Winter climbing is a funny sport. The high crags of Scotland are deserted for most of the year, and then suddenly the snow falls, the turf freezes, the ice forms and the crags are busy! In the brief snap of a UK winter, climbers are willing to burn through days off and hundreds of pounds of diesel and Gore-Tex to shuffle up a few meters of the most awkward version of climbing we have to offer. Grade V is for me the grade, the big landmark that gives access to a host of historically significant classic routes, and that opens the door to still higher grades. 

But however experienced and competent you are as a winter mountaineer, if you've been operating for years below this level then the step up to grade V may feel like a significant jump in standard. It's a leap that many winter climbers may never make. The big grade Vs come with intimidating reputations. Ice routes may be long and bold, mixed climbs steep and technical, and you'll need strength, endurance and competence to match up to them.

Don't be deterred! With a solid grounding at lower grades, and a few tactical tips and tricks, grade V should be within the grasp of any motivated winter climber.

Make the most of training opportunities

Many aspects of a winter day can be trained for or practised in the months leading up to winter. As the season progresses, periods of thaw are also a good time to train in preparation for the hoped-for re-freeze. 

It's possible to break any winter day down into three parts – the approach, the climb and the descent. We can use this as a basic formula to look at what elements we might want to train for:

Knowing when to change your plans, how to change them, and having the capacity to do so is key to having an enjoyable safe day

The approach – There are going to be heavy bags, it's going to be uphill and it's probably going to feel like a long way. Getting out hillwalking or running in the months and weeks before will help massively with your overall cardio fitness. If conditions are iffy and you've ended up taking the rucksack for a long walk, you can also look at that not as a failure, but as useful training! Hill days also give you time to think about food, hydration and effective layering on winter days. 

The climb – Get plenty of rock climbing mileage. We all have different aptitudes, some finding winter much harder than summer or vice versa, but as a general rule of thumb the received wisdom is that if you can comfortably swing leads on a multipitch HVS then you're probably going to be physically and mentally capable of getting up grade V. If you can't get out on the multi pitches consider your belay building skills – time brushing up on belay building and belay changeovers in the comfort of a climbing wall or your own home will help keep things flowing when out on a route. Get to the indoor wall regularly and aim for getting lots of mileage on steep juggy routes – there's not many overhanging grade V's but they often feel like they are! 

The descent – This is where any big days in the hills or long runs building endurance are going to pay off, as long as you know where you are going. Winter days can be pretty tiring and its important to make sure you know how to navigate off the hill at the end of the day. Get out in the dark and rain with a map and compass in the autumn so you can get back down to the car/pub as swiftly as possible. Orienteering events can be a great way to work on your cardio and navigation together.

Do your homework

Before the season starts have some idea of what you want to climb. Write a list, read the guidebooks, look at the maps, get inspired. Grade Vs are not created equal and it's important to think through which ones might come into condition when, and what type of route might best suit your style. A good read through Simon Richardson's "Chasing the Ephemeral" will really help with this if you're not sure.

If you're heading for your first Grade Vs its worth stacking the odds in your favour. Wait until there is a decent period of good conditions for wherever you want to climb, and come up with a few different options. 

The UKC Winter Conditions page is a great resource for keeping tabs on who's doing (or at least logging) what. But once you have decent conditions, don't just head for the routes logged on UKC. If a route is reported to be in decent condition flick through the guidebook and work out what else of a similar style and in a similar location/altitude/orientation might also be in. The last thing you want is to be heading up your first grade V with a team above raining ice down upon you.

Another huge part of winter climbing is the avalanche risk. The SAIS website has a huge amount of information to delve into and it's essential to check your understanding of the avalanche forecasts and what they might mean for the different venues you choose to visit. There are also lots of great online avalanche quizzes.

Buy some shiny kit! (or sharpen your axes and front points)

Mileage, mileage, mileage: try working up through safer routes at IV,5 and IV,6 to test your ability to deal with steeper and harder moves

Sure, grade VIII has been climbed with straight axes, wrist leashes and Dachstein gloves but personally I prefer things stacked in my favour. Modern gear is just so much better. A decent technical axe (or two) can make things feel a grade easier, and the same could be said for a pair of sharp crampons.

While a set of dropped handle axes will make you more comfortable on harder routes (say above grade IV) they won't make lower grades easier and may in fact make things harder. If you've been climbing grade III with a set of Petzl Ergonomics or DMM Cortex then you may have been over complicating things, but by around grade V these drop-handled models do begin to come into their own. On the other hand, if you already own decent mid-range technical axes like the DMM Apex or Petzl Quark, then these will be absolutely fine for grade V, as well as being more useful than top-end alternatives at lower grades, and indeed the approach and top-out snow slopes that you'll be climbing on most grade V days.

Sharpen up the kit you have, replace your picks or front points or invest in a new set. Having a set of dedicated mixed picks and a set for ice might seem like an expensive option but you're not going to regret having switched to mixed picks if you commit your full body weight to a torque, and you might well be adding a grade to a grade V ice route if you're climbing with a set of blunt mixed picks!

Make new friends

Does your regular climbing partner always want to climb Hidden Chimney Direct in Sneachda? Do they go a bit quiet and start sowing the seeds of doubt when you mention routes away from the honeypot areas or stuff logged on UKC? Perhaps it's time to trade them in for a partner who's looking to climb the same grades and types of route as you? 

