Practical Workshops

20th-24th FEBRUARY 2019
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Ben Nevis Guided Walk

DATE       Sunday 24th February
TIME       08:30am
WHERE   Ben Nevis Inn
PRICE      £60 / person
Book Now
Ben Nevis Guided Walk provided by Abacus Mountain Guides.

Your opportunity to reach the highest point in the UK in full winter conditions with the expert guidance and care of a Winter Mountain Leader. The route does not entail any steep ground but the use of crampons and an ice axe is likely to be required. If these are new to you come on a Winter Skills workshop to be fully prepared.

Winter Skills

DATE       Thursday 21st February
                 Saturday 23rd February
TIME       08:45am
WHERE   Nevis Range
PRICE      £60 / person
Book Now
Winter Skills provided by Abacus Mountain Guides.

Aimed at winter novices and covering basic movement skills, ice axe and crampon use, self arrest and route choice. If you have some summer walking experience and want to find out what is involved in winter walking this is the one for you.

Avalanche Awareness

DATE       Friday 22nd February
TIME       08:45am
WHERE   Nevis Range
PRICE      £60 / person
Fully Booked!
Avalanche Awareness provided by Abacus Mountain Guides.

For people with some winter experience who want a more in depth knowledge of avalanches and how to avoid them. A brief theory session is then followed by a full day of snow analysis all over Aonach Mor. This course is perfect for skiers, snowboarders, walkers and climbers - anyone who enjoys getting out in the winter months.

Performance Winter Climbing

DATE       Saturday 23rd February to
                 Sunday 24th February
TIME       TBC
WHERE   TBC
PRICE      £240 / person
Book Now
Performance Winter Climbing provided by Abacus Mountain Guides.

Frustrated at grade IV? Fearful of grade V? Secretly seeking grade VI? Aimed at people who already have winter climbing experience, this is your chance to get expert coaching and push your grade to the next level.
Day one will be spent indoors looking at movement skills for ice and mixed climbing, then put everything into practice during a guided climb on day two.

Outdoor Photography Workshop with Nadir Khan

DATE       Saturday 23rd February
TIME       9:00am - 2:00pm
WHERE   Glen Nevis, top car park
PRICE      £50 / person
Book Now
Outdoor Photography Workshop with Nadir Khan provided by The Highland Bookshop.

Are you interested in outdoor photography and looking to sharpen your skills?
Nadir will be running a workshop for photographers to get out into the mountains and understand some of how he works in the outdoors when either shooting commercially or for his own portfolio.
Tickets for this workshop are priced at £50 per person and are available directly from the bookshop and via Eventbrite.
Meeting point - top car park in Glen Nevis at 9am.

Creative Space at Outlandia

DATE       Wednesday 20th - Saturday 24th February
TIME       Contact to book a time
WHERE   Outlandia, Glen Nevis
PRICE      Free
Book Now
Free creative space at Outlandia during the Festival
Free, personal and group use of Outlandia will be available during the Fort William Mountain Festival for those wishing to have some time in nature to fuel their creative juices. This unique, off the grid artists space, situated in Glen Nevis gives fantastic views of the Glen and the Ben, making it a great location creative activity. If you wish to take the opportunity to use this tranquil space for any sort of creative writing or art, please contact Cormac Dolan at 123cormac@live.co.uk or call the Nevis Partnership office on 01397 701088.

Mountain Marathon 'Pack Hacks'

DATE       Friday 22nd February
TIME       5:00pm - 6:00pm
WHERE   TBC
PRICE      Free
Book Now
Mountain Marathon "Pack Hacks" provided by Girls on Hills

Girls on Hills is Scotland's only guided trail/fell running company, designed specifically for women. Guided runs take place in the Glen Coe area and are aimed at equipping women with the skills and confidence necessary to become independent in the mountains.
Attend this free 1hr workshop for a 'mandatory equipment' packing demonstration and 'top tips' from Girls on Hills for reducing weight and volume of racing packs for mountain marathon and long distance running events. Open to guys and gals!

