Depending on what kind of adventure you are hoping to crack will depend on what top tips you want to see in this little list of ours. If it’s a definitive list of kit for a winter walking trip up your favourite Munro or a winter bikepacking trip round the cairngorms, then you’ll not find it here. Instead, we’d like to offer a few generic tips that we’ve learnt along the way when it comes to winter adventures in Scotland, or further afield in the UK for that matter.
Before we crack on, keep in mind our list is by no means a complete and definitive list, just what we consider to be some of our own additional winter priorities. So, when you read this, take into account that we know you need a map and compass, headtorch and all that basic stuff. What we’d like to list are few little extra tips for winter.
We’d love to hear your top tips so we can bolt on the good ones to our own list.
Okay, here it is. We’ve purposely put it together in no particular order
Lets get started…
Check the weather, its almost a national pastime in Scotland. Plan for the worst weather, hope for the best! A little vague I know but think of the very worst case scenario and then answer the question, How will I handle this? Do I need to go out? Here’s a link to a few weather forecasting options in the OTAT Tool Kit.
Route cards and an outline of your plan should be left with a responsible person back home. You’d be surprised how many don’t bother. In winter its even more important. This information could be critical to any potential rescue effort.
Ensure the person with your adventure plan knows what to do and when to do it!
Avalanche Forecasts, Scottish Avalanche Information Service for the Scottish Mountains. A brilliant service for keeping up to date with not only the avalanche forecasts for the major mountaineering areas across Scotland but its also another resource to study the weather. We’ve installed the app which alerts you when you come into any of the forecast regions by sending you a notification. There are many other tools on the app and it’s well worth installing. This free app is available for download on iOS and Android
Start of Season 2019/20 - Snowpack Information. Daily Avalanche Information Reports for the 6 operational areas of Lochaber, Glencoe, Creag Meagaidh, Southern Cairngorms , Northern Cairngorms and Torridon regions will be issued from Friday 13th Dec 2019. There have already been some basic forecasts issued because of the early arrival of snow this year.
Photo: Ray Smith - Renegade Scot ⬅️ Click Here, cracking winter wild camping and photography film
Make sure your car/vehicle is in good condition for the winter. Keep some essential supplies in it. Sleeping bag, shovel, etc. Try to keep the vehicle fuel levels topped up. Check tyre pressures etc, maybe think about an electric pump just in case you need to re-inflate after having to let air out.
Consider where you pitch your tent, check above and around you. Ensure there's not a huge lump of snow and ice hanging around up there, or any significant rockfall potential. What’s the avalanche forecast saying, what are the affected slope aspects that may impact your choice of campsite. You may also want to identify potential water courses and other hazards.
Eat late to allow your body to start producing heat for when you get in your sleeping-bag. Your body will generate heat throughout the night as it processes your calorie intake, pastas very good for this and leaves you with usable energy in the mornings.
Try and avoid getting in your sleeping bag cold. Get your aerobic routine sorted out to warm up. We promise not to laugh if we see you, honest! Ah, don’t go mad though, sweating’s probably not the best idea.
Avoid leaving your drinking/cooking water outside in the tent porch, bring it indoors. It’s going to be your best friend in the morning. Frozen water isn’t going to get you that brew anytime soon.
Winter fuel, we use a Jet Boil and have, on occasion, suffered from low pressure in really cold Scottish conditions. We now change to winter fuel as soon as we see temperatures drop. Without getting into the techy stuff, the cold weather affects the pressure and burn performance and can significantly slow the burn rate. Primus Winter Gas is designed to perform in temperatures down to -22. It’s around £8 for 230g canister.
Winter days are long, in tent entertainment is a must. We have an old small iPad that we download a film or two on. EastEnders and Soaps are banned, get the motivational mountain documentaries downloaded. Hearing Bianca scream out.. Riiiiiickyyyyy in the lost valley is just WRONG! (someone has to remember that lol).
Keep your wet or damp boots inside you tent, or take a hammer with you. Awfully unpleasant trying to get your feet into frozen boots.
