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Lake District Winter Skills 2025
Guided winter skills weekend, during the Lake District winter season
Course overview

We operate these popular Lake District based weekends (can be operated on any 2 days for 2 - 4 people booking together), on a 1:4 max ratio throughout, to develop your winter skills and crampons techniques.
These weekends are ideal as training for those of you who are planning ascents of many classic Alpine 4000m peaks, where crampon skills are a pre-requisite, such as Mont Blanc via the Gouter Route.
While full winter conditions are somewhat ephemeral in the Lake District, once in the grip of winter, there are snow sure venues such as the Red Tarn bowl on Helvellyn, or Brown Cove Crags, to head for snow..
These weekend courses presume little or no crampon experience, and are designed to build your skills and confidence on this terrain. We also can provide private guiding for winter climbing on request.

You will be guided by a local instructor, who knows the mountains and routes like the back of their hands, so will spend the day with a real expert who will design the days for you to achieve the most.

If you have an idea of a specific objective or route that you'd like to do, get in contact, and we'll match you with the most suitable instructor to make your ambitions come true.
Dates are sceduled, and also run on demand for this training, and we can offer them on any day of the year apart from on Christmas Day itself. Contact us to upload a bespoke date for you to book.
Outline itinerary

Meeting with your instructor at 08:30 either in our Windermere Office or in Ambleside (ask which if booking accommodation) for a quick briefing about the weather and a kit check, before setting off for the guiding. It is really important to check that you have all the right equipment, to ensure your comfort and safety in the mountains. Below is a sample itinerary, though obviously we adapt this to your skills & experience, and the weather.

1st day: From Glenridding you walk up to Red Tarn and develop crampon skills either on the slopes of the Helvellyn head wall, or ascending to Striding Edge. The routes ascended depends on numbers and conditions. You'll also discuss route planning and avalanche risk, to assess where is safest to develop your skills. There's a huge range to cover; snow belays, crampon technique, ice axe use and anchors, ascent / traverse / descent skills. At the end of the day, perhaps including the summit of Helvellyn and a descent of Swirral Edge, you return to the valley, and drive back to Windermere / Ambleside, to stay the night and prepare for the next day.

2nd day: A key focus is to develop your movement skills on steeper snow / ice, and so you might head to a different venue on the second day. When there's good snow in Langdale, you might head up Bright Beck and up the snowy slopes to the summit of Pavey Ark or Harrison Stickle. Hone your skills that you learned yesterday, and push onto more challenging terrain, where good mountain judgement and skills are required.

There is no such thing as a typical day in these weekend courses, as everyone has specific ambitions, be it a long snow slope ascent, or a ridge wintery scramble. There are a wide range of locations nearby, such as in the Langdale or Coniston Fells, to maximise your climbing time. Take a packed lunch / snacks each day, so that you can eat on the hill. We can supply any group equipment required (e.g.
technical protection gear, group first aid kit & climbing rope). If you have a specific ambition, please let us know at the point of booking.

At the end of each day you descend and return to Windermere. We aim to end the trip by 17:00 to allow you time to travel home. You can have a feedback session with your instructor, before departing for home.
Course Prices
Standard course 2 full days guiding, 1:4 max guide ratio
Price is per person, based on 2-4 sharing
£295
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How to book Secure payments, bonded tour operator
Details of how to book
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Book online
Standard Course Inclusions: 1) Qualified instructor (usually IFMGA / WMCI (MIC) / ML(W) for two days of guiding and instruction, 2) Provision of group safety kit (e.g. first aid kit & ropes).
Exclusions: 1) Travel to & from the national park for the weekend, 2) Equipment hire such as boots or waterproofs, 3) Hill snacks, lunches and breakfast, laundry, telephone calls, 4) Any extra nights of accommodation either before or after the course, though we can advise if you require.
Notes: These courses are based on 2-4 people sharing guiding. If 2 of you book together, it can be operated on any date. Get in touch, and we'll upload your bespoke date for you to book online. On the scheduled dates, you can book as a single. In the unlikely event no partner to match with you is found, you'll get a day of 1:1 guiding.
Current course availability

Course Dates
Lakes Winter Skills
  • [ 4 ] 14 - 15 Dec 2024
  • [ 4 ] 28 - 29 Dec 2024
  • [ 4 ] 18 - 19 Jan 2025
  • [ 4 ] 1 - 2 Feb 2025
  • [ 4 ] 15 - 16 Feb 2025
  • [ 4 ] 8 - 9 Mar 2025
NOTE: This trip has scheduled
dates, but if there are two who
are booking together, it can be
operated on any date you wish
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Price: £295 Book online

Alternative courses
UK navigation skills weekend
UK intro fell running weekend
UK guided mountain walks

Client feedback

Brilliant weekend guys. Totally mega, and super stoked now for our Alpine trip. Learned a bunch of skills, and the instructer was super chill legend

Carl & Bea , Winter Skills

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Travel to this trip by train
Train to Windermere
Timings for this trip are such that you can arrive in the Lake District at Windermere on
the first train from London or Manchester (on West Coast main line), and can depart in the afternoon the next day. This means that only 1 night of local accommodation is required.
Location data for this trip
The meeting point for these courses is usually at our office in Windermere in the Lake District National Park. There is easy access by car, and the train station is just 150m from the office door. From here there are a huge variety of mountain terrain to opt for, so we can cater for all weather and conditions. On some weeks we opt to meet in Ambleside, as this is closer to climbing venues.
Personal kit list
If you don't own all these items, don't worry, you can hire all items marked with an asterisk* from our Windermere shop. We stock all items for sale, if you wish to buy with a client discount.
Climbing safety harness *
Climbing helmet *
2x screw gate karabiners *
Belay device *
120cm sling *
Personal 1st aid kit
B2 / B3 mountain boots
Classic mountaineering ice axe
12 point crampons
Rucksack c.30l max
Gloves for ropework / abseils
Waterproofs (jacket & trousers)
Spare clothes, gloves, hat, etc
Any further questions?
A key part of choosing a company is being able to come and talk about your plans with an experienced course advisor face to face. In an increasingly virtual world, we know our clients value speaking to real people, getting open and honest advice. The vast majority of our clients are British, and our office and outdoor store is based in Windermere in the English Lake District.



Get in contact to arrange a meeting, and come in for a coffee to discuss your course in person with a trip advisor.


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