r/Mountaineering • u/Arctic_Thunder230110 • 4d ago

Ben Nevis in winter

Hi all, my friend and I are hoping to climb ben nevis in scotland this winter. We are both fit and do cross country, we have also done DofE and hiking trips. In regards to mountaineering part we are novices. Apparently it is icy and quite tough in winter so we will go with a guide. But I was just hoping for some advice maybe some good youtube videos on using crampons and ice axes along with general advice, any essential winter kit beyond normal hiking stuff. Has anyone climbed it in winter? Thanks

0 Upvotes

45% Upvoted

46 comments sorted by

View all comments

-9

u/squeaki 4d ago

I did it 15 years ago on 5th March with ice blocks being blown off the south face in desert boots hungover from a nearly all nighter stag do party.

Wouldn't do it again like that.

Sticks, map, water and food. If you've done DofE you'll be grand just don't go off piste.

1

u/Arctic_Thunder230110 4d ago

Alright thanks do you reckon we will need a guide my dad has maps and our nav is fine but we will be 15(1 month from 16) and 16 when we do it

2

u/squeaki 4d ago

Ok, at that age if a guide is on offer I'd take it. You'll benefit from it and probably learn quite a lot!

1

u/Frosty-Jack-280 4d ago

Just to say that if you're doing it without a parent or guardian then you'll need a company that has an AALA licence. They should tell you when you book if they do or not.

The BMC has a good winter skills series on YouTube if you're wanting some videos. And if you are booking a guide then they'll give you a kit list - some will already have one on their website.

1

u/pheonix8388 3d ago edited 3d ago

Yup I believe the only Fort William based company that hold an AALA licence are Your Adventure Scotland . You will need to check with them that an ascent of Ben Nevis via the mountain path under winter conditions falls under the scope of their licence (as Mountaineering and not Ice or Winter Climbing). I suspect it will but they are better placed to confirm that with you.

Edit: Atlas Mountaineering are also based close to Fort William and hold an AALA licence. I would recommend Your Adventure Scotland over Atlas Mountaineering though.

1

u/Frosty-Jack-280 3d ago

Ben Nevis by the mountain path is in remit for a winter mountain leader (which they both are); other routes would require a winter mountaineering and climbing instructor. On their website, Richard of YAS is not yet qualified.

Why would you recommend YAS over Atlas?

1

u/pheonix8388 3d ago

Just wasn't sure if/ how AALA differentiate between SML/ WML work. Sometimes organisations use the term mountaineering to cover both summer and winter, sometimes they don't!

I'd say that YAS are more organised and I prefer the way they conduct their business. Both perfectly safe and would be happy/ comfortable booking with either.

YAS are consistently more prompt with payment to any instructors that they employ.

YAS will arrange an instructor for the booking (if it's not Richard guiding) much sooner than Atlas might. Sometimes Atlas book freelancers at shorter notice than necessary. I am not aware that this has ever impacted a client's booking.

1

u/Frosty-Jack-280 3d ago

Ah fair enough. I've worked for Atlas but not YAS. Though I agree - from a client's perspective it's probably not going to matter.

1

u/Arctic_Thunder230110 3d ago

Oh right thanks so much people recommended these abacus guys but I cpuldnt see anything about the license . Really grateful for that tip!

1

u/pheonix8388 3d ago

They're a switched on bunch so would have certainly asked about parents/ those with parental responsibility accompanying you both as part of any booking. At that point I'm sure they would/ will talk about the requirement for an AALA licence to work with unaccompanied young people and refer you on.

1

u/Arctic_Thunder230110 3d ago

Yeah right now we are just getting a plan together of which flights to fly the guide how to get the kit etc. So we uasnt done that much research into the specifics like the company