Private Mountain Guiding and Instruction

The Accessible Pinnacle We travelled to Sgorr Dearg as a party of eight which required two guides. Ken Applegate, and Dave (apologies Dave I never did get your 2nd name) were the two assigned to the task. They were informative and reassuring during the first half of the climb and scramble to the summit of the pinnacle. They kept the atmosphere lighthearted whilst making us aware that we were ultimately responsible for our... read moreWe travelled to Sgorr Dearg as a party of eight which required two guides. Ken Applegate, and Dave (apologies Dave I never did get your 2nd name) were the two assigned to the task. They were informative and reassuring during the first half of the climb and scramble to the summit of the pinnacle. They kept the atmosphere lighthearted whilst making us aware that we were ultimately responsible for our footing and decision making. When we reached the pinnacle they were swift in getting us up and down. We climbed as two groups of three and one group of two. The climb itself was challenging both physically and mentally but incredibly rewarding. Perhaps the most enjoyable part was being lowered down in a semi abseil style whilst the rest of our group jeered with mixture of excitement and relief. I cannot rate Ken, Dave and West Coast Mountain Guides more highly. read less

Unbelievable Ken and Dave were absolutely class, good vibes the whole time and got us up and down the Inn Pinn na bor. Would seriously recommend them as they had great advice and made the whole day a lot better! 10/10 Will definitely be using West Coast Mountain Guides again!!

Ascent of the In Pin Ken and Dave made the inaccessible pinnacle very accessible. Myself and my 7 friends all managed to summit the In Pin and had a great (and slightly terrifying) time doing so.
I'd highly recommend West Coast Mountain Guides to anyone considering an ascent of the In Pin. They were informative, entertaining and made the whole experience safe and enjoyable.
For the amount of satisfaction and thrill we received in summiting,... read moreKen and Dave made the inaccessible pinnacle very accessible. Myself and my 7 friends all managed to summit the In Pin and had a great (and slightly terrifying) time doing so.
I'd highly recommend West Coast Mountain Guides to anyone considering an ascent of the In Pin. They were informative, entertaining and made the whole experience safe and enjoyable.
For the amount of satisfaction and thrill we received in summiting, I thought the £90pp was a reasonable price. Sign up with WCMG and climb the In Pin is what I'd say. read less

Great experience I would like to thank west coast mountain guides for a fantastic 4 days on skye even with the horrendous weather conditions.
Mark, Mike and Sam were great. They were very patient and friendly and there knowledge was 1st class. I definitely would not have managed without them.
Would also like to thank Sam and Mike who took time out of there free time to show 3 of us... read moreI would like to thank west coast mountain guides for a fantastic 4 days on skye even with the horrendous weather conditions.
Mark, Mike and Sam were great. They were very patient and friendly and there knowledge was 1st class. I definitely would not have managed without them.
Would also like to thank Sam and Mike who took time out of there free time to show 3 of us around the Portree climbing wall and give us some climbing lessons.
Great experience I will definitely be using you in the future. read less

Great experience I would like to thank west coast mountain guides for a fantastic 4 days on skye even with the horrendous weather conditions.
Mark, Mike and Sam were great. They were very patient and friendly and there knowledge was 1st class. I definitely would not have managed without them.
Would also like to thank Sam and Mike who took time out of there free time to show 3 of us... read moreI would like to thank west coast mountain guides for a fantastic 4 days on skye even with the horrendous weather conditions.
Mark, Mike and Sam were great. They were very patient and friendly and there knowledge was 1st class. I definitely would not have managed without them.
Would also like to thank Sam and Mike who took time out of there free time to show 3 of us around the Portree climbing wall and give us some climbing lessons.
Great experience I will definitely be using you in the future. read less

Cuillin Munro Course Had a cracking week with WCMG , climbing the Cuillin Ridge Munro's.
From start to finish the organisation was first class , from the booking process to the last day back at the cars.
The ratio is one guide to three people , to attempt all 12 peaks on the ridge in four days . The guides were reassuring , informative , knowledgeable, friendly and very helpful . This all combined... read moreHad a cracking week with WCMG , climbing the Cuillin Ridge Munro's.
From start to finish the organisation was first class , from the booking process to the last day back at the cars.
The ratio is one guide to three people , to attempt all 12 peaks on the ridge in four days . The guides were reassuring , informative , knowledgeable, friendly and very helpful . This all combined with a fascinating adventure over very rough terrain , in sometimes challenging weather . Three out of the four days we completed the hill-walks , but the weather was just too bad on one of the days to safely get across the ridges .
The guides gradually build your confidence each day , showing you the correct hand holds & foot holds to achieve the scrambles to the top safely. On day 2 we climbed & abseiled The In Pinn , this was always going to be the highlight of the week & the guides saved this day for the best weather forecast.
Thanks to all involved organising the four days. read less

Tower ridge Ben nevis I cannot recommend West Coast mountain guides enough. Ken took me a complete climbing novice up Tower ridge on Ben nevis in rain and snow. I felt safe at all times and with excellent guidance and leadership from Ken I completed the climb leaving me thrilled with the experience and keen to do more. Richard from Leicester

Cool week on the Cuillins Had an excellent week on the Cuillins with West Coast Mountain Guides. Felt totally relaxed and confident the whole time and felt that the right decisions and correct adjustments to plans were made when needed.

Accent of the Inn Pinn Absolutely faultless from initial booking to completing the walk with everything going smoothly
This was my first time using WCMG , and I'd certainly use their services again , defiantly booking again very soon once I've chosen what to do next
10/10

Skye Munros Course - what an experience! Just back from Skye having spent 4 days with Mark from West Coast Mountain Guides on the Skye Munros Course. Despite some appalling conditions we managed to summit all 11 munros on the ridge. It was tough both physically and mentally but always felt safe with Mark. Pre-course communication with Ken was excellent. I couldn't recommend highly enough and now that I have dried off I am already thinking about... read moreJust back from Skye having spent 4 days with Mark from West Coast Mountain Guides on the Skye Munros Course. Despite some appalling conditions we managed to summit all 11 munros on the ridge. It was tough both physically and mentally but always felt safe with Mark. Pre-course communication with Ken was excellent. I couldn't recommend highly enough and now that I have dried off I am already thinking about the next adventure! Thanks Ken and Mark. I will be back. read less

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