The courses are aimed at improving safety for those moving into winter mountaineering for the first time
Cheap courses are on offer for summer walkers and climbers who want to step up to winter conditions.
The Jonathan Conville Memorial Trust funds subsidised winter mountaineering courses in Scotland to provide a grounding in winter skills. The two-day sessions will be run by Jonathan Preston and will be based at Ardenbeg Outdoor Centre in Grantown-on-Spey.
The programme is aimed at those who are experienced summer hillwalkers or climbers but who have not taken any winter mountain course previously. It includes an introduction to the techniques needed for moving on snow and ice – both in Britain in winter and in the Alps. The course will include use of crampons and ice axes, belaying and rope work, avalanche assessment, navigation and other topics related to the winter mountains.
The cost of the course is £70, including all food, accommodation, equipment, in-course transportation and professional instruction.
Deadline for applications, which are being handled by the national mountaineering centre at Plas y Brenin, is 24 October. Would be candidates can apply online.
The trust was set up by the family of Jonathan Conville, who died on the Matterhorn in the winter of 1979-80, aged 27.
Its aims are to encourage and assist individuals to train for and pursue outdoor adventure in the spirit that the climber followed during his life. This includes greater safety on the mountains.
The courses take place throughout January 2010. The British Mountaineering Council also provides finance to the trust.