Finding like-minded partners with similar goals is often half the battle, but a psyched team can make a huge difference when things get hard. When you're strung out leading up your first grade V the last thing you need is to look down and see a scared/ disinterested belayer who you can tell is wishing they were in a different coire. Make this the season you send a message to that person you bumped into at the wall who does a load of harder routes, or convince your pals out of their grade rut. The more experienced people you can climb with the more you can see how others do things and choose what you might want to change about your systems or your kit. I've climbed over five hundred Scottish winter routes and still change how I do things every season based on experimentation and seeing how others do things.

Adding another person to the team can seem like a faff but in my experience a team of three tends to make better decisions, have more psyche and stay warmer. Having one person climb while another person belays leaves the third time and space to provide encouragement, eat, feed the belayer, get the thermos out, sort the rope etc. With a bit of practice it only takes a couple of minutes extra to switch the leader in a team of three and it's more than paid for by having a lighter bag for the approach and more psych on the route.

Mileage, mileage, mileage

You might recognise this advice from the other articles in the series!

Grade III is the scariest grade. Yep, it is. It's steep enough to fall off, you start actually having to trust your tools, and the runners are often far apart or hard to find. It's easy to get scared on grade III and then take this same level of fear to grade IV. Extrapolating up, it's tempting to believe that each subsequent grade gets even more scary and hard but this really isn't the case.

If you're stuck in a rut around grade III / IV and finding things scary, it's worth sticking with it and trying to climb lots of the same grade of routes in different places. You should find a style that suits you and build up trust in yourself and your tools. Unlike rock climbing, the things you are holding onto don't change as the grades get harder, so it's just a case of learning how to relax on your tools as the angle steepens. On grade V mixed terrain you often get puzzling moves with decent feet to get your weight off your axes, and plenty of gear, while grade V ice provides the opposite – similar moves and movement with a lot more weight on your arms and the ice screws feeling a long way below you.

As the season progresses try working up through safer routes such as IV,5 and IV,6 to test your ability to deal with the steeper and harder moves, but in a more controlled and hopefully safer way.

If your mileage to date is skewed towards one type of winter climbing it's probably worth focusing on that same type for your first grade V. 

Logistics, Logistics, logistics

Still carrying your half full, big flappy strap rucksack up the route? If you're breaking into a new grade it's way better to consider what really needs to come up the route with you, and pare things back to reduce unnecessary weight and bulk. Assuming it's a venue where return to the start of the route is practical, here are a few suggested ways you might consider doing that: 

Single pack

Often it's possible to take just one bag between you for the second to carry on the route, and leave the other stashed at the bottom with extraneous kit in it.

• Top tip – Don't leave your stuff casually next to a boulder, the wind or the ravens will play havoc with it.
• Pros: As light as can be for the leader. Good to have your emergency kit (first aid kit, group shelter, headtorches, food, map and compass) with you.
• Cons: Your belay jacket will be with your mate when they take an age seconding and you start shivering. Can mean seconding is a bit less fun

Small packs

Both take a small lightweight climbing bag (20L) and leave the big walk-in packs stashed in the coire.

• Pros: You can have your belay jacket, emergency kit etc with you when you need it. You can share out the first aid kit and shelter. Space for a wee thermos or two.
• Cons: You still have to lead with a bag on. 

No packs

Get your kit on you or your harness, leave everything else behind. Snacks and headtorch in your jacket pocket, spare gloves tucked in your jacket and your belay jacket in a stuffsack/drybag clipped to your harness.

• Pros: You have your belay jacket etc with you on the belays. No bag getting in the way in chimneys
• Cons: Hard to bring the emergency kit with this system. The belay jacket on your harness can be a bit annoying and looks funny in photos.

The ultimate minimalist

Just take a belay jacket between you, get on with the job and cross all your fingers.

• Pros: You get to tell your pals that "light is right" and use phrases like "shiverbivy". You'll have an extra excuse when you have to bail.
• Cons: Hopefully they are obvious!

The hybrid

Pick and choose from a combination of above. One climber with a small seconds bag and one with their kit on them and their harness, or sharing a small bag.

Be Flexible

Just because you've done all your homework, found a partner and are raring to go doesn't mean it's going to happen. In the last few fickle winters it's been worth thinking through as many options as possible. Just because you've booked accommodation in Fort William doesn't mean you shouldn't be willing to drive to somewhere else if the conditions look better there.

You've started walking into the coire but the avalanche risk might be higher than expected, your chosen route might have a team on it, it might not be in condition and your prep might not have been enough to get you up the route - all very sound reasons to bin plan A. 

Knowing when to change your plans, how to change them, and having the capacity to do so is key to having an enjoyable safe day. It's worth trying to discuss some of the eventualities on the drive/ approach and having a rack that encompasses the eventuality of not ending up on the route of your choice. If nothing of the grade of your choosing looks in condition or safe to get to it's always a good option to go climb something easier on a different avalanche aspect or even just take the rope and rack for a walk to get used to the weight and do some navigation along the way.

It should go without saying that you need to be able to deal with a retreat. Make sure you have a good safe method of abseiling from the crag and enough gear to do this with. I usually carry five metres of 8mm tat and am willing to leave as much kit on the anchor as will make it unquestionable.

I've wondered for a while whether winter climbing's fickle nature and the myriad components that need to line up are what makes it so compelling.  My first taste of winter climbing 25 years ago left me wondering why everyone loved it so much. It felt completely "type 2" – slow, cold and damp and so far from the trad climbing I enjoyed in the summer. I assumed, like many, that it was always like that. It's taken me a while but I can genuinely say that 99% of my winter climbing experiences now are "type 1". Possibly this is just a switch in my mind but I do believe if you're going winter climbing and it's always type 2 then you need to change a few things. 

Look to your kit, your partners, your preparation and your planning and make this the winter that you break the grade V barrier.