UKC

hi, ive been accepted onto the jonathon conville award for jan, i cant afford to buy all the equiptment obviously, what would you recomend as essentialls? and what am i best hiring?

In reply to jd90: I did the course a few years back, if I remember rightly you will need warm clothes, good boots, good rucksack, and goggles (very useful). And also a copy of the 1:50k map for grantown and aviemore. Crampons and axes can be borrowed from the place you stay. They will send you a kit list though of what you need and what you can borrow so don't worry too much, feel free to message me with any questions.

Chris

In reply to ChrisHolloway1: yeah im waiting for the kit list, whats the course like? i know its only short but im hoping to get some decent height and get a taste for the scottish winter, i have boots but they wont be suitable for crampons, they are too flexible, been looking at some boots and they are like £200, bit steep for me atm. can you recomend any decent boots? As long as my ankles dont break and my feet dont freeze im happy

In reply to jd90: There are a lot of good boots out there, non of them will be very cheap however. Might be worth looking around this site in the For sale department, you would be looking for a B2 or B3 rated boot, such as the Scarpa Manta (B2)or Scarpa Cumbre (B3).

http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=430168 for example. Just gotta keep your eyes peeled because at this time of year they go quick!

The course itself was really good, learned a lot in short space of time. We covered, snow caves, winter ropework, crampons, ice axe use, self arrest, mapwork etc. So you will get a lot out of it!

In reply to jd90:

You can often buy second hand plastic boots like Scarpa Vegas off UKC for betweeen £40-£60.

They're not the lightest and are by no means cutting edge, but they're a good solid boot and won't hold you back.

It's probably a good idea to get a newish pair with black shells as they'll be less likely to crack.

Vega are still made so you could go and try a pair on so you know what size you are.

Why don't you put a post on the for sale/wanted forum?

I imagine PYB will be able to loan you ice axe and crampons for the course. Also I see you're twenty and based in Newcastle. Are us a student? I understand that Newcastle University Mountaineering Club has lots of ice axes and crampons to loan out to club members.

HTH

Tom

In reply to jd90: Certainly worth contacting PYB (phone is good) to see how much you can borrow. I wouldn't be surprised if there were some winter boots you could borrow in the first instance.

In reply to jd90:

PYB's list of hire equipment is on their web site:
http://www.pyb.co.uk/information/equipment.php#winter

Courses usually include hire of whatever you need: the costs shown are for people not on their courses.

In reply to jd90:

LD mountain centre, shop down towards the quayside, has boots to hire, costs next to nothing. Just go in a few weeks before to pick a pair and they will put them to one side for you.

Are you a newcastle university student? the mountaineering club has loads of gear but only available to its members

In reply to jd90: i am a student but im at newcastle college this year, uni next year i hope haha. il pop down to that LD place see what its like, dont want my feet to be nackered after the first day

In reply to jd90:
your feet will be knackered after the first day regardless of where you get boots from if they don't fit! they have scarpa vegas- plastics, comfortable enough if they fit, make sure not too small.