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3. Are Winter Skills Courses Worth It?

By Kate Worthington

Kate Worthington is the co-founder of Climb Snowdon and a qualified Mountain Leader, Winter Mountain Leader and UK Athletics Fell & Trail run Leader.

She is a regular contributor of routes to TRAIL magazine and the author of Mountain Walks Yr Wyddfa/Snowdon.

September – the Autumn Equinox draws closer and maybe thoughts are turning towards shorter days and cooler temperatures. And how do the changing seasons affect our planning and activities for mountain adventures? As well as considering the shorter term changes in Autumn, including remembering to turn the clocks back at the end of British Summer Time, it’s also worth looking further ahead towards Winter and how the next season will affect our planning and activities in the UK mountains.

This is where many mountain walkers will either adapt walking plans by staying at lower levels, shortening walks and avoiding more technical routes. Or, some will want to develop skills and confidence so they can keep planning walks in their favourite locations, even if winter snows end up covering higher ground at times (fingers crossed!)

This guide introduces the concept of a Winter Skills Course, and why and how this specific input could really help to increase knowledge and confidence for mountain walking in the winter months. Read on to find out what you can learn from attending a course, and how this experience can extend your current outings to year-round adventures.

What exactly is a Winter Skills Course?

Had a blast doing my intro to winter mountain skills, thanks to my guide Dan, great time climbing snowy peaks in Scotland. Couldn’t have been better.

Ollie

Intro to Winter Mountain Skills
January 2026

A Winter Skills Course offers mountain walkers an opportunity to extend their ‘summer’ walking skills. ‘Summer’ refers to when there is no snow or ice on the ground/in the weather forecast – which can be anytime of year, including winter! So the ‘Winter’ part of a Winter Skills Course is specifically aimed at equipping walkers with the knowledge and skills to plan an appropriate mountain walk when the ground is covered with snow and/or ice, and when the weather conditions include snow, hail, very cold temperatures, poor visibility etc.

These ground and weather conditions pose extra challenges to walkers, and a Winter Skills Course will cover a range of skills and strategies to help walkers plan effectively for walking in winter. Mountain walkers with a range of summer walking experiences and generally good fitness will gain the most from a Winter Skills Course, as they’ll find that the skills taught will build on their current knowledge and confidence.

A Winter Skills Course usually takes place over 1-2 days (a 1 day course would be suitable for those with a high level of summer mountain walking experience already). They’re set in mountainous locations that are relevant to the topics covered, so that practical experience can be gained on snow covered ground. This will usually be Scotland (most reliable for snow conditions), and sometimes the Lake District and North Wales, conditions dependent.

A typical Winter Skills Course will usually cover the following topics:

• Differences and challenges of a winter environment – weather/terrain
• Weather forecasts, snow conditions, safety and planning
• Kit and equipment specific to walking in winter – including winter boots
• Route planning, route finding and some navigation strategies
• Moving on snow, ice and using specialist equipment (crampons, ice axes)
• Perceptions of winter hazards and how to manage them

What will I get out of it?

A Winter Skills Course is more than a 1-2 day guided experience. Courses are planned and delivered by experienced instructors who have amassed considerable personal and professional experience in similar winter environments.

They’ll be able to share their knowledge in a way that will be helpful to your learning, ensuring that you depart from the course having increased practical skills and experience in appropriate terrain, gained personal confidence and an understanding of the winter environment to help with future planning.

Your Winter Skills Course will take place in appropriate hilly or mountainous areas to allow you to experience suitable conditions underfoot, including varied snow and ice (as conditions allow) and a chance to use specific equipment.

Sometimes this will mean experiencing poor weather (cold temperatures, snowfall, poor visibility, higher winds), but your experienced instructor will always be assessing benefits vs risk, which is a key skill for any winter mountain walker to practice. See your Winter Skills Course as giving you a tool box of skills and strategies to develop and practice yourself going forward. Always take the opportunity to ask your instructor questions if you want more information on a subject – make the most of the contact time in winter conditions.

Is a Winter Skills course the right option for you?

Unforgettable and inspirational adventure. Learnt lots of useful skills such as reading the forecast, kit packing, formation of different snow layers. Instructors were very nice and knowledgeable.

Nini

Intro to Winter Mountain Skills
January 2026

You’ll gain the most from your Winter Skills Course if you’re already used to walking in mountainous terrain in summer conditions. This experience presupposes that you have an adequate level of fitness to meet some of the demands of a Winter Skills Course, including accessing steeper slopes at times (for practising skills) and experiencing poor weather.

Before booking a course, think about what skills and experiences you’d like to gain from your investment and make sure the course provider knows these, so they can more easily accommodate your aims. The RAW team is on hand to answer any questions and help you choose the right course: contact us for a friendly chat.

Remember that an ‘open’ course may have a number of participants coming together, and everyone will have a slightly different set of skills and experiences. It’s the instructor’s responsibility to ensure their provision is helpful to everyone, so never be afraid to ask questions about kit or equipment, weather forecasts or route plans. If you’re wondering what the answer is to a query, no doubt someone else in the group will be, too.

Winter Skills courses at RAW Adventures

RAW’s beginner and advanced winter mountain courses are a fun, challenging way to learn the basics of winter mountain hiking, or build on previous experience to become an independent, confident mountaineer. Held in the stunning snowy Cairngorms, all courses are designed and delivered by RAW’s qualified Winter Mountain Leaders and held in small, friendly groups of just 4-6 people.

We offer three courses to accommodate different experience levels.

Putting your learning into practice

Once you’ve invested in a Winter Skills Course, the learning doesn’t stop there. Your instructor will recommend ways in which you can develop skills and experience, including locations that might be worth visiting for ‘beginner’ winter mountain walks and directing you to sources of information that will help with knowledge and planning (books, guides, apps and websites).

Some of the skills learnt will also be useful for your summer mountain walking (planning considerations and navigation) and maybe you can keep extending your summer walking experience to visit new areas and summits, as well as planning routes in familiar locations when the first winter snows fall.

Depending on how much free time you have over a winter season, and the type of winter conditions that may prevail, it might take a number of outings to be able to practice all the skills you learnt over your Winter Skills Course – but any outing in snowy conditions/wintry weather will be adding to your bank of knowledge and experience. Even if you’re visiting familiar mountain locations, the change in weather and ground conditions will give you new dynamics to consider.

Next steps

If you’re already enjoying mountain adventures in summer and would like to extend your walking experiences into the winter season, then a Winter Skills Course will be a great investment. The winter environment can rightly seem daunting and cause uncertainty. And there are key considerations to factor into planning, including how fallen snow and ice can change the terrain and how you can securely move through it. But, with some supportive instruction and guidance, the winter season can offer some excellent mountain walking opportunities for those with existing skills to build upon…and a sense of curiosity to learn more!

Take Your Mountain Walking into Winter

If you’re ready to build on your existing mountain walking experience, our Winter Mountain Skills courses give you practical experience of winter conditions, equipment, planning and movement techniques with an experienced instructor.

• Explore our Winter Mountain Skills courses »