Navigation Workshop

DATE       Saturday 23rd February
TIME       10:00am - 2:00pm
WHERE   TBC
PRICE      £15 / person
Fully Booked!
Navigation Workshop provided by Girls on Hills

Girls on Hills is Scotland's only guided trail/fell running company, designed specifically for women. Guided runs take place in the Glen Coe area and are aimed at equipping women with the skills and confidence necessary to become independent in the mountains.
Come along to this half day workshop to learn the basic map and compass skills necessary for hill walking and trail or fell running in a mountain environment (combined indoor and outdoor practical session on Cow Hill). Open to guys and gals!
This workshop is now fully booked but you can find other dates for one-day navigation courses by Girls on Hills here.

Trail Running Skills:
​Ascending & Descending

DATE       Saturday 23rd February
TIME       10:00am - 12:30pm
WHERE   TBC
PRICE      £10 / person
Book Now
Trail Running Skills: Ascending & Descending provided by Girls on Hills

Girls on Hills is Scotland's only guided trail/fell running company, designed specifically for women. Guided runs take place in the Glen Coe area and are aimed at equipping women with the skills and confidence necessary to become independent in the mountains.
A guided run on the trails of nearby Cow Hill, focusing on ascending and descending technique for trail runners. Open to guys and gals!

Yoga Workshop for Climbers, Runners & Hillwalkers

DATE       Sunday 24th February
TIME       2:00pm - 4:00pm
WHERE   Nevis Centre
PRICE      £13.75 / person
Book Now
Yoga Workshop for Climbers, Runners & Hillwalkers provided by Mountain Yoga Kinlochleven.

We are excited to be back for our third year at the awesome Fort William Mountain Festival to host this practical workshop for climbers, runners and hillwalkers. Come and spend the afternoon exploring how yoga can help you climb higher and run further by using physical poses, breathing exercises and meditation. We'll look at tips to boost your training and recovery and see how both physical and mental techniques can help you get the best out of your chosen sport. 


This workshop is aimed at active people who exercise regularly. Beginners to yoga are welcome and mats are available to borrow.

Skills for Winter Walking

DATE       Friday 22nd February
                Sunday 24th February

TIME       8.30am
WHERE   Ellis Brigham, Fort William
PRICE      £70 / person
Book Now
Skills for Winter Walking provided by Atlas Mountaineering.

A one day workshop looking at all the movement and planning skills you’ll need to get ready to tackle the British hills in winter. We will cover route planning strategies with the weather, use of your boots, ice axe use and crampon use to keep you safe and enjoying your time in the hills this winter. If the weather allows we will use the gondola to reach the snowline to maximise our learning time.

Skiers Avalanche Awareness

DATE       Saturday 23rd February
TIME       8.30am
WHERE   Ellis Brigham, Fort William
PRICE      £70 / person
Book Now
Skiers Avalanche Awareness provided by Atlas Mountaineering.

Starting out as an off piste skier? Heading to the alps this winter? This workshop is to give you the knowledge and the skills to safely use your avalanche transceiver, shovel and probe.

We will look at search techniques, emergency procedures, probing techniques  and drills to keep your transceiver skills up to scratch! We will also be looking at line choice and snow pack analysis.

Avalanche Awareness for Hillwalkers and Climbers

DATE       Saturday 23rd February
TIME       8.30am
WHERE   Ellis Brigham, Fort William
PRICE      £70 / person
Book Now
Avalanche Awareness for Hillwalkers and Climbers provided by Atlas Mountaineering.

This workshop is for people who already get out into the hills into winter and are looking for a deeper understanding of how avalanches occur and how to avoid them. This means we will be out on the hill for most of the day followed by a brief classroom session looking at tools you can use at home and reviewing our day.
 

