Winter Mountain Walking

Walking in the hills in winter is a natural progression from summer mountain walking. Once you as a walker have developed some confidence and skills in summer it is easier to move into winter terrain. The winter environment presents a whole new bag of sights, sounds and experiences - you also need many new skills and some special equipment to cope with the conditions. Being able to deal with the winter environment is a vital key to enjoy both winter walking and winter climbing. See the Winter & Ice Climbing page for more technical stuff. For the winter walkers among us though, you don't have to venture onto rime-clad crags of the Northern Corries. The winter months offer a special side to the mountains of Snowdonia, the Lake District, to all of Scotland and further afield. Using my skills as a Winter ML, I can introduce you safely to the winter environment and the skills needed. This page offers a small taste of winter...

Left: A beautiful scene experienced only in winter. The wind shapes the snow to form sastrugi which indicates snow erosion due to the prevailing wind. Sastrugi is especially useful for helping to identify which slope aspects that could be prone to avalanche after recent snowfall. Another winter phenomenon is that the sun never reaches high above the horizon, especially at northern latitudes, and although sunglasses may not be the first thing you pack in your rucksack, they can be very useful (you can at least hope that you will need them).

Below, Ben Nevis from near the summit of Carn Mor Dearg on the Carn Mor Dearg Arete. The top of the Ben was still clear when we arrived - an experience to be savoured even when you have been there several times before.

Above: The Fiacaill Ridge separating the two most popular winter climbing venues in  Scotland, namely Coire an t-Sneachda (on the left) from Coire an Lochain in the Cairngorms. The route along the ridge can be selected to give more or less technical scrambling, or a challenging walk for the less experienced winter walker. Above right: The ridge seen in profile from the foot of The Mess of Pottage. Below, exploring a more difficult section of the ridge for experience winter walkers.

Below, trapped between the snow covered Cairngorm plateau and the low cloud. Ben Macdui in the distance from Cairn Lochan.

Left, a very atmospheric picture of an evening in the Black Mount mountains south east of Glen Etive on the west coast of Scotland and below, getting ready for a night out. With some know how, a night out can be a fantastic experience be it in a tent or snowhole.

Left: Practising ice axe arrest on a safe slope and above, testing a reinforced snow bollard. A bollard is one of many snow anchors that can be constructed, which when constructed correctly, is very strong. Left, cutting steps across short icy patches can save time, rather than taking crampons on and off. Having crampons and an axe with you and knowing when and how to use them will avoid simple accidents. Most winter accidents result from a simple slip - 50% of winter casualties don't have crampons with them.

Right: Approaching the ice encrusted weather station close to the summit of Cairngorm as the sun rises early one morning in January. An early start or a night out in the mountains enables you to enjoy marvelous sights such as this. The weather station provides important meteorological data including wind speed and direction and temperature. The station has recorded gusts up to 173mph.

On the opposite coast of Scotland to the Cairngorms are the Ben Nevis, Glencoe and Aonach Mor areas. Above, looking east from near Coire an Lochain, Aonach Mor. Left, ascending the steep scarp slope onto the summit plateau above Coire an Lochain. Below and right, two more pictures from the Black Mount, climbing Meall a'Bhuiridh and the view to Rannoch Moor past Stob a'Choire Odhair.

Below, the Torridon hills seen from across Lake Torridon, famous for its sustainable fishing industry and beautiful lagustiner. The mountains in Torridon have a very distinctive shape due to the Torridonian sandstone that forms them, the oldest rocks found anywhere in Britain. The main tops from left to right are Beinn Alligin, Beinn Dearg and Liathach. Out of site to the right is Beinn Eighe.

Living on the continent puts other areas in Northen Europe within easy reach - the only drawback being that I cannot jump in the car on a Friday evening and be in Fort William during the early hours of Saturday morning for a weekend jaunt. However, I can be in Norway in the same time and the winter season there is reliable from October to April. Above, Gaustatoppen, at over 500m higher than Ben Nevis, lies in the heart of Telemark. The area offers excellent winter walking, unclimbed winter lines and hundreds of kilometers of prepared cross-country ski trails.

Norway has an excellent system of huts run by Den Norsk Turistforegning or DNT. Most of the huts have winter rooms that can be used on a self-service basis outside the summer season and are very useful during the winter months for a prolonged stay in a mountain area. Membership of the DNT gives reduced rates in the huts. The final pictures here are from another area in Norway - Vrådal. The study of snow and ice crystals is a science in itself.

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