Amazing adventures in Torridon and the Cuillins with West Coast Mountain Guides This summer holiday, we had two great days out with Mike. The first day was in Torridon, climbing the Liathatch. With Mikes guidance and the occasional use of ropes for safety, we were able to climb the pinnacles face on, making the most of the spectacular ridge and taking on steep scrambles which we would not have liked to do on our own. This helped build our confidence for other... read moreThis summer holiday, we had two great days out with Mike. The first day was in Torridon, climbing the Liathatch. With Mikes guidance and the occasional use of ropes for safety, we were able to climb the pinnacles face on, making the most of the spectacular ridge and taking on steep scrambles which we would not have liked to do on our own. This helped build our confidence for other scrambles in Torridon and later in the Cullins, before we met up with Mike again to take on Sgurr Nan Gillean and Am Bastier. As we had especially asked to get more experience with abseiling, Mike planned an exiting route with three abseils. The first was coming down the west ridge from Sgurr Nan Gillean, followed by a shorter abseil from Am Basteir, then onwards for a final 20m abseil down the Kings Cave Chimney. Learning to control the ropes ourselves was great. The route felt like a real adventure and we learnt so much from Mike. He is a great guide and teacher, never pushy, but always encouraging to make us get the best we can from our days out. The views on both trips were breathtaking. We just can’t wait to get back up to Scotland for more adventures with West Coast Mountain Guides! Dreaming of both winter adventures and hopefully the Cuillin ridge next summer… read less

Fantastic course, great guiding, great company. I booked the Skye Munros course to help move me closer to achieving my ambition of climbing all the Munros. In the build up to the course Ken was quick to provide reassurance and guidance when I had any questions or required advice. When we arrived on Day 1 we split into groups and we were allocated our guide - Dave. What followed was an awesome 4 days walking, scrambling... read moreI booked the Skye Munros course to help move me closer to achieving my ambition of climbing all the Munros. In the build up to the course Ken was quick to provide reassurance and guidance when I had any questions or required advice. When we arrived on Day 1 we split into groups and we were allocated our guide - Dave. What followed was an awesome 4 days walking, scrambling and climbing some of the UK’s hardest peaks over some pretty unique terrain. The weather was not great all week (it is the Scottish mountains after all), but this didn’t spoil the experience one bit.
Dave was an excellent guide. Plenty of local knowledge, banter, advice, support and some entertaining stories helped maximise our experience and make it even more enjoyable. Being under confident with exposure he made sure that I was safe on the more exposed bits and also provided guidance on techniques to make scrambling easier whilst encouraging me when required without being overbearing. The patience and professionalism shown was second to none.
The itinerary was reviewed each day and amended to take account of the weather. This was a major factor in our group achieving all 11 summits. Being a vastly experienced hillwalker with over 200 Munros climbed, I had been putting off using a guide in the UK hills until my wife bought me the course as a birthday gift. No regrets whatsoever and I wish I had done this earlier! You simply cannot complete the Skye Munros as a hillwalker without a guide, as in anything but gin clear weather, you would struggle to follow the routes over that terrain. Also, it turned out to be extremely good value for money, as bagging all 11 Munros in one go (i.e. not wasting money and time aborting your own trips again and again due to weather) was only achieved by booking a guide and utilising their local knowledge and experience.
I immensely enjoyed the course, and would highly recommend to anyone considering the Skye Cuillin to use West Coast Mountain Guides. I have already recommended them to friends with the same ambition as myself and will definitely use them again for improving my winter skill set. read less

Complete the Skye Cuillin Munros This is the second year I have used West Coast Mountain Guides to help us complete the Skye Cuillin Munros and we have already booked some further guiding for 2023 to tackle the harder Torridon mountains and provide some winter skills training. Ben, our guide, is outstanding. We are experienced Munro baggers, but inexperienced in the use of ropes and more difficult scrambling. Ben was very patient with us, whilst... read moreThis is the second year I have used West Coast Mountain Guides to help us complete the Skye Cuillin Munros and we have already booked some further guiding for 2023 to tackle the harder Torridon mountains and provide some winter skills training. Ben, our guide, is outstanding. We are experienced Munro baggers, but inexperienced in the use of ropes and more difficult scrambling. Ben was very patient with us, whilst also being encouraging and motivational. We always felt 100% safe, and Ben knows all the various routes given the differing weather conditions.
Booking with West Coast Mountain guides is a very simple process.
In summary I can 100% recommend West Coast Mountain guides. read less

Fantastic Winter Skills Refresher I was fortunate enough to get out for a winter trip with Dave just before the last lockdown set (unfortunately my only real outing of the winter season thanks to C-19).
I had asked for a winter skills refresher and a steady grade-1 route to get back into the swing of winter having just returned to Scotland and Dave did not disappoint!
Our trip took us from the Cairngorm Mountain Ski Centre... read moreI was fortunate enough to get out for a winter trip with Dave just before the last lockdown set (unfortunately my only real outing of the winter season thanks to C-19).
I had asked for a winter skills refresher and a steady grade-1 route to get back into the swing of winter having just returned to Scotland and Dave did not disappoint!
Our trip took us from the Cairngorm Mountain Ski Centre up to the northern corries and Dave’s knowledge, professionalism, and experience was apparent from the get-go. The day delivered exactly what I was hoping for.
A great day, led by a great guide, ran by a great company. read less

