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Scottish International Winter Climbing Meet 2025

The Scottish Winter Climbing Meet has been a highlight on the international climbing calendar for over 25 years and has attracted climbers from across the world eager to sample the unique Scottish winter experience. The meet has been running since 1997 and was last held in 2023. Overseas guests are paired up with experienced UK-based hosts - an excellent formula that has proved to be very successful. In return for sharing their local knowledge and expertise, UK climbers gain a wider perspective by climbing with their international visitors.

The 2025 meet will take place from 1-8 March 2025.

Applications to take part will open in autumn 2024.

The meet is hosted by the Mountaineering Scotland, the BMC, the Alpine Club and the Scottish Mountaineering Club.

Event format

We have places for 28 overseas guests and 28 hosts.

The event will start and finish at Glenmore Lodge, and the intervening five nights will be distributed around Mill Cottage/Raeburn, Lagangarbh, and CIC huts. Capacities of Lagangarbh and CIC are 20 beds so will split guests and hosts in groups of 20 that will circulate around the three hut locations. This ensures everyone has at least one night in the CIC Hut.

Alistair Todd and Simon Richardson will be the event coordinators.

Photo by Simon Richardson.

Volunteer roles

There are three Volunteer Roles:

Climbing Host:

  • You need to be a competent climber with experience of winter climbing in Scotland up to at least Grade IV.
  • You need to be skilled at winter navigation, especially in whiteout conditions.
  • Some guests may have done little or no winter climbing, so it is essential that you feel confident climbing with such partners.
  • You need to be a Mountaineering Scotland, the BMC, the SMC or the Alpine Club to take part.
  • You will be teamed up with an international guest climber.  Your role is to climb together and show them what winter climbing in Scotland is all about.

Applications for Climbing Hosts will open in autumn 2024 - register your interest below to receive more information about the application process:

Register your interest


Climbing Organiser:

Climbing organisers will typically be Climbing Hosts (see above) taking on the following tasks:

  • Pairing of hosts and guests - this starts three months before the event requires selecting hosts and guests (we will be oversubscribed) and matching climbing abilities. It is an iterative process that can only be finalised once the exact guest list becomes known.
  • Appointment of Team leads and teams matched with appropriate transport (some hosts may not have vehicles). We intend to split each group of 20 into teams of four (two hosts and two guests). One of these hosts will be nominated as ‘team lead’. Their role is to ensure their group of four stay at the correct hut at the correct time and report back each evening on the safe descent of their ‘team’. 
  • Programme for presentations in the huts - involves contacting guests (and selected hosts perhaps?) asking them to bring a short presentation on a memory stick to the meet. This can be about winter climbing in their own country or an interesting recent climbing trip. The idea is that the presentations can be shown in the huts in the evenings, or if the weather is bad. Coordination with the hut hosts will be required to ensure we have a screen, projector and laptop in each hut.
  • Airport transfer for guests - we will encourage guests to make their own way to Aviemore as it is accessible on public transport. We feel this is reasonable for guests travelling from Europe but for those who are travelling from further afield we would like to meet them at the airport. This will need coordinating.
  • Setting up and maintaining WhatsApp group for hosts.

Interested? Applications are open now - please email us with your contact details which will be passed on to the event coordinators.


Hut Host:

We require hut hosts for the Raeburn and Lagangarbh huts and Mill Cottage. Robin Clothier is the hut host for the CIC Hut.

The role involves welcoming hosts and guests to the hut and allocating them bed spaces. No cooking is required - evening catering will be provided but assistance will be required distributing food for breakfasts and packed lunches. We would anticipate one hut host per hut for the entire week. Some experience of winter climbing would be beneficial.

This position has proved to be a very rewarding role and an opportunity to be fully involved in the meet.

Find out more about the huts here:

Applications are now closed.