Have a pee before you get in your sleeping bag, it’s painful having to get back out later on. The disco dancing with your heels hanging out your boots is dangerous too, funny to watch though!
Gloves, lots of gloves! They don’t need to be super expensive. Lots of gloves!
Batteries, have spares and try to keep them warm.
Ice axe and crampons, why not hire them, give it a go without forking out big bucks. Tiso hire out good kit and have stores near or on route to most of the main adventure areas in Scotland. Tiso Hire.
Winter skills course, take a look into it, we can assure you it really will build your winter walking confidence. We took a course with Scottish Rock & Water. Here’s a LINK to our blog from that course. There’s also a discount code on the blog.
Kitting up nice and early before we hit the good stuff.
Layer up! Base, mid, down and hard shell, whatever works for you, everyone’s body reacts slightly differently in the cold. Putting on an additional layer can be tricky in windy winter conditions. Zip your jacket halfway down and roll it around you hips, put your new layer on, arms back in to your hard shell and zip it up. No need to take it all fully off and stuff it between your legs, more often than not just effects your balance. It’s a skill that needs a little practice.
Learn to use your gear with gloves on, bad weathers going to make it even harder!
Goggles, clear lens if possible, helps when map-reading. These are an absolute must when the weather turns windy. Debris can be picked up by the wind and thrown at you, whether it be fragmented frozen or new snow, it can be anything from irritating on the eyes to deadly, in which case your goggles wont help, you’ll be making a new plan at that stage, hopefully! Googles though, yeah Googles (that’s our name for them anyway), better to be looking through them, than for them!
Photo: Murray Wilkie - Scotland’s Mountains ⬅️ Click Here and watch some cracking winter action
Be seen, if something goes wrong make sure you can be seen, particularly from the air. Avoid dressing in your best military gear. It’s designed to hide you! There’s no missing Murray and his adventure buddy above.
A group shelter, it’s a must as far as were are concerned. Getting out of that pesky wind which is doing its very best to drive rain or snow into every crack is essential. Not only for yourself, we like to think that when you are out in the hills, it’s nice to keep an eye on others, you never know how they may be feeling. To offer a little help may just make the difference to someone needing critical help later in the day or allowing them to recover and make a sensible decision here and now. We use the LifeSystems 2 person shelter, we’ve linked it to our review.
Mountaineering Scotland often offer a series of winter lectures, normally at places such as Craigdon Mountain Sports, Tiso, and other outlets across Scotland. Tickets are normally around £8, all of this years proceeds go to local mountain rescue services. We went to one in Edinburgh and found it very valuable. It’s all part of the MS #ThinkWINTER campaign. This kind of event is a win win for all.
For further information we really urge you to have a read of this from the Mountaineering Scotland website. Getting started in winter mountaineering. You’ll find lots of great advice here.
As you know, we aren’t affiliated with any organisation, we’re completely independent and impartial, but we do like to support where possible. More importantly, we like to let our little adventure community know about anything we truly feel would be beneficial to them. It’s for that reason we think it’s worth considering becoming a Mountaineering Scotland Member, the benefits far outweigh the small yearly cost. Take a look at the benefits HERE. Worth every penny!
Our final tip, SOCIAL MEDIA. In our social media platforms we always strive to show the good, the bad, the ugly and the AWESOME in the hope of presenting a balanced and realistic portrayal of our adventures in Scotland. The desire to get the best pictures and footage can easily distract you and divert your attentions away from safe practices. Many serious injury incidents in the mountains can be attributed to this kind of behaviour. We have found ourselves guilty of this a number of times. Winter conditions make it even more important to stay focused on safety first!
The second social media point we’d like to make is that conditions shown in pictures on social media platforms aren’t always accurate. Whilst there are pages that show ground conditions, which can be very useful, please check them with current and forecasted conditions.
These are just some of our basic and wide ranging tips, nothing ground breaking we know. As we said earlier, this isn’t all encompassing but even if you pick up just one little tip then the 5 minutes it’s taken you to read this may just be worthwhile. We’d be happy to hear your top tips.
Lastly!!
Always pay your respects and thank the mountain for giving you a great day out. #thinkWINTER Hehehe..
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