UKC

Hi there, 25 year old experienced hill walker/winter walker/scrambler with experience in indoor climbing and bouldering, looking to take things a step further. Spent most of my life in the lake district hiking and then moved on to Wales and Scotland, and last couple years I have delved into winter conditions. Recently completed a Welsh winter skills course and I have booked onto a 5 day winter mountaineering course in Scotland in February.

Looking at possibly heading to the alps this summer to climb Mont Blanc guided, or anything that will get my foot in the door with alpine climbing/mountaineering. Not too sure if I'm rushing things though. Apart from the winter courses I am already completing (planning to do some technical ice climbing courses too) I was wondering if anyone has any advice on what my next steps could be. Any help or pointers would be greatly appreciated.

Unfortunately I don't know anyone who shares this passion and therefore am completing most things on my own, looking to find a community of like minded people and hoping to stray away from guided mountaineering once I have acquired the skills to do so and met others who I can team up with.

In reply to BPTDom98:

Where are you based now?

In reply to BPTDom98:

Sounds to me like you're taking a very sensible and measured approach to building up your experience in the right areas. All I could add is maybe try learning trad techniques, through harder scrambling or easy climbs in summer conditions. You need some rope work and belay building to tackle alpine routes, even if it's just thinking about glacier travel and crevasse rescue on 'walking' routes. The winter mountaineering course might give you what you need in this regard though. Bruce Goodlad's book: Alpine Mountaineering is a great resource. When I was moving from trad climbing to mountaineering in the UK, including Scottish winter stuff (which I did a few guided trips with over a few years before tackling my first Alpine route with my girlfriend, now wife), I found the Cicerone book "The Hillwalker's Guide to Mountaineering" invaluable also.

In reply to BPTDom98:

Join a club, you'll gain climbing partners, friends and knowledge. There's no down side, you probably don't need more courses just now, only time in the hills. Lots of low grade scrambles and some grade 1 winter terrain, then build from there, save Mont Blanc for summer 25 or 26 and you won't need a guide, you'll have the skills and partners yourself. 

In reply to Luke Brisco:

Currently based near Blackpool, an hour or so from the Lake District 

In reply to BPTDom98:

Sounds a good grounding and definitely the way to gain hill experience/knowledge!

A club would be a good move but I appreciate clubs aren't for everyone...

You could post on here looking for partners....a genuine description like you have described will help as there are occasional requests that seem a bit 'optimistic" but I would be happy to meet people like yourself in Scotland if I was up there and take you on something like a grade ii route.....there are others on here like-minded. The other way....may be a bit old fashioned but worked well for me any mates when nobody else was free was to go somewhere like the clachaig and ask around if anyone had space for +1 the next day.

I'm older....don't climb hard at all now but have 40 years experience....I'll be in Glencoe for the last week of February and in Torridon for the week after if you are up that way...good luck!

In reply to BPTDom98:

Did the Jonathan Conville course this summer passed in Chamonix. Would recommend to anyone looking to get into Mountaineering in a heartbeat. 

The course is subsidised so ended up being insanely cheap and ended up being three days of doing Alpine Routes with some of the best guides in Chamonix.

You also end up meeting loads of likeminded people who are keen to share these experiences.

In reply to BPTDom98:

Same here, feel free to add me on facebook etc. if you fancy a trip out? I climb at Blackpool and Preston walls too if you're ever there?

In reply to Luke Brisco:

Jonathan conville courses are a great way of getting subsided training.

In reply to Alex Riley:

Guessing you meant to reply to the OP but I agree with this having done both the Scottish course and the Chamonix course, well worth the application.

In reply to abr1966:

To the OP.

This is potentially a great offer, a few days of hill wisdom from an older person, if I was you I would be PMing abr1966.

In your area you could also be contacting The Fylde Mountaineering club and The LC&CC, and see how they fit with you. But the people who could be most useful to you are the quiet older people, with depth of experience, the ones possibly* bimbling on 4s and 5s at the wall, if they even go to climbing walls at all.

* I know a lot of older climbers who climb far harder

In reply to BPTDom98:

Checkout the Austrian alpine Club (Britannia Section)
https://www.alpenverein.at/britannia/

They run alpine skills courses you'll find useful such as moving on ice and over glaciers.  Checkout their "basic and improver" courses:
https://www.alpenverein.at/britannia/activities/Training.php

As you are under 28 they also offer a 70% discount on some course fees.  My daughter did a glacier course with them and had a 50% discount.

