Erika
Susi and the team were excellent. The facilities and location for our very first time on SUPs were great. We had a blast!
Our winter hillwalking journeys unfold amidst the stunning landscapes of Glen Coe and Black Mount, where each adventure is an exploration of Scotland's natural wonders. Weather conditions guide our planning, ensuring safety and selecting the best routes, determining our ultimate destination for the day.
With Scotland boasting 282 mountains towering over 914 meters (3000 feet), we explore these peaks year-round, leading clients to summits in remote and untamed locations. During the winter season, we focus on the iconic summits of the Western Highlands.
Winter in the Scottish mountains beckons with the promise of a serious and highly rewarding mountaineering adventure. As daylight diminishes and snow blankets the terrain, you'll experience the ever-changing conditions of these wild and remote landscapes.
Nestled amidst Glen Orchy and connected to Glen Coe by Glen Etive, the remote and wild Black Mount is a hidden gem. Its complex mass of summits, ridges, and corries, crowned by the remote summit of Stob Ghabhar at 1090m, presents a unique challenge. Accessed via steep scree fields and the "little" Aonach Eagach Ridge, this region exudes a sense of calm and solitude, with only the ravens for company.
The vistas across the wilds of Rannoch Moor and towards Glen Coe are nothing short of spectacular. Thousands of lochans, remote rivers, and streams punctuate its 50 sq. miles of Special Conservation Area. To the west, Ben Cruachan graces the horizon, with the Western Isles beckoning beyond.
Your journey is guided by a professional instructor in a small group of no more than six participants. Your guide will focus on teaching you essential winter mountaineering skills, including the use of ice axes and crampons, safe navigation through steep, snow-covered terrain, and interpreting mountain weather forecasts.
The emphasis is on developing winter skills, acquiring avalanche awareness, mastering navigation techniques, honing decision-making abilities, and fostering the confidence needed to become an independent adventurer in these majestic mountains.
We will meet at 6.30am at Ingliston Park and Ride, EH28 8LS, by Edinburgh Airport. There is an additional option to meet at Wallyford Park and Ride, EH21 8BU at 6am – please let us know when you book if this is preferable.
You must be at least 16 years old. No previous winter hillwalking or mountaineering experience is required. However, participants should possess a reasonable level of fitness and a sense of adventure.
We are passionate about the natural world and its beautiful wild places. We have a deep respect and appreciation for the environment and a love for adventure and silent human-powered sports.
Prepare to immerse yourself in the pristine beauty and solitude of the Black Mount region, where each step brings you closer to nature's wonders. This adventure is not only about conquering summits but also about personal growth, lasting memories, and newfound skills that will serve you in future mountaineering pursuits.
Please bring the following with you. Please avoid cotton clothing:
As part of planning our adventures we follow the mountain weather forecasts closely.
If the guides decide that the weather represents an unacceptable level of risk an alternative destination will be decided upon and communicated.
There are 282 mountains in Scotland over 914m / 3000ft. We are in these mountains year-round exploring and guiding clients to summits in wild and remote locations.
These are boots designed specifically for mountaineering in snow, rock and ice conditions.
They are also crampon-compatible which is required for our winter mountaineering trips. If you are not sure please just contact us or the adventuro team via the live chat. We can also provide you with winter mountaineering boots if required and requested in advance.
If you are interested in a custom adventure for you and your group, there is flexibility on age limits. Please message the adventuro team via the live chat, who will be happy to facilitate this arrangement.
Along with our Public Liability insurance, we are continually building on our qualifications. As a team, we have the following qualifications, so you can be sure you are in the right hands for whatever you are doing with us: Mountain Leader (Winter); Mountain Leader (Summer); ASI SUP Instructor Trainer/Assessor; SLSGB Trainer/Assessor; Single Pitch Award (rock climbing); Trail Cycle Leader (mountain biking); SLSGB Surf Lifeguard; SLSGB Coasteering Safety and Rescue; ASI SUP Instructor Level 3; ASI Surf Instructor Level 2; HSE First Aid Certificate; Scottish Field Archery Association Leader; Neural Linguistic Programming Practitioner Certificate; PDA in Youth Work; Mountain Instructor Award (training).
We hold an Adventure Activity License. This allows participants under the age of 18 to take part in an activity with us without parental/guardian supervision. Please note, a parent or guardian will be required to sign a declaration form before the activity.
For coasteering, The National Coasteering Charter (NCC) is an advisory membership organisation providing coasteering companies and guides with support and advice as well as the benchmark for safety for this activity. Our guides are highly experienced and run Coasteering Guide Workshops for other providers of coasteering using the NCC guides framework. You can’t find better-skilled or more experienced guides in the area. We are the people the guides come to learn from.
ASI [Academy of Surf Instructors] is the world’s leading professional membership organisation and international governing body for instructors, coaches and schools in the outdoor recreation industry for surfing, stand up paddle boarding and body boarding. We are an accredited ASI school and instructor training centre, this means our instructors are of the highest possible professional standards. ASI creates and sets the international standards and continuously investigates and researches industry practices and liaises with the industry itself and government departments around the world, to ensure we are at the leading edge for the provision of education, accreditation, standards and safe practices, and with respect and harmony with nature.
All our adventures take place in the mountains and ocean so a level of fitness is required. We also like to make our adventures accessible to a wide variety of clients.
For all our mountain adventures we use the following grade system:
In the ocean, clients should be confident in cold water and full immersion – and be able to swim 15m.
All our adventures are continually risk assessed as part of our planning and professional procedures. This assessment is also integrated into our insurance process.
As a responsible and ethical adventure company we are committed to the wild and natural environment we work in. We strive to put the planet first in everything we do.
We recognise that a love for our beautiful wild places demands active participation in the fight to save them. This is of course a dynamic process and we are always striving to minimise our impact in, educate our clients on and improve our contribution towards, our natural environment.
We align as partners with adventuro, who are a net-zero company from day-one, partnering with Rewilding Britain to protect our playground.
Susi and the team were excellent. The facilities and location for our very first time on SUPs were great. We had a blast!
We partner with Rewilding Britain to help protect our natural spaces for future adventures.
All centres are vetted for safety and quality. Your adventure is in good hands with adventuro.
Operated by Ocean Vertical, a partner of adventuro.
