Winter Scrambling Masterclasses in the Lake District

If you want to brush up your personal skills, or you’re looking at venturing out on steeper ground in winter, this masterclass will be great for you. The course will cover the following:
~ how to move quickly without compromising safety
~ how to make good choices and use the best techniques for the terrain
~ how to navigate in winter conditions

The course will go ahead whatever the conditions, even if there is absolutely no snow. You will still have a really good adventurous day out, using crampons and axes on steep ground. The course is open to all Mountain Leader holders, and anyone with comparable personal experience.

Venue: will be confirmed in the week before the masterclass, but it will be somewhere in the central Lake District

Dates: see the Masterclasses section on our online calendar

Times: 9am to 4pm approx

Cost: £68 Mountain Training Association members, £74 non-members

Counts as 1 CPD point for MTA members who are Mountain Leader holders

Equipment list:
You can download a full kit list here

Useful blog posts:
Crampon Review and Comparison
Top Tips For Choosing An Ice Axe
What’s The Next Best Thing To A Perfect Pair Of Winter Mountaineering Gloves?
Do You Recognise The 10 Early Warning Signs Of Hypothermia?
7 Top Tips For Rock Climbers & Mountaineers
Crampon Review & Comparison: Petzl Vasak Lever Lock, old vs new
My Favourite Climbing Helmet: the Petzl Meteor (And How To Choose A New Helmet)
Top Tips For A Safe Fun Winter Season Revisited
Everything You Need To Know About Crampons

One of our clients made this video for his YouTube channel in January 2022.

What do our clients say about us?

Thank you Anne for your quick (and helpful!) replies to emails. A great day out; informative, practical, and good location ...despite the rain, and lack of snow! Thanks Chris for a really helpful day; I feel a lot more equipped to go out on steeper ground in winter than I had done previously. A lot was covered during the day (thanks for making the most of the 'fairly poor' winter conditions!), I'm looking forward to putting it all into practice when we eventually get some snow!
Hilary Gyde, December 2016

Anne was fantastic at giving information and communicating once I placed my booking. The day started with simple to complex and was well structured for all of the group. Chris is very easy to speak to and gets his lessons across in a great way. Very knowledgeable and great at passing his knowledge on. I would book again!
Andy Holden, December 2018

Simple and easy to book with plenty of information about the the content of the day plus the required equipment. A great practically-based day encompassing a whole host of areas. Chris delivers the programme in a knowledgeable, clear and concise manner, regularly engaging the student in the process with feedback. He welcomes questions and gives the student opportunities to ask them. Great course again!!!! Learnt loads and can’t wait for the next one.
Phil Brown, December 2018

Another thoroughly enjoyable day. We covered so much in the first few hundred meters including movement, rope work, technique and group management. Finished off with a classic Lakeland scramble. Challenging but great fun!
Martin Bates, January 2019

Excellent comms with Anne as usual. Chris asked at the rendezvous what our aims were, and everything was covered, excellent weather booked for the course too, :) Chris was excellent as usual. As a team I couldn't ask for better, thank you.
Lee Payne, January 2020

It was easy to book, good website with all the basic information easily accessible. Not so much a programme for this course, more a bespoke package depending on individuals requirements - very refreshing. The introduction of ‘how to walk’ was an excellent start to the whole day and provided a foundation for everything we did. Given the paucity of snow and ice Chris did amazingly well, although I personally could have done with a bit more on choosing the best belay method and a discussion on anchors for scrambling, although this takes nothing away from what was an excellent and eye opening teaching session.
Nick Short, January 2022

Super quick replies from Anne, helpful advice and answering any questions. Reminder email couple of days before with kit list, is really good at matching up people to try and lift share. Great course, great people in the group, great instruction and encouragement, lots learnt! Even without the snow it was still really good and actually in some ways was better to learn the techniques in a less risky environment before trying them out with snow and ice in proper wintry conditions.
Sharon Bianchi, February 2023