West Coast Mountain Guides Reviews

It was an awesome two days with Simon. We did Curved Ridge on Tuesday and Right Twin on Wednesday. I first did Curved Ridge in Feb 2006 on an Alan Kimber weekend. On that trip it was more wintry but not by so much. Many time I have thought about repeating it as a rock climb so in that respect it was perfect even though it should have been under snow and ice again. Likewise with Aonach Mor East Face, for a good number of years I have aspired to climb a route on it. More than once I have been on the west face but due to avalanche potential never made the east side until this week. Simon was excellent on both days and we had good banter going on both days. On the first day especially we discovered both of us had studied chemistry at Uni so good discussion on that was had as we climbed. Also the other teams following us made for a good time too with Scott Kirkhope and his clients just behind us on Curved Ridge. So very sociable. On Wednesday we abseiled down Left Twin alongside Neil and his clients and also Luca and others whose names I didn't quite get but I think Simon mentioned Ali Rose as one of them. Simon was very patient with me fumbling the abseils in my winter gloves, making what in summer would be an easy task into crossing ropes and twisting ropes and belays upside down. Not sure what he must have though of me after that and I felt quite irritated for messing it up. Simon dropped one of his hexes down a slot but between us we retrieved it ok with the use of an axe. Then in bright sunshine and blue sky we ascended Right Twin with no ice at the start where there should have been so that was interesting and the rest was more as you might expect but only Simon would really know if that was the case. With my limited experience I guess I was none the wiser. But it was great fun climbing even if my calves were burning. To finish we had a nice cornice to get over and then a descent in the mist again back to the gondola followed by tea and cakes again in the cafe at Nevis Range. So, yes it was a fantastic two days especially after four years since my last trip with WCMG. I think I can safely say I will be back for more before my ageing body says it can't do it anymore. Thank you again for a great trip and please can you let Simon now how much I appreciated his time, expert guidance and great company. See you again, Jon. - Jon E. - 2/25/2023 

First rate experience. Simon and Henry worked around difficult conditions to give us the experience of a lifetime. Amazing knowledge and professionalism combined with great teaching skills. Highly recommended. - Ian S. - 2/25/2023 

Alex is genuinely the best instructor I've had the pleasure of learning from. I wasn't sure what to expect from the 5 days, but would have been happy coming away from it feeling I'd learnt something and having ticked off a few routes. I ended up having the most enjoyable and educational experience I've had since getting back into climbing. I feel Alex perfectly balanced getting us up the routes for time/enjoyments sake with teaching and progressively allowing us to make our own decisions - something I can imagine is a very difficult thing to get right in such an environment. I cannot recommend Alex and West Coast Mountain Guides enough. Just get your cardio up for the walk ins and walk outs, they can be a bit harsh. - Samuel P. - 2/15/2023 

Day 1/2 was good overview of different winter walking skills, instructors have great expertise, and it was a great environment to make mistakes in safe conditions so you can correct yourself / equipment before winter walking solo. Day 2/2 had very bad weather conditions which meant that we could not do any winter walking. I appreciate WCMG cannot control the weather. However, I felt that: (1) We could have maximised daylight hours on day 1 further given we knew the forecast for day 2 was bad. (2) The theory teaching could have been pre-prepared presentations of avalanche risk factors and videos of winter skill techniques. Instead it was just improvised chat in a cafe. (3) If conditions are so bad that the course cannot continue then they should have cancelled the day and provide a partial refund. The guides were brilliant with the resources and authority they had. But because they were simply freelanced by WCMG they didn't have authority to cancel the second day. There was only so much they could do to improvise on the second day. Ultimately we didn't cover all the skills in the program outline because of a combination of weather and no real back up plan for a rainy day. - Josh B. - 2/01/2023 

Awesome intro to winter climbing over three days with David and Dave. Learnt the basic safety and technical skills and managed to do some challenging climbs as early as the second day - Maxime G. - 1/22/2023 

Great day out on Aonach Eagach, which I have wanted to do for years! Dave was very experienced, knowledgable and friendly and his guidance allowed me to thoroughly enjoy the day. Would thoroughly recommend and I will be back for some more adventures on my next winter visit to Scotland! - Jonathan A. - 12/02/2022 

I went on the introduction to winter mountaineering course with west coast mountain guides. It was a great week and Dave Fowler took us on some really good routes and taught us so much in the week. I’ll definitely be booking with west coast again - colum h. - 8/01/2022 

Finally got round to climbing Aonach Eagach ridge and decided to use West Coast Mountain Guides. As a solo walker it's usually too expensive to hire a guide unless it's with others. I was delighted with the arrangement to be paired up with someone else making it affordable. WCM arranged the logistics of this and it wasnt a problem for them. The day itself was a fantastic experience. We went out with Mike and Ally. The group split into 2 and our guide was brilliant at safely getting us across the ridge. All in a very memorable day with a great guide and nice company. Will be using WCM again in the future and would recommend to anyone else. - andrew k. - 7/25/2022 

I did a winter mountaineering course with Dave Fowler from West Coast Mountain Guides back in march and it was awesome. We learnt SO much and had an amazing time.Specifically Dave was great. Easy to get on with, a great teacher, and really knows his stuff.Stop thinking about doing a course with these guys and book it. Stop reading this review, go book it now, you won't regret it! - Merlin W. - 7/09/2022 

We had such a fantastic two days traversing the Cuillin ridge with Alex from WCMG. Alex asked about our aims and got to know our level of experience really quickly. He chose a route that pushed us just enough so that the traverse felt challenging but made sure that we always felt totally safe, and provided encouragement when needed! He was great company and we are very grateful for his enthusiasm and expertise. The whole traverse was an incredible experience! 100% recommend WCMG. - Abi J. - 6/17/2022 

My daughter and I enjoyed a fantastic day on the In Pinn with our guide Adam. He very quickly allayed any doubts that I had about being able to complete this climb with his professional, yet relaxed manner. His enthusiasm has definitely made us want to book more adventures with WCMG - Susan V. - 6/14/2022 

Ken took my partner and I out for our first day of winter climbing. We ascended the Ben via number 2 gully. We were very impressed with the quality of guiding and tuition we received. Ken went above and beyond in understanding our aims, and providing us with relevant instruction. - Lauren L. - 4/12/2022 

I joined West Coat Mountain Guides for their CIC winter climbing week on Ben Nevis. Ken and Mark our guides were professional, knowledgeable and good company. Always willing to support, answer questions and give advice where required.It is off note that during our stay, in conversation other groups and climbers would speak highly of West Coast and director Ken. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend West Coast to anyone looking for guide services. - Christopher P. - 3/31/2022 

Had a fantastic day with Ken, tackling the Aonach Eagach. Conditions were superb and Ken did a good job of making me feel completely safe, without belittling my experience. The result was a day out which I found testing and exciting but never worrying. Worth every penny. - Matt H. - 2/28/2022 

Dave and Ken were really professional throughout and great fun to go out on the hills with.We learnt a lot during our 5 day winter mountaineering course and they adapted very well to give us a great experience despite poor weather conditions. - James M. - 2/20/2022