Introduction to Winter Climbing Course – Day 1

I was back on the west face of Aonach Mor today, this time with Ollie M, Simon and Ollie. Simon and Ollie are on our Introduction to Winter Climbing Course and Ollie M is a trainee MIC (Mountaineering Instructor Certificate), who is running the show this week, with me providing coaching as Ollie M has his MIC Assessment later this season. A qualified Mountaineering Instructor Certificate will have been assessed to deliver winter mountaineering and climbing in the UK and in order to be at the required standard for assessment, it's highly recommended that trainees get as much real experience as possible.

We decided to make the most of the great weather first thing this morning and made an ascent of one of the best grade IIs in the UK; Golden Oldie, which was very different to last Friday, when I was last up it.

Simon and Ollie climbed well and along the way, we looked at various belays and basic rope work. As we neared the top, the weather closed in, with a noticeable increase in winds and snow being transported to the east as a result. This gave Simon and Ollie a good cross-section of Scottish winter weather, minus the thaws, which is fine by me!