge on Ben Nevis or Daim Buttress on Aonach Mor to name a few if you fancy trying a classic winter climb.

Photo three shows two of our clients about to top out on Green Gully - a great introduction to grade IV ice on Ben Nevis where of course there are many other fantastic winter climbs of all grades. Let us know your climbing aspirations both in terms of grade and location and we will choose a route to suit your ability.

By checking out our blog you can read about all of our winter courses from 2009 until the present time by browsing from January through to March each year - enjoy reading! Prices for our winter courses are listed here on the website. If you have any specific questions or bespoke requirements then please do not hesitate to contact us. We look forward to working with you.