Skye Munros 4-7 May 2021 Booked 4 day trip to do the Cuillins to get out after Covid and to be early enough to miss the midges! It was more like winter than May with challenging conditions but absolutely brilliant. We were a group of 6 with 3 WCMGuides, Josh, Caspar and Tom who were all great. They looked after us excellently and ensured our safety in the hail and snowy conditions. 7 of the... read moreBooked 4 day trip to do the Cuillins to get out after Covid and to be early enough to miss the midges! It was more like winter than May with challenging conditions but absolutely brilliant. We were a group of 6 with 3 WCMGuides, Josh, Caspar and Tom who were all great. They looked after us excellently and ensured our safety in the hail and snowy conditions. 7 of the 11 Munros were done which was a very good effort, it was simply too dangerous to do the others. These guys keep moving so don't take huge meals but plenty of energy snacks and one water bottle (refillable on the mountains) and walking poles to help on the scree. Many thanks to Josh for getting me up the SW ridge of Sgurr Alasdair, Caspar (& crampons) for Am Basteir and Tom for the last 2 days including Sgurr Mhic Choinnich. I would definitely use WCMG again. read less

excellent experience winter climbing A lovely one to one weekend of mixed and winter climbing with an instructor called Mark on the gullies in Ben Nevis. The team was quick with correspondence about the course and what I wanted to do. Mark was an ace guide who encourgaed me and made me feel comfortable when i was clueless and had to ask questions.

Two cracking days in the hills – totally recommend! Totally recommend West Coast Mountain Guides for a cracking day out in the hills! Have used them a few times in last few years – they’re always super friendly, happy to tailor the day and suggest options to find the right mix of challenge, variety and fun. They have the options you see on their website and more up their sleeves too.
Had the chance to pop out with Dave in... read moreTotally recommend West Coast Mountain Guides for a cracking day out in the hills! Have used them a few times in last few years – they’re always super friendly, happy to tailor the day and suggest options to find the right mix of challenge, variety and fun. They have the options you see on their website and more up their sleeves too.
Had the chance to pop out with Dave in April. We were lucky enough to have a summer day doing North Butress on Buachaille Etive Mor, a fabulous scramble and winter day out doing No. 2 gully on Ben Nevis – both incredible days, so much fun, felt challenged in a good way with guidance. Will definitely use these guys again – to keep learning and for more challenging fun days in stunning surroundings with great company. read less

Out again with WCMG! After an amazing few days doing winter mountaineering with Ken back in January, we booked again for some summer days. Ken was happy to adapt to Will and my climbing abilities, did some classic rock routes which was great! Learned lots, had a great time out. Cannot recommend Ken & West Coast Mountain Guides enough, there's really no better day out in Lochaber.

Great days, great ridges, great fun After a great experience with WCMG in January winter mountaineering we can back to do some classic rock routes. The weather lined up perfectly and we tackled some fairly sizable ridges that required the conditions. Ken was great as always, helping us move quickly and providing helpful advice along the way that we can take to our next experiences.

5 great days winter mountaineering Me and my partner booked 5 days private mountaineering with West Coast Mountain Guides in January. We were very worried as the week before as there had been no snow, however we were very fortunate and there was a huge dump the night we arrived in Fort William. We went out with Peter Stollery who was fabulous. The 5 days were really varied and we has a great time, learning... read moreMe and my partner booked 5 days private mountaineering with West Coast Mountain Guides in January. We were very worried as the week before as there had been no snow, however we were very fortunate and there was a huge dump the night we arrived in Fort William. We went out with Peter Stollery who was fabulous. The 5 days were really varied and we has a great time, learning winter snow skills, weather interpretation, avalanche awareness, as well as getting a few climbs in some very wintery weather. Peter is incredibly knowledgable and is always eager to share his experience, we had a really great time. We would certainly recommend West Coast Mountain Guides and Peter. read less

CIC hut (mid March 2020) Had an amazing week of winter climbing, which was professionally guided by Ken Applegate and Mark Scales. All the clients on this particular course were experienced winter climbers and we were well matched, allowing us to make the most of the excellent conditions and cram in so many classic grade IV/V routes over the week including: Minus Three Gully, Gutless, Minus Two Gully continuing up North East Buttress, Right Hand... read moreHad an amazing week of winter climbing, which was professionally guided by Ken Applegate and Mark Scales. All the clients on this particular course were experienced winter climbers and we were well matched, allowing us to make the most of the excellent conditions and cram in so many classic grade IV/V routes over the week including: Minus Three Gully, Gutless, Minus Two Gully continuing up North East Buttress, Right Hand Wall Route, Vanishing Gully continuing up Tower Ridge, Hadrian's Wall Direct and finishing the trip with the incredible Orion Face Direct. read less

CIC HUT WEEK WINTER CLIMBING COURSE A truly fantastic week with Ken and Mark. I can't believe how much we got done and how kind the conditions were to us. The guides knowledge of the mountain and routes was outstanding, which allowed us to make the most of everyday. I always felt safe and found the climbing, conditions, views and exposure amazing.
Definitely up there as one of my best climbing trips!
I have previously... read moreA truly fantastic week with Ken and Mark. I can't believe how much we got done and how kind the conditions were to us. The guides knowledge of the mountain and routes was outstanding, which allowed us to make the most of everyday. I always felt safe and found the climbing, conditions, views and exposure amazing.
Definitely up there as one of my best climbing trips!
I have previously been on three other trips around Glencoe, The Ben and in the Cairngorms, winter climbing with larger organisations. My experience with" West Coast Mountain Guides" stands out and exceeded my expectations. Ken and Mark love climbing and just wanted to get out there with us and get as much done as possible! read less