They also have various meets throughout the year.  Membership starts in January I think.
https://www.alpenverein.at/britannia/activities/Club-Events.php

Plus you get hut discounts and rescue insurance included in membership - both an essential in the Alps.

In reply to BPTDom98:

You should find plenty of partners in any active club, I haven't had any involvement with them but the Fylde Mountaineering Club are probably your local club.

If you want to progress to alpinism I would recommend learning to lead some easy trad routes and submit an application for a Conville course, you are at the upper end of the age range but it's a great way of learning how to do that stuff.

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In reply to BPTDom98:

Joining your local club would be the best move I think. Even if clubs aren't for you, you will definitely meet several long-term partners and friends if you take a reasonable active approach to one. 

In reply to BPTDom98: the Alpine Club run an excellent Aspirants meet in Aug/Sep in Saastal every year. Two days instruction with guides followed by the chance to climb with fellow aspirants. The valley has many objectives ideal for a first Alpine season. 

Thanks all for the quick responses, have answered all my questions and more. I'm looking into the Conville and Austrian courses, and have also just booked onto the Glenmore lodge 3 day 'discover alpine mountaineering' course in Switzerland. Have sent in an application to the FMC too, I never knew clubs existed around my area so thanks for pointing me in the right direction. Think the plan will be to put Mont Blanc on hold for a year or two and focus on time in the hills and the courses.

In reply to BPTDom98:

I’m an FMC member so hopefully get to climb with you soon!

In reply to BPTDom98:

Loads of great responses above, so I thought I'd make a suggestion from a different angle.

In addition to fitness and a variety of technical skillsets, mountaineering requires a lot of decision making. There is a saying- good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement. When out and about with more experienced folk, ask them about their thought processes when making decisions, or ask them if they would be happy to let you make some decisions. Courses are great at developing skillsets and providing decision making frameworks, but backing them up by applying what you have learned in an independent setting where you are self-reliant is just as important. Making mistakes and dealing with the consequences will make you a much more capable mountaineer in the long run. Best to start out by choosing relatively forgiving environments where a mistake is going to be annoying to fix (annoying enough that you will definitely remember it), but unlikely to cause any serious trouble.

In reply to BPTDom98:

Two ways to look at it, join a club near you because it helps with friends, lift share, mid week activities like indoor walls, or join a club which has a hut in an area you like to visit lots. Clubs come in lots of flavours, regional others through secondary interests or even beliefs, their membership is often not so regional. Clubs won't turn down a membership application because you live in a different postcode, you can be wild and try out a few! 

In reply to BPTDom98:

I would say that Mont Blanc with a guide is just a big tick. It has little to do with your development as a mountaineer.

Some people are content to hire professional guides - and no disrespect to them. But, ultimately, it's what you do as independent climber or mountaineer that really counts. That's my opinion, in any case.

In reply to BPTDom98:

OP will you be solo or with a partner?  

In reply to Godwin:

Exactly this!

In reply to BPTDom98:

As suggested, join a local club & look at some summer guided tuition.

I was lucky enough to attend a Conville course which was great, the AC does something similar.

http://www.alpine-club.org.uk/climbing/future-meets/icalrepeat.detail/2024/...

In reply to ExiledScot:

Join a club you’ll never need to pay for courses and have more fun. My pot holing club (Eldon) had several experienced alpinists among the caving fraternity, which fast tracked me into alpine climbing and on my second visit, to the Alps our first to Cham. I was accompanied by another alpine virgin, but our first route was an out of condition Walker spur. It went on from there. Albie went on to become one of Canadas finest alpinists and a guide. Perhaps a different mindset back then. But to reiterate, you don’t need to pay for expensive courses to progress through the grades. I believe nearly all significant ascents are undertaken by people who have never been on a course.

In reply to BPTDom98:

Sounds like you’re on the right track to me and plenty of good advice above. I’d say Mont Blanc this summer is a perfectly reasonable goal, either guided or with your own partners/mates. The latter would be much more satisfying imho.

Another tip for preparation is to get used to long days - 8,10, 12, 14 hrs. Long walks, enchainments, etc., maybe with some of it before daylight.

I climbed Mont Blanc with a mate on our first trip to the alps, without a guide and without any courses/training. We worked up through gradually more challenging objectives over the course of the three week trip. We’d done a fair bit of winter walking and uk trad climbing. We’d also done a lot of research/reading on mountaineering and its techniques, and we were very keen.

Loads of ways to go about it. 
 

In reply to Philb1950:

Totally agree, joining a club also helps maintain a bothy or hut, which might otherwise be sold off and another cheap accommodation option disappears.