UKC

Howdy everyone out there,

I have done a scottish winter mountaineering course with PYB, two seasons in the Alps and my personal amount of winter climbing and currently climb up to IV winter and am a competant rockclimber.

I am looking at doing a progression course with PYB this coming winter and am wondering whether the "Scottish Snow and Ice" course is a good course to go on.

Obviously people on here won't be able to answer that because only I know my experience but I am just after a bit of feedback as to what people who have completed the snow and ice climbing course at Plas Y Brenin think of it.

Hope for some replies soon,

Ads

In reply to Ads Co.: i've done the snow and ice climbing course and its good but may not be best for you. it really depends how much you've done in scotland if its not alot then maybe you'll benefit from the course but i'd be inclined to say that if your fitness is good then go on the snow and ice performance, you'll skip all the easy introductory stuff, your less likely to be paired up with someone that will hold you back, and you'll get much more and much harder climbing done. but i think it definitely requires good fitness, i know a person that went on the snow and ice course this winter and cause the people on the course were of such poor fitness they went to the ice factor twice, which is p!ss poor really.

anyone else got experience of the pyb courses mentioned?

In reply to Ads Co.:

This is kinda off topic: but why are PYB courses called "Scottish" Snow and Ice.

Surely if you do it in Wales it can't be Scottish Winter!

In reply to bigbobbyking: They work out of Glen Coe area..........

Tim

In reply to bigbobbyking:
if they ran them in Wales they'd be forever cancelling them!

In reply to Ads Co.: Jamie B is now a fully fledged garde v gnarler, get him to take you out

In reply to Erik B:

always thought of him as more of a "Baloo the Bear" type figure then a gnarler

In reply to Ads Co.: Can I make the following suggestion: Instead of going on a course hire a guide for a shorter period. 2/3 days 1:1 with a guide would be far more effective than 4 days on a course. The guide will know exactly what you want in order to progress and know the best routes to get you on. Just make sure they know you want to lead. You should gain enough confidence to improve by a grade. All the best, Dave S

In reply to Dave Sarkar: Concurr, but why a guide, save some pennies and try either a MIC or be cheap and try an aspirant MIC looking for experince...the aspirant wouldn't be able to charge, climbing with a mate type senario but his knowledge and skill should bring you along.
Ask on here if anyone needs the work.
Ask his experince of the grades you would like to climb as MIC need only be Grade III but most happly climb at V - VII (although may not happily work at that grade). However if he has completed his training he should be up to scratch to pass on loads of good gen and tips.

Tim

In reply to Dave Sarkar:


I suspect that most guides/instructors will be pretty nervous about letting a client lead unless there is someone else to belay them and allow the instructor to come out of the system and solo/self-line alongside. With this in mind I would argue that booking onto a course as a pair or getting paired off with someone suitable allows you to get more done.

In reply to Jamie B.: Probably, with the nature of Scottish Winter climbing. You could well be right. It might be an idea to think about exactly what you want to learn (peg placments, snow anchors, self arrest, abokalov abseils, snow absiels, etc..) and just get the guide to teach you what you want to know. Obviously the best way to gain route experience is to climb routes, preferably with a friend or partner who is slightly better than you.

In reply to martin riddell: lol thats why he was talking about a diet this morning!!!

Al

In reply to Dave Sarkar:


Broadly agree; but don't underestimate the usefulness of climbing routes as the senior partner; puts the onus of responsibility on you.

In reply to Ads Co.:

yup i did snow and ice thia year.

had one trip to ice factor not coz of fitness or ability issues but due to bad weather.

id done very little before so it was right levle for me

you sound like you'd be better with ice performance one they do.

those guys who were there at the tiem did the harder climbing.

food and accom are excellent and i learned a lot.

im gonna go back and do the performance course next winter

In reply to Dave Murphy:

just remembered, pyb paired us up on ability and ambition for the course

if you came with a partner and you bot hahd ambitions on real hard climbs im sure that they would accomidate yo uand allow you t oset the level of the course t osuit your experience.

they seemed flexible and people who wanted to were allowed to lead so you may get the best of both from pyb

In reply to Ads Co.:

Ads

PYB, like any good organisation will be student centered in terms of course content (within a course remit). The key to a good course is two students with similar fitness, aspirations and a good forecast.

If you have to book your time well ahead then an off the shelf course (like PYB) is fine but you take your chance with the weather and other student. If you have more flexibility then going with the weather and booking private guiding is the way forward for some.

That all said, come feb you won't be getting a Guide/MIC unless you have booked well ahead.

Tim

In reply to Ads Co.:Been on both the snow and ice and the performance course . Go straight for the performance course as you'll be straight out climbing rather than spending a couple of days covering the basics like ice axe arest and moving in crampons.
The instucters are great and will fit the course around your ability and they'll let you lead if thats what you want.