Introduction to Winter Climbing

DATE       Thursday 21st February
TIME       8.00am
WHERE   Ellis Brigham, Fort William
PRICE      £100 / person
Book Now
Introduction to Winter Climbing provided by Atlas Mountaineering.

A step up from winter hillwalking skills, we look at getting you on more serious graded terrain and how to tackle it safely. For this workshop you should already have some winter hillwalking experience and be looking to step it up a gear onto exposed ridges and gullies.
 

Ski Touring for Beginners

DATE       Friday 22nd February
TIME       8.30am
WHERE   Ellis Brigham, Fort William
PRICE      £70 / person
Book Now
Ski Touring for Beginners provided by Atlas Mountaineering.

This workshop is for people who are already skiers or snowboarders who are looking at taking their skiing into a wider range of terrain. We will show you how to plan a great safe day out, how to use your skins effectively, some basic transceiver training and some navigation techniques on skis. Not to mention having a great day skiing!
 

Ben Nevis Winter Walk

DATE       Saturday 23rd February
TIME       8.00am
WHERE   Ellis Brigham, Fort William
PRICE      £70 / person
Book Now
Ben Nevis Winter Walk provided by Atlas Mountaineering.
​
During the winter months Ben Nevis is not to be taken lightly, it is a challenging mountain day that can take up to 9 hours to complete. With the help of specialist equipment such as crampons, boots and an ice axe. The mountain track starts in Glen Nevis and is around a 16km round trip although it is a good track, in winter it can be under snow all the way! It is not uncommon to have to navigate using a compass and map. 
If you haven't used crampons or an ice axe before, don't worry! We've found over the years that doing the winter hill walking skills workshop before hand greatly increases your enjoyment of your day on Ben Nevis, as well as greatly increasing your chances of success and safety


Ben Nevis and CMD Arete

DATE       Thursday 21st February
TIME       8.00am
WHERE   Ellis Brigham, Fort William
PRICE      £70 / person
Book Now
Ben Nevis and CMD Arete provided by Atlas Mountaineering.

The Carn Mor Dearg Arete combined with an ascent of Ben Nevis is often described as the finest way to see Ben Nevis, and one of the best mountaineering days ever! Once you are on the ridge your breath will be taken away by the spectacular views and stunning scenery. Don't just take our word for it, come see for yourself! 

Gaelic for Mountaineers

DATE       Thursday 21st February
TIME       5.00pm - 6.30pm
WHERE   Alexandra Hotel, Fort William
PRICE      Free
Book Now
Gaelic for Mountaineers provided by Sabhal Mòr Ostaig

  • Are you a keen hill walker or mountaineer?
  • Do you know the difference between a beinn, càrn, sgùrr, stob, druim or aonach?
  • What do names like Ben Nevis, Aonach Eagach, Blaven, An Teallach or Buachaille Etive Mòr actually mean?
  • Do you have difficulty pronouncing Gaelic hill names and the names of geographic features such as lochs and corries?
  • Would you like to have a better understanding of these names, both how to pronounce them and what they mean?

During the Fort William Mountain Festival, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, the National Centre for Gaelic Language and Culture on the Isle of Skye, will be running an informal, fun, interactive session demystifying mountain, hill & geographic feature names.

Janni Diez will introduce you to the meanings behind Gaelic mountain names, which to many of us seem like random clusters of letters and will equip you with the knowledge you need to be able to pronounce hill names confidently and correctly. Janni is the Gaelic Language Development Officer at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig and is a keen hill walker, climber and has a wealth of knowledge about Scotland’s Gaelic history, place names and mountaineering. She is joined by Eilidh Scammell of Ainmean Àite na h-Alba who will introduce you to a useful tool you can use in your future research of place names.
Tea and coffee will be provided, but feel free to bring your drinks from the bar or even your dinner to this informal session.

Just turn up on the night. All welcome, no previous knowledge of Gaelic is required! For more info e-mail cg.smo@uhi.ac.uk or call the Short Courses Team 01471 888 240/246
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