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Guided winter climbing, ice climbing & mountaineering

A frozen waterfall, waiting to be climbed

Point 5 Gully? Orion Face? Tower Ridge? We will help you realise your dream to climb that classic winter line by pairing you up with one of our experienced instructors for the day.

Choose to be purely guided for the day, or develop your winter climbing skills and learn about route choice, avalanche awareness, placing winter protection and winter climbing technique.

We offer guided winter climbing days in the Lake District and in the Scottish Highlands however the Highlands are much more reliable for winter conditions than the Lake District, so we’d definitely recommend heading there as your first choice.

See the following links for all our winter climbing and mountaineering options:

• Info on guided winter climbing in the Lake District is on this page – prices are below
• Guided winter climbing and winter mountaineering in the Scottish Highlands
• Winter mountaineering courses in the Scottish Highlands
• Winter Skills courses in the Lake District
• Winter Skills courses in the Scottish Highlands

At Lakeland Ascents, we pride ourselves in ensuring that your day is tailored to your own personal ambitions, so if you’ve got an idea of a climb that you’ve always wanted to do, then we will be happy to be your guide. If not, there are hundreds of great winter lines in the UK, for all abilities: we are certain that we can find one that works for you, but here are some suggestions of ‘must-do’ classics:

Scotland

• Tower Ridge on Ben Nevis – the UK’s only true alpine ridge.  800m of climbing in incredible positions, to the summit of Britain’s highest mountain
• Point Five Gully on Ben Nevis – arguably the most famous ice gully in the world and a classic at that
• The Pumpkin on Creag Meagaidh – excellent ice climbing on ‘Meggie’

The Lake District

• South East Gully on Great End – steep snow and ice on one of the Lake District’s most reliable winter crags
• Moss Ghyll on Scafell Crag – can be technically hard for the grade (IV), but gives excellent climbing on England’s highest mountain
• Window Gully on Great End – a pleasant introduction to winter climbing in the Lake District

On the Douglas Boulder, Tower Ridge, Ben Nevis

Information

We can run private guided days from either the Lake District, from Fort William and Glencoe in the West Highlands or from Aviemore in the Cairngorms.

We can run a course for you at any time during the winter season, just get in touch and let us know what dates work for you. If you are on your own, we can either run the course 1:1 or we can advertise the date and pair you up with another person, thus bringing your costs down.

Our instructor to client ratio never exceeds 1:2 and is often 1:1 for more technical climbs.

Prices are below:

Gearing up under the north face of Ben Nevis

Ages and abilities: The winter environment can be extremely challenging, so this course is for adults only and for those who already have experience of winter walking in the high mountains of the UK. Fitness is important as operating in winter conditions expends a lot more energy than walking in the summer.

Group sizes and ratios: Our instructor to client ratio never exceeds 1:2 and is often 1:1 for more technical climbs.

Venue: We can run private guided days from either the Lake District, from Fort William and Glencoe in the West Highlands or from Aviemore in the Cairngorms.

Kit: We will share a kit list with you when you book, but you will need warm and waterproof clothing and sturdy C2 or above crampon compatible boots and crampons. You will also need to have a pair of ice tools. All kit is available to hire from a partner company. We can offer advice on all kit at booking.

Times: Guided days run from around 08.00 